Glide through nature’s corridors in a cruise

Afew of us decided to beat the heat and take to more temperate climes this year. We kicked off our trip with a coach tour of Zurich. We got to experience the quiet intensity of this financial hub before embarking on the short but newsy hour-long ride to Basel, the third largest city in Switzerland, courtesy our tour guide. Basel is where this trip really began. After a short visit to the Rhine Falls, we boarded Amadeus river cruise ship under grey skies; our moods were kept cheerful due to the warm welcome the crew gave us.

We left Switzerland that night. The river was so gentle we couldn’t feel the ship sway. We woke up to bright sunshine in the city of Strasbourg in France. Our cabins had huge windows which afforded us a wonderful view of the Rhine and the lives of the people that populate its shores. Strasbourg is a city with an interesting history, having changed governance between French and German hands right up until WWII, it has a distinct identity. It also happens to be the seat of the EU parliament and the ECJ (European Court of Justice). After we disembarked for the day, we walked about the city, which culminated in a river cruise around the city which afforded us a close look into its rich history. In the evening we went for a session of wine tasting, a fabulous introduction to the wines of the Alsace region. Rather tired we boarded our ship for a good night’s sleep.

The next day we arrived at the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Speyer. We walked about its quaint cobbled streets where we saw the spectacular Speyer Cathedral, an 11th-century Romanesque Cathedral, the largest of its kind in the world. We also visited the Jewish courtyard and its subterranean bath, the Mikvah, which was housed there in 1126.

After Speyer, we took a bus to Heidelberg University in the Baden Wurttemberg region of Germany. The university founded in 1386 is Germany’s oldest. A scientific hub, Heidelberg is home to several internationally renowned research facilities including four Max Planck institutes. We enjoyed a walk through the baroque old town, which was topped off by a visit to Heidelberg Castle. The castle dominates the view of the old downtown and its grounds offer one a spectacular view of the city. Though much of the castle is in ruins, it still has a central building which stands intact. This structure houses the ‘Heidelberg Tun’, the largest wine barrel in the world with a capacity of a whopping 2,20,000 liters. The following day we arrive  in Rudesheim, a town well known for its wine-making, and its own special brandy, the Asbach, a key ingredient in the famous Rudesheim coffee. Then we visited Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Cabinet museum, with all its automated instruments and some wonderful curiosities, like a tiny silver hummingbird, fully automated, that sang birdsong and could flutter each individual feather. After boarding our ship again we were treated to views of the most beautiful section of the river, the upper middle Rhine valley. The next stop of our journey was Koblenz. Here, our charming tour guide (we had a different one for each city we visited) Andreas, the local wine ambassador, took us for a walk about town. From the monument of William I to the fountain of a cheeky boy by the Jesuit College to the Basilica of St. Castor and the bomb shelters built during WWII, we were truly able to embrace the history of this 2000-year-old city.

We left Koblenz and made a detour along the Mosel River to the most romantic part of the Valley, and the little town of Cochem. The magnificent Reichsburg castle is situated high above the town, dominating the landscape. Down below, narrow streets, half-timbered houses, and numerous restaurants are an ideal setting to taste the wines of this region.

On day six we arrived at Cologne, the largest city on the Rhine and our last port of call in Germany. We docked next to the Lindt museum, yes, that Lindt of the chocolate fame. Walking into town, the spires of the glorious Cologne Cathedral pierced the sky. Construction of the Cathedral was started in 1248 and finally completed in 1886. It houses the Shrine of the Three King, believed to contain relics of the Magi. Walking down the high street past many bars and cafes, we find ourselves at the Farina Fragrance museum. This little treasure is located across from the Cologne city hall and is the birthplace of the legendary Eau de Cologne.

That evening we were treated to a spectacular dinner aboard our ship, replete with local delicacies, a massive five-course extravaganza served by the best wait staff I’ve ever encountered. Every little request was catered to and the warmth we felt was sincere. We ate almost all our meals on board and the food was simply delicious. Great care had been taken to source local ingredients and caters to as many palates as possible. Evening entertainments were provided daily and the cruise director with his dry Dutch humour kept us all smiling. We finally entered the last leg of our journey, the Netherlands. With the dykes all around us, the feeling of sailing higher than the ground level was quite surreal. We docked at Hoorn. A bus ride took us to Volendam, where we got to see a little demonstration in the method of making their famous cheese. After nibbling on many samples and buying more than we needed, we got back on the ship for our last ride to Amsterdam. Amsterdam has personality. It is rich in culture and every little street and waterway has a story to tell. We took the city water cruise and wound our way around the Venice of the north. After the tour, we walked through a narrow street before arriving at the Rijksmuseum. This museum houses many of the Dutch masters, like Rembrandt and Vermeer, and is also the largest art museum in the country. On day two in Amsterdam, we went to the Keukenhof gardens, to see tulips, the national flower of the Netherlands. Also known as the Garden of Europe, it is one of the world’s largest flower gardens, situated in Lisse. The image of the fields of bright sunshine yellow tulips will stay in my memory.

We ended our little cruise down the Rhine. This wonderful trip was curated for us by Skyroutes Travels in Chennai. They took exceptionally good care of us and left the travel bug in me feeling quite indulged.