Rhine-Mosel Cruise 2019
In the past 2 years, Rena and I participated in 2 commercial trips. Very unusual for us since we usually plan and travel on our own. But the previous trips, an Africa wildlife safari and a visit to Croatia and the Balkans worked out nicely, so we signed up for another guided trip in late May 2019. This one was a Grand Circle 14-day river cruise down the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland to Antwerp, Belgium. The first image shows the route and some of the towns we visited.
We arranged our own airfare in order to do additional things on our own. We ended up spending a day in Zurich before meeting the group in Basel. At the end, we stayed 3 additional nights to visit Bruges, Netherlands, a beautiful city not far from Antwerp.
We saw many picturesque towns and villages. Castles were everywhere. The area contained lots of WWII history. Especially Luxembourg. We visited the cemetery where many American solders who died in the” Battle of the Bulge” were buried. This was interesting to me since my father fought and was wounded in that battle. We saw Beethoven’s house in Bonn, windmills at Kinderdijk, and Roman ruins in Trier. Strasbourg, Bernkastel, Cochem, and Bruges were picture perfect towns. Just seeing the scenery from the ship as we cruised along was very pleasant.
Another plus was that the ship provided bicycles for us to use in our free time. Most were electric bikes which Rana and I had not used before. We used them a lot. It made it easier to see more of the outlying sights where walking would have taken too long.
The rooms in the ship were comfortable, the food was excellent, and was served with wine and beer. Almost all our activities were included in the basic price. The towns contained many cute cafes and restaurants which were of little use to us since all of our meals were furnished either on the ship and occasionally in one of the towns. The ship carried about 140 people who were divided into 3 groups, each with their own group leader. The cruise was run very well. There were lots of activities in the evenings. My only complaint was that everyone ate together in a big dining room and the noise level was difficult for me because of my poor hearing. But that was my only complaint.
I selected 134 photos for this photo report out of the more than 1,600 that I took on this trip. As usual, the photos are annotated with information the viewer might find interesting. Most of the photos were taken with a Panasonic GX7 micro 4/3 camera. Some were with my iPhone 6x.
A detailed Itinerary follows.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - SLEEP - ACTIVITY
1 - Tue May 21 - On plane - LA to Zurich (non stop)
2 - Wed May 22 - Zurich - Walk around Zurich and river, airbnb
3 - Thu May 23 - Strasbourg - Train to Basil, tram to Grand Circle bus, bus to Strasbourg
4 - Fri May 24 - Strasbourg - Bus to Basil, Basil tour, see sights
5 - Sat May 25 - Strasbourg - Wine road in Alsace, stork reserve, Roquewihr, bike in Strasbourg
6 - Sun May 26 - Mannheim - Strasbourg tour, Strasbourg boat ride
7 - Mon May 27 - On river - Speyer tour, home visit, Jewish bath, Stimmalarm singers
8 - Tue May 28 - Winningen - Scenic cruise from Bingen to Boppard, Boppard walking tour, Via Ferrata hike, bike 30 km to Winningen
9 - Wed May 29 - Bernkastel - Scenic cruise along Mosel, Bernkastel tour, wine tasting
10 - Thu May 30 - Trier - Trier tour, lunch in town, bike to Roman bath and colosseum
11 - Fri May 31 - Bernkastel - Luxembourg tour, lunch in town, American+German cemeteries (Battle of the Bulge)
12 - Sat Jun 1 - Cochem - Reichsburg Castle tour, see sights, bike to Ernst+Moselland Museum, bike+climb to Winneburg castle
13 - Sun Jun 2 - Bonn - Bonn tour, Beethoven Museum, bike to Democracy Way, Art Museum, Circle Mile
14 - Mon Jun 3 - Nijmegen - Market Garden talk, Nijmegen tour, see sights, bike museum
15 - Tue Jun 4 - On river - Kinderdijk windmills, cruise to Willemstad, Willemstad tour, bike to 2 nearby forts
16 - Wed Jun 5 - Antwerp - Antwerp tour, walk to train station, see sights, MAS museum, red light district. This was end of cruise.
17 - Thur Jun 6 - Bruges - Walk to train station, train to Bruges, airbnb, see sights, harp music, sharma dinner
18 - Fri Jun 7- Bruges - Rick Steves walk, Begijnhof + Groeninge museums, harp music again, eat at airbnb
19 - Sat Jun 8 - Bruges - See churches, museums, Thai dinner (wind canceled canal bike ride)
20 - Sun Jun 9 - home - Taxi + train to Brussels airport, fly to Dulles, Rena to Jacksonville, Rich home
Read MoreWe arranged our own airfare in order to do additional things on our own. We ended up spending a day in Zurich before meeting the group in Basel. At the end, we stayed 3 additional nights to visit Bruges, Netherlands, a beautiful city not far from Antwerp.
We saw many picturesque towns and villages. Castles were everywhere. The area contained lots of WWII history. Especially Luxembourg. We visited the cemetery where many American solders who died in the” Battle of the Bulge” were buried. This was interesting to me since my father fought and was wounded in that battle. We saw Beethoven’s house in Bonn, windmills at Kinderdijk, and Roman ruins in Trier. Strasbourg, Bernkastel, Cochem, and Bruges were picture perfect towns. Just seeing the scenery from the ship as we cruised along was very pleasant.
Another plus was that the ship provided bicycles for us to use in our free time. Most were electric bikes which Rana and I had not used before. We used them a lot. It made it easier to see more of the outlying sights where walking would have taken too long.
The rooms in the ship were comfortable, the food was excellent, and was served with wine and beer. Almost all our activities were included in the basic price. The towns contained many cute cafes and restaurants which were of little use to us since all of our meals were furnished either on the ship and occasionally in one of the towns. The ship carried about 140 people who were divided into 3 groups, each with their own group leader. The cruise was run very well. There were lots of activities in the evenings. My only complaint was that everyone ate together in a big dining room and the noise level was difficult for me because of my poor hearing. But that was my only complaint.
I selected 134 photos for this photo report out of the more than 1,600 that I took on this trip. As usual, the photos are annotated with information the viewer might find interesting. Most of the photos were taken with a Panasonic GX7 micro 4/3 camera. Some were with my iPhone 6x.
A detailed Itinerary follows.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - SLEEP - ACTIVITY
1 - Tue May 21 - On plane - LA to Zurich (non stop)
2 - Wed May 22 - Zurich - Walk around Zurich and river, airbnb
3 - Thu May 23 - Strasbourg - Train to Basil, tram to Grand Circle bus, bus to Strasbourg
4 - Fri May 24 - Strasbourg - Bus to Basil, Basil tour, see sights
5 - Sat May 25 - Strasbourg - Wine road in Alsace, stork reserve, Roquewihr, bike in Strasbourg
6 - Sun May 26 - Mannheim - Strasbourg tour, Strasbourg boat ride
7 - Mon May 27 - On river - Speyer tour, home visit, Jewish bath, Stimmalarm singers
8 - Tue May 28 - Winningen - Scenic cruise from Bingen to Boppard, Boppard walking tour, Via Ferrata hike, bike 30 km to Winningen
9 - Wed May 29 - Bernkastel - Scenic cruise along Mosel, Bernkastel tour, wine tasting
10 - Thu May 30 - Trier - Trier tour, lunch in town, bike to Roman bath and colosseum
11 - Fri May 31 - Bernkastel - Luxembourg tour, lunch in town, American+German cemeteries (Battle of the Bulge)
12 - Sat Jun 1 - Cochem - Reichsburg Castle tour, see sights, bike to Ernst+Moselland Museum, bike+climb to Winneburg castle
13 - Sun Jun 2 - Bonn - Bonn tour, Beethoven Museum, bike to Democracy Way, Art Museum, Circle Mile
14 - Mon Jun 3 - Nijmegen - Market Garden talk, Nijmegen tour, see sights, bike museum
15 - Tue Jun 4 - On river - Kinderdijk windmills, cruise to Willemstad, Willemstad tour, bike to 2 nearby forts
16 - Wed Jun 5 - Antwerp - Antwerp tour, walk to train station, see sights, MAS museum, red light district. This was end of cruise.
17 - Thur Jun 6 - Bruges - Walk to train station, train to Bruges, airbnb, see sights, harp music, sharma dinner
18 - Fri Jun 7- Bruges - Rick Steves walk, Begijnhof + Groeninge museums, harp music again, eat at airbnb
19 - Sat Jun 8 - Bruges - See churches, museums, Thai dinner (wind canceled canal bike ride)
20 - Sun Jun 9 - home - Taxi + train to Brussels airport, fly to Dulles, Rena to Jacksonville, Rich home
