Scenic cruise, Koblenz and Marksburg Castle

Crossing our fingers seemed to work - the weather looked like it would be nice for the cruise down to Koblenz and the visit to Marksburg Castle.

We went up and sat on the sun deck but, although it was sunny, it was a little cool.  The scenery however in this part of the Rhine was simply stunning.  The hills were covered in forests and vineyards with fairytale castles popping up wherever you looked.  The cruise director (Ryan) gave a running commentary on parts of the history of the area plus the castles, which was quite informative.

To keep us warm we made use of the tea/coffee station.  This is situated on the deck below the sundeck and you can serve yourself with tea/coffee/hot chocolate/water all day.  There are also sometimes cookies, biscuits or cakes here that you can also help yourself to.  The chocolate cookies were scrumptious!!

There are also towels up on the sundeck that you can take to lay on the sunbeds.  I don't know why I thought this, but before I came on this cruise I thought there would be a small pool on board,  but there isn't! There was a pool on the boat when we sailed on the Nile many years ago, so perhaps that's where I got the idea from but if, like me, you were expecting a pool on board, there isn't one!

Now, this is the bit where I can go daft and post loads of photos of this part of the Rhine!!  However, there is one quite famous part where there is a legend about the Lorelei, the beautiful siren of the rocks who lured sailors to their doom, but the rocks really aren't that picturesque, so I'm afraid no photos of them are included!!  I am not sure of the names of all the castles or places so will only name the ones that I do know.

Bacharach

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

We docked in Koblenz right underneath the cable car, and after lunch we were ready for our visit to Marksburg Castle (another included tour).  We boarded the buses as usual and I always have to marvel at how these bus drivers manage to manoeuvre their vehicles up winding roads such as our driver had to do to get us up the hill to the castle. They do warn you that if you're unfit or have mobility problems that you perhaps shouldn't do this tour. There are some inclines involved and some very uneven surfaces, so remember to wear a comfortable flat pair of shoes - high heels would not be a good idea here!  This is where I get to go daft again with loads of photos, so here goes:

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

View from Marksburg Castle

View from Marksburg Castle (tilt shift effect)

View from Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

After our visit here it was back to the coach to wind our way back down the hill to make our way back to the boat.  It was a fascinating visit but, like all organised tours, it was a tad short. By the time we got back to the boat it was almost time to leave again on the walking tour of Koblenz, and off we went again!  We thought this would be a good way to orientate ourselves for later as the boat was going to be docked n Koblenz until 4.00 a.m. the next morning, which was going to give us a chance to head into town again after dinner.  These are some photos that I took while on the walking tour:

View from the boat

This statue is enormous!

This is constructed from portions of the Berlin Wall

Part of the fountain that tells a story - it's really quite magnificent!

The other side of the fountain - well worth a visit

Dinner that night was more or less buffet style, with the carvery part being inside the actual kitchens!  After dinner we headed off into Koblenz for a walk and a couple of drinks at one of the bars.  We were back to the ship in plenty of time as it wasn't due to sail again until the early hours of the morning, heading for the next port of call, Cologne.

Heidelberg and Rudesheim

Our shore excursion this morning left at 8.30 a.m. and again was one included in our cruise holiday. We were heading from our mooring in Mannheim to travel to Heidelberg to visit the town and the castle.  The weather however wasn't too promising, so we made sure we had some waterproof jackets and an umbrella with us.

The plan was that while we were completing our visit here, the boat would sail to Gernsheim where we would rejoin it for the next part of the journey which was a sail down to Rudesheim.  In Rudesheim there was an option extra tour that evening which included a mini train ride and a traditional dinner and show.  We chose to stay on board that night for dinner as usual.

But, to get back to our morning tour, we were taken to Heidelberg Castle high above the town.  It was an impressive castle, partly in ruins, but with really good facilities for visitors. It also boasts that it has the biggest wine barrel in the world!! The weather held out quite well, but we did have a torrential downpour at one stage when we were luckily sheltering under a huge parasol umbrella!

Here are some photos of the visit.

You can see by the puddles that there had been a fair bit of rain!

Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle

Lion's head at Heidelberg Castle

Diorama (tilt shift) view from Heidelberg Castle

Diorama (tilt shift) view from Heidelberg Castle

This is a monkey!

There seems to be a big tradition in this part of the world that when a couple get engaged/married, they put their names onto a padlock, lock the padlock onto a bridge then throw the key into the water. This is the first example I have seen, but there's more to come in later photos!

Entrance to the bridge at Heidelberg

Now, during the free time part of our visit to Heidelberg, we done a spot of shopping! Do NOT miss the Christmas shop!!  It is one of the best that I have ever seen and, although it's obviously mostly Christmas items that are on sale, there are other things as well and it is just wonderful!

After our visit here, we headed to pick up the boat at Gernsheim for our onward journey to Rudesheim and, when we got back to the boat, we were met by the staff welcoming us back!

Staff welcome

After we re-joined the boat, we headed for lunch and, as the weather had really cheered up, we sat up on the sundeck and enjoyed a leisurely sail to Rudesheim.  We were to be docked here overnight so, after dinner, we took a short walk into town and had a couple of drinks in one of the local hotels.

Here are a few photos taken during the sail down to Rudesheim.

Unfortunately, I don't know what this building is, but it is certainly very impressive!

One of the many barges on the Rhine

Container barge

The Gullveig and the Ingvi moored together

When we moored up, one of the other Viking boats, the Viking Ingvi, moored right up beside us, which is something I touched upon earlier in the blog. This is entirely normal and is to be expected. Also, in Rudesheim, I have never ever seen so many swans in my life!

The boat was moored here overnight all set for the scenic part of the cruise which was to start in the morning. We would be sailing to Koblenz and had a tour to Marksburg Castle to look forward to.  It was fingers firmly crossed for good weather for this part of the cruise!!