A Week on the Rhine Begins

If relaxation, while floating down a river with beautiful surroundings, sprinkled with castles and historic places of interest  sounds appealing to you, then look no further than the Rhine. 

The Rhine's exit to the sea is Rotterdam and we joined via tributary from Amsterdam and its 634 miles runs south to north, so we were actually moving up the river to Basel, but all that aside, the Amadeus Silver III, her captain & crew were terrific.  The educational resources on this MIT, Notre Dame, etc sponsored cruise kept us on our toes as we learned about the music, history and geology of the area. 

Going from below sea level in Rotterdam to 800 feet above sea level in Basel required a mere 12 locks. Although we're accustomed to locks, many of these were quite different. Most were a cement wall that moved slowly up after the barge tied up and the lock filled with 10 to 30 or more feet of water - as you see in the picture above.....and below. 

The engineering is incredible!

Cologne was our first stop. This city of one million is the largest on the Rhine. This renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture is Germany's most visited landmark and a world Heritage Site. The cornerstone was laid in 1248. The 515 foot towers were not in place until the 1840's, using the original medieval plans found in France, but using modern iron girders. The Cathedral was finally completed in 1880.

During WW II, it suffered 14 hits by arial bombs yet remained standing. By1956 original stained glass was reinserted and structural repairs made. Notably  until 2007 plain glass was found in a 66 foot tall opening. Seen above is Gerhard Richter's design which uses randomly placed, identically sized squares representing every color found in the Cathedral's other stained glass designed over hundreds of years.  "The High Cathedral of Saint Peter" has many fascinating historical and religious attributes that really are worth seeing. 

The day we were in town, the city was getting ready for its annual firework display. People come from far and wide. 

We particularly enjoyed what appeared to be a modern day Pied Piper, with his seemingly endless display of magical bubbles!

In Bonn we shared typical German fare with our Useppa friends, Suzy and Vic Trino as Steve gets his FIRST Schnitzel fix.

We pass the Old City Hall in the historical  square as we make our way back to the barge and attempt to work off at least some of a "healthy" dinner.