We had arrived over night and docked in town. Cologne, located on the left bank of the Rhine, is the fourth largest city in Germany. It is known for its large Cathedral, its unique beer and perfume where it gets its name. The actual name is Latin for Colonia since like many of the city’s along the Rhine it was established and named by the Romans in the first century A.D. Cologne is the French version and Koln is the modern German name
Our guide had told us that Fruh Bierhaus nearby was the most popular brewery in Cologne. We found a table outside within sight of the Cathedral. Kolsch is a light colored ale brewed under some of the most strict standards of “top down” fermentation in all of Germany. It is delivered in round trays with a center handle containing several of the small, 6.8 oz., glasses. The glasses insure that the ale is best served while chilled. It is very refreshing on a warm afternoon but it is not a weak ale with about 5% alcohol. As a glass nears empty the server will place another in its place and make a small pencil mark to keep track. Once you have had enough, you simply place a coaster on the glass so the server knows not to set down another. Our server, Carlos, was personable and spoke good English. His father is German and his mother Spanish. Another day, another delicious bratwurst and sauerkraut, its becoming the theme for lunch everyday.
After lunch, decided to tour the huge Cathedral. We purchased our tickets at the nearby ticket office and proceeded to the entrance of the church. The massive church had beautiful stained glass windows that had been removed during World War II to avoid being damaged. They were replaced after the war. There were just enough brief periods of sun to allow us to fully appreciate their beauty.
We returned to the ship in time a nice long rest on the top deck. With a tonic and a French gin and an Aperol Spritz. Dinner, like the rest has been mostly disappointing. It can’t and shouldn’t be compared to the food we have had on sea cruises with limited facilities. The bad news is the food is not that good, the good news is the portions are small. The beds are comfortable and make for a good nights rest. On to Koblenz.We had been instructed to pack up that night and have our luggage outside our door by 6:30 AM to be transported by truck to our hotels in Strasbourg where we would be spending the night after a stop in the small city of Speyer
We woke up docked in Koblenz, Germany. We had received the bad news during the previous night’s briefing. The Rhine was too low to continue on the ship. I had read on social media that Viking had an ingenious plan to sail two identical ships leaving toward each other during times of low water. At the point in the middle of the trip where the river narrows and makes passing impossible for all but smaller vessels when the water is low, people from the Amsterdam sailing would simply pack up the night before to disembark the next day and take a bus to the city where the ship sailing up river from Basel, Switzerland had docked. When you arrive at your new ship, your luggage was to have been placed in your matching room number on that ship and you could, in theory, carry on for the rest of the cruise with relatively minor inconvenience. Meanwhile, the occupants of the ship out of Basel would be boarding buses for the drive to join up with our ship to continue their voyage and so forth and so on. However, the Viking people finally informed us that the sister ship we were to meet up with was still under construction and we would be bussed over the next four days with no option to cruise the rest of the way. We actually will have been sailing for three days and then bussed to and from sites along the way, staying and dining at hotels for the last four days of our so called cruise.
Koblenz sits at the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosellle river. We were docked a short walk to the point where the rivers converge. The name Koblenz is derived from the Latin confluentes or confluence. There is a large, military equestrian statute of Emperor William I that dominates the park at the point where the rivers meet.
We walked into town and found a busy restaurant for lunch then returned to the ship for our last night on board. Our luggage had been trucked to Strasbourg and place in our assigned room at the hotel. We disembarked for the last time and walked to our bus for the ride to Speyer.
