This cruise, from Nuremberg to Amsterdam, travels on a major canal that connects the Danube River, the Main River (pronounced MINE), and the Rhine River. After an hour lecture about the rivers and canal systems of Germany I've learned that it is complicated.
We boarded the River Cloud II, a five-star river boat that is somewhat smaller than the Viking cruise boats--only 67 passengers and 35 crew--and we were underway by late afternoon. We sat on the top deck, the sun deck, for the first hour and joyously experienced amazement after amazement. We started off down the Danube and right away we were going under bridges so low that the bridge of the boat (the housing at the front where they steer the boat) had to sink down like an elevator and the staff had to tell us to sit down because we would hit our heads if standing. So throughout this cruise we will be watching the bridge go up and down. Very ingenious design. And then we went through our first lock and watched the boat sink down about 15 or 20 feet. The locks are tricky because there must have been less than a foot of clearance on one side and about 3 feet on the other--not much wiggle room. And they tell us that we will be going through over 40 locks on this trip--some only lowering the boat 10 feet and some lowering the boat up to 70 feet. Very cool, indeed! And the most fun of all was gliding along (the boat travels very slowly, only about 10 mph) on an overhead canal and watching the cars driving by underneath or watching houses go by at roof level. It is a weird experience.
Life on board is very different from that on a large cruise ship. The staff already knows us by name, the check-in process was simple and personal, the food is tres elegant, and the accommodations quite pleasant. And they make a good Manhattan--always good for bonus points in my book. And it is relatively quiet. I like this kind of cruising.
First stop the next day we docked at Bamberg and walked around a bit to see the beautiful half-timber buildings in the old part of town. The whole place looks like a postcard of medieval Europe. We mistakenly went into the cathedral just as a service was starting so we couldn't go all the way in, but ended up standing inside to listen to the choir. The music rolled around and filled the building and sounded absolutely angelic--it was a real thrill. Actually, we have encountered several unexpected musical treats this trip. At the 3rd Ludwig castle there was a 16-voice men's acapella group that sang a mini, impromptu concert and they were outstanding. Then there were 4 German women who were singing German folk songs while we were all standing in line to take the bus up to Ludwig's 2nd castle. We have really lucked out so far.
The rainy spell is definitely over and we are now having an unseasonable hot spell. I guess I just can't get away from hot and sweaty weather while traveling, but the ship lounge is so comfortable I think I'll just sit here and pretend to watch the scenery.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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