It wasn’t supposed to be this river cruise. We were looking last year at finally enjoying the Douro River in Portugal. I mean, a year in advance shouldn’t be a problem to book, right? Think again. Our preferred cruise line was booked. So was every cruise line we’d never heard of. A year in advance for a very short river in a very popular wine area was definitely not enough time.
So, plan B. How about the castles of the Rhine and Moselle? Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland, sailing up the Rhine and detouring to the Moselle? The right length of time and space available. Not much, as it turned out, as this was also a very popular cruise from AmaWaterways. Booked!
It’s just not easy flying abroad. An overnight flight means you arrive at your destination tired. It’s 8 in the morning, local time. But we were there, through Customs and being met by a cruise rep. To the hotel in the heart of Amsterdam and first rattle out of the box, we learn a very important lesson: there are bicycles. Everywhere. They have their own lanes and in order to exit our ride, we had to cross one. It’s amazing more tourists aren’t deprived of their vacation right then and there trying to enter the hotel! Amsterdam bikes wait for no one.
But lesson learned and we’re off to check out the city because, as all international travelers know, one does not go to bed.
We had tickets for the Anne Frank House that afternoon, so we made our way slowly there over cobblestone walkways, pausing to take in all the houseboats and wonderful sites along the canals. The weather was cool, gray and misty.
The Anne Frank House is a humbling experience. The tours are self-guided with entrance every 15 minutes. We were there on a Tuesday afternoon and it was sold out. There were only hushed voices and some winded breathing as we visited each room after climbing what I can only think to describe as ladders to the living quarters where the families hid for two years. The house should be on every visitor must-see list. We never want to forget.
After a night’s sleep, we were transferred from the hotel to the ship, finding many of our fellow passengers already ensconced in the lounge. Once our cabins were ready, we unpacked and settled in. There are many wonderful things about a cruise, be it river or ocean, but unpacking once is probably the best one. We had our safety briefing and our first dinner onboard. That would be the next best thing about a cruise: the cuisine.
An Amsterdam canal cruise the next morning gave us a bit of history and a look at some intriguing houses. We learned that the ‘XXX’ prominently displayed not only on the flag of Amsterdam but really, everywhere, symbolized three defining events in Amsterdam’s history: fire, flood, the black death. After each, they had risen. After we were all collected and back onboard, our ship, the AmaPrima, set off.
It took 24 hours and our first series of locks on the Rhine to get to our first port of call, Cologne, Germany, and its historic cathedral. We began our routine of packing our ‘quiet vox’ earpiece with its pocket size box and a tour ticket. The latter just let the crew know how many people were in each group. We tried to always be green so we wouldn’t 1) forget and 2) it would become a habit to turn our green cards in for the next day’s adventure. Alas, we made it home with one of them.
In Cologne, the weather turned very windy, very cold, and had the nerve to spit rain. After a quick self-guided tour of the 13th-century Gothic Cathedral which, though damaged, survived aerial bombings in World War II while the city itself was nearly destroyed, we walked back to the ship alongside the Rhine.
We venture further up the Rhine to Koblenz, where we “park” on the other side of the river and take a cable car to the city. It is raining, but we can still see where the Moselle joins the Rhine. The converging waters are different colors.
I have been to vineyards in many geographic areas, but I wasn’t prepared for the steepness of those along the Moselle. One vintner we met joked that they are now born with one leg shorter than the other so they may properly harvest the grapes.
That afternoon, we stopped at Cochem for a walking tour and a visit to the Reichsburg Castle. Built around 1000 AD for defense, it has had its ups and downs, being destroyed in the 17th century. In 1868, it was bought and reconstructed into a Neo-Gothic style popular at the time. Located high on a hill, it is an imposing structure. At night, it is lit up, like a fairy tale castle.
It was dark when we got back to the ship, but a night’s rest would see us ready for another adventure up the Moselle.
https://www.visit-koblenz.de/en/sights/schaengel-fountain
