StartrainDD

Here are a few photos from our damp day in Bamberg:

When touring independently I purposefully avoid paying an entrance fee to places that say "No photography." I have no issue with "No flash photography." If you pay to see something you should be able to record what you are seeing for your memories, just my opinion of course. Speaking of photos, here are a few from the river and our day in Wurzburg. Like Notamermaid said, I did not get the entire Residenz in one photo!

We are now in Austria. Really enjoyed our last day in Germany on this trip. Here is the report: Sunday, July 10, Passau, Germany (within sight of Austria) This morning we slept until the noise of the Eistla docking woke us at 7:45. We missed our friends who enjoyed an earlier breakfast and got ready for our 9:30 walking tour of Passau. Rick Steve's says nothing about Passau, I don't know why except that I suppose he can't cover everything. Our walking tour took us along the waterfront and then down 'artists alley' (really known as Hollgasse, which translated means “Hells Alley.” Our guide showed us the watermarks on a number of buildings as the confluence of the three rivers (the Danube, the Ilz, and the Inn) results in periodic flooding which the buildings lower than 15 meters above the river can expect to experience from time to time. We enjoyed the view of the old rathouse and were there right at 10:00 when the bells chimed. We then climbed the hill through narrow alleys and found ourselves at St. Michael's church. The front door was open which allowed us to look in. This church is normally closed to anyone as it is reserved for the monks, but it is very ornate inside. We then walked down the other side to the walkway along the Inn river. The Danube may not be “Blue” but it is rather clear. Not so the Inn. The Inn has it's headwaters in the mountains of the alps, and carries silt from snow and glacier melt, so it appears very gray. From the waterfront we climbed other alleys past the bishops residenz. The residenz led directly towards St. Stephen's church, the Dom. The Dom is under a lot of restoration with one of the towers circled in scaffolding. Going inside, the lower part of both towers is covered in fabric. The Dom is noted for having the largest cathedral organ in the world, with 17,774 pipes. From the Dom our walking tour ended however next door was a cute chocolate shop. We purchased some 'broken pieces' of chocolates to take back to the ship. Most shops are closed today being Sunday, although all restaurants and cafes seem to be open. We walked through the pedestrian area and returned to the Eistla. We grabbed a table in the Aquavit and our friends joined us. Lunch was very nice and it is a pretty day, with temperatures in the 60's. We then headed back out for a brisk walk back to the rathouse to take the public shuttle bus up the mountain to the Veste Oberhaus, the castle one of the prince-bishops built to show off his fortune. From here we enjoyed magnificent views of Passau and the surrounding area. We could see where the waters of the Danube and Inn 'merged' although they tend to stay separate at least for a while. After enjoying the sights we caught the bus back down to town. We walked back to the ship visiting a few souvenir shops along the way but made no purchases. We wanted to have a good amount of time to relax this afternoon and get ready for a nice evening. The Eistla promises a “German dinner” this evening and we hope to enjoy that in the Aquavit during the sail away from Passau and across the border into Austria, less than 2 miles away. As troubling as some of the previous days have been, this day was very enjoyable. It was terrific having a chance to relax and waving to the passers-by who all seemed very friendly. The ship left Passau just before 6:00 and until dark the scenery as we cruised down the Danube was terrific. Service in the Aquavit was top notch and the same servers seem to be there. Couple that with the scenery and it was a terrific evening. The “German dinner” was very nice with many of the staff dressed in traditional German clothing. There was a game show in the lounge but we did not stay up for that. Tomorrow sounds very promising, the ship will not sail except when we are on it. A morning visit to Melk Austria with an excursion to Melk Abbey followed by afternoon sailing the the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO site. Then we have a call to Krems late in the afternoon.

I no longer have a price list but laundry on board is EXPENSIVE. I know a shirt or blouse is about eight euros. There is no "By the bag" option. What we did is checked two bags and I had our clothing split evenly between the two bags. We also had one full change of clothing and PJ's in a carry on. Our bags made it, but it sure is a gamble these days!

Absolutely! 😀

Since the distance is the same and I believe the advertised number of stops is the same (with some different towns) I would expect similar leap-frogging. We just had no idea this would happen. Today is so nice with the ship docked all day in Passau, this is more what we expected.

Saturday, July 9; cruising the Danube and Regensburg Germany We woke a little after 7:00 and did our typical morning routine. Met our friends in the dining room for breakfast. I had asked the matire de earlier in the trip about making some of the thick black bread into french toast, and they arranged to do that today. This actually tasted very good. Likely because of the density of the bread, I will admit it was a little chewy. We docked in Regensburg at about 9:10. Those on the all day excursion to Munich as well as any guests who wanted to explore Regensburg on their own, basically for “All day” could depart. Ten minutes later we were sailing again towards Straubling. Perhaps an hour after leaving Regensburg we passed what looked like the Acropolis on the northern side of the river. Looking this up on my phone I found this was a structure called Walhalla and it was completed in 1842 to honor former kings and nobles of Germany. The structure is still used today and every few years another notable German is added to the roster of those honored. It is based on the Acropolis in Athens. Nothing was said about this on board. During the cruising this morning, I was also able to read the documents the program manager left me on the Main-Danube canal. During this I learned that there is a monument astride the canal at the point of the European continental divide. Seeing where it was, I realize we passed this during the prior evening's dinner. Again, nothing was said about this on board and I certainly would have liked to photograph the monument. We sat at a table in the Aquavit long before lunch time and stayed there through lunch. Lunch was nice. We docked in Straubling at about 1:45 and departed for the Regensburg tour. It was well over a 30 minute bus ride back to Regensburg. We met our tour guide and had an enjoyable 90 minute walking tour while taking lots of photos. When the tour was over I was able to go inside the Dom St. Peter (cathedral) to photograph many of the stained glass windows. Regensburg was spared bombings during WWII as no military activity was taking place in the area, so the buildings range up to 1,000 years old. The Stone bridge over the Rhine was an engineering achievement when completed in 1146, and it is still standing and in use today. We walked over the bridge twice in fact. We visited Cafe Prinzess just opposite the old town hall. Cafe Prinzess is said to be the oldest coffeehouse in Germany, opened in 1686. We enjoyed a break from touring at the Cafe while listening to a group of four young men who we assume were from Hungary playing music down the street. After the cafe we began walking back towards the bus station, but made a detour to climb the tower at the foot of the stone bridge. I took photos in each direction from the tower's observation deck. We arrived at the bus station and all three buses were there. One left as we arrived. The program director told us we could board the double decker bus and sit upstairs, leaving immediately or take the next bus that would leave within ten minutes. I asked if the ship was ready for us and he said yes, it is waiting in Deggendorf. It was a 55 minute bus ride back to Deggendorf. It was a bit warm on the upper deck and the A/C never made it really cool. We pulled into the dock at Deggendorf to find a river boat tied up, but it was not a Viking boat. Then we see the Eistla waiting just upstream. A few minutes later the third Viking bus arrived. So now, 90% of the guests from the Eistla are standing on the ground or sitting in buses with no air circulation and lots of people coughing. The other ship was waiting for their tour to return from Munich and refused the Eistla permission to tie up next to them so we could board our ship. Now it begins to rain. Long story short, we stood out there for 50 minutes, most of the time in the rain, until the other ship's passengers returned and the Eistla got into place so we could board. We all boarded in less than five minutes. This makes FIVE times in eight days that the majority of the Eistla's passengers had to wait at a docking area with nothing around it for the ship to get into position so we could board. So we boarded after 7:30. The normal dinner time on this trip is a little late for us. I really don't like going to bed right after dinner. Among other things it is not the healthiest way to eat for sure. Yet this evening the main course was served at 8:50. Dessert arrived at 9:18. The program director began his port presentation for the following day at 9:15, so we missed it. The Viking Daily in our cabin indicates that we will be docked “All day” in Passau tomorrow, and we can come and go as we please. FINALLY. I can't say if anything was said during the briefing about the evening's delay as we were not there, but I will share that my patience is shot. Standing around on a dock is not what we paid for, and there is no indication that I've ever seen in Viking's literature or here on cruise critic that this would occur at such a frequency. This is supposed to be the “Trip of a lifetime” and it's been on our bucket list for years, but if we had known before we booked this trip what we know now, we wouldn't have done it. Hopefully the rest of the journey will be uneventful and the remaining ports enjoyable, followed by a smooth return home (one can hope!).

Here are a few photos from Miltenberg.

Tight is right! Thank you and this seems exactly correct. However, we had no clue. None of this is stated in the literature and we expected something more like "Tulips & Windmills" that we did some years ago. Had we known all this, I doubt we would have taken this trip. We are enjoying the places we are seeing, but this waiting around for the ship is very old. This is exactly right. The railings have been down since we entered the Main, and they are only being restored later today. So for nearly half our cruise, the sun deck was not accessible. They don't tell you that in the brochures and literature either. I had read this on cruise critic in the weeks before the cruise, and I can't sit out in the sun anyway, but I know many on board are not pleased with this. Our program director indicated last night that the ship we could have switched with has already traversed the area westbound so right now they are up against it as we would have no option to switch ships. Hope it all works out. I am also of the impression that should a ship switch occur the crew goes with you. Not sure if that applies to the entire crew or just the serving staff or officers?

NOTE: There are references in the following report to the National Socialist Party of Germany but their common name. Cruise Critic may delete that name from the post. Friday, July 8 – Nuremberg, Germany This was a very full day, and quite fulfilling until 6:15. We enjoyed our normal morning routine. We awoke just before our alarm was set, and enjoyed breakfast in the dining room. We were on the WWII tour and departed the ship at 9:00 while the ship remained docked. This tour was very well done. Our guide was a political science major who has now worked with the *** Documentation Center since 2001. Our first stop was the Zeppelin Field. What was striking was the amount of deterioration that has occurred in the stone building. In fact, the columns at each end were in danger of collapse and were taken down in the 1990's. Our guide said that this was not built using typical German engineering but it was done on the 'quick' and using forced labor to both create the stones and build the stands. The Field area is on the preservation list and there is currently a struggle to find how to preserve it while keeping it as original as possible for future generations to learn from the site. Our next stop was the actual *** Documentation Center. The main site is in the midst of a four year expansion as the number of visitors is triple what it was originally designed for, so we had to settle for a temporary exhibition. It was still striking. Our guide did a tremendous job of explaining the factors that allowed the third Reich to come to power and then to take absolute power. Following that we visited the Nuremberg Trials courtroom & museum. It is amazing that several of these fellows escaped sentencing with their lives and then had their sentences reduced later, yet many were hanged, the first war crime criminals in history to face judgment. We returned to the Eistla for a quick lunch and then took the afternoon shuttle back to Nuremberg. We really enjoyed walking around town. We used the Rick Steve's walking tour and took in about ¾ of the tour. We stopped and enjoyed a break in a cafe, visited two department stores just to see, and stopped in a supermarket right on the main market square. The vendors from the main square were all up and down the Konigstrasse as they were readying the square for some kind of musical event, I assume over the weekend. We met at our assigned 5:30 time for the return bus ride. The Eistla had moved and we were to re board in Roth. Well, we arrived, and no Eistla. We were there at 6:15 as expected, and the program director could not reach the ship by phone. They did not arrive until 7:33. There has got to be a better way, a “Plan B” for these types of situations. For what Viking charges for this trip, one should expect a first class experience. Waiting for the ship, now FOUR times in the first week of the trip, and this time for an hour and eighteen minutes just isn't right. It seems like there are many docking spots along the canal, could we have not met the ship earlier? We heard later that they were held up waiting for the ~90' lock, and a small barge arrived just before them. Well, okay, but let the program director know so we can all relax at a pub for an hour before getting on the bus. Something, nearly anything, is better than waiting at a dock where there is absolutely nothing around. So we are back on the ship at 7:33. Our friends were waiting in the dining room and they had placed our order. That didn't seem to help as we still didn't receive our dinner until after 8:15. So, time for another observation. It seems that every day the service level is ticking down at lunch and dinner. Service does seem a bit better in the Aquavit, but the dining room is really getting slow. Everyone sure seems to be working very hard. I don't know if there are servers missing. Tonight my three glasses (water, wine, and cider) were all empty for a long time before I could catch a waiter. Again, for the price Viking charges, I suppose I was expecting a higher level of service, at least as it was the first couple of days. After dinner we went to the lounge for the 9:15 port talk. The hotel manager worked with the program director on this talk. Tonight sometime we reach the Danube. There is a stretch of the Danube just downstream from Regensburg that has no lock, and the river flows quickly. The water level is currently just at the minimum needed to transverse that area. With no rain in the forecast, they need to get through that area. So, the Eistla will drop folks off at Regensburg early in the morning. Those heading to Munich on tour and those who wish to spend the morning (until 2:00) on their own in town. Then we will dock early afternoon for the included tours which will take coaches back to Regensburg. While everyone is off the ship, the Eistla will transverse the fast and narrow part of the river. I would rather have liked to be aboard for that, but will not miss Regensburg to do so. Then we are supposed to rejoin the ship downstream at Deggendorf at 6:15. Well, maybe. Who knows? It is now late and at least we don't need to start tomorrow early as we don't want to be off the ship from 8:30 until (maybe) 6:15.

Thursday, July 7; Cruising the Main & Bamberg Germany No rush out this morning and we followed our normal morning routine until we found our friends having just ordered breakfast in the Aquavit and they invited us to join them. We watched the rain clouds gathering and a few sprinkles occur while we were enjoying breakfast. We returned to our cabins to gather things for later until our cruise director came on the speaker to indicate the start time for the “Canals & Locks” talk was being moved up to 10:45. We immediately went to the lounge and met our friends there. Well, the talk. I was very disappointed. This was a general talk on the history of the development of locks and canals, with a lot of time on the panama canal, but no mention until the last slide of the Main-Danube canal. I spoke with the program manager afterwards and he said he had written information on the Main-Danube and would leave that in our cabin (which he did that evening). After the talk we enjoyed watching the ship dock at a lumber processing yard in Zell am Main where the buses would pick everyone up later. I will admit it smells nice here (the smell of fresh cut wood). We enjoyed lunch on the Aquavit. Shortly before 1:30 everyone departed in coaches for the Bamberg Walking Tour. Bamberg's entire old city is a UNESCO world heritage site (so this makes five UNESCO sites in six days). It rained on and off during our tour and stay in town afterwards, so that may affect my perspective. The buildings are well preserved and our guide explained the baroque appearance of the city versus medieval. Property owners were encouraged by tax abatements by the prince-bishop to modernize their frontages in the 1700's. The abatements went up to 20 years if they modernized three floors of their building. So there are four story buildings with the first three looking baroque and the top floor medieval! We were shown the primary bars for the city's popular 'smoky beer,' and walked up the stairs and hillside to the cathedral. Our guide spent a lot of time telling us the story about the Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg. The cathedral is noted as it holds the tombs of Henry II and his spouse Cunigunde, the cathedral contains the remains of the only imperial couple that was canonized. With the tomb of Pope Clement II (1005–47) it also contains the only papal grave in Germany, and north of the Alps. It also contains the only statue of a horse within a cathedral anywhere in the world according to our guide. During the tour we did not go into the cathedral but we did visit it on our own after the walking tour. We visited the rose garden and it's very nice view over the city. During our few minutes there we had a break of sunshine and then the liquid sunshine came down in droves! The walking tour ended here and we returned to see the inside of the cathedral. Afterwards we walked back down the hill and found a pub for a cup of coffee & tea to sit out the storm. We did not try the smoky beer. We noticed the real sunshine returned so we walked back past the Rathouse (a very unique building in the middle of the river) and towards our bus pick up point. We boarded the bus to return to the Eistla. Once again, the buses were at the boarding site before the Eistla arrived. This site was in an industrial area outside of town with a very narrow sidewalk to stand on. We were told we could wait on the coach, but with the engine turned off it quickly becomes very stagnated air. 40-50 people sitting in a coach with no air circulation is certainly a tremendous recipe for spreading diseases of all types, and there are certainly an increasing number of guests with coughs. The program director said it is the law in Germany that motor coaches need to turn off their engine when not in transit... About 10 minutes later the Eistla was docked and we could all get on board. We headed straight for the Aquavit and took a table to listen to the next day's schedule and wait for dinner. The sun was out but we could see storm clouds ahead of us. We went through a few very tall locks, these had to be at least 80 feet or 25+ meters tall. The plan for Friday in Nuremberg is that the WWII tour and Nuremberg tours will leave at 9:00 AM. The ship will be docked but 20 minutes outside of town. The morning tours return in early afternoon. There is a 2:15 “Art in Nuremberg” tour and also a complementary option to return to the city on your own for the afternoon. The ship will depart at 2:30 and pick up afternoon tour or shuttle guests at Roth. We are taking the WWII tour in the morning and will take in the city in the afternoon on our own using the Rick Steve's tour book, so a very full day tomorrow.

And just a few more!

A few photos of the castles along the Rhine.

Fully understand and agree. We are not currently (on this trip) in Normandy but we have been there on previous trips! Others were commenting on bus times on the Normandy trips.

Current photo from this morning. After 5 incredible weather days we are gray and damp, but some rain is needed. Here we were passing the town of wulflingen.

The US dropped their covid test requirement to enter by air. They still require vax if not a US citizen.

Here are a few photos. The "Dutch tea" on board and photos from Cologne. The sunset photo we were still docked. The photos with the moon were during sail-away.

Wednesday, July 6 – Cruising the Main and Wurzburg Germany We woke on our own right about 7:00. Normal morning routine and we found our new friends in the dining room. Afterwards we went up to the Aquavit terrace to work on photos and post a few on the live thread. The Eistla is docked at Zell am Main to let off two optional excursions and do some housekeeping. I stepped off the ship for a few minutes to take photos as the sun was at just the right angle to do so. The crew were busy removing trash and also a lot of 20 gallon (?) blue containers that may have been holding recyclables? Apparently right behind the trees next to the dock there was some kind of processing facility. Back to the Aquavit to update this log as we left the dock and resumed our very pretty cruising along the Main. By the way, “Main” is pronounced 'Mine.' We greatly enjoyed sitting in the Aquavit and just stayed there until lunch was served. Lunch was very good and the “Fish & Chips” would have satisfied any British friends for sure. The chef was cooking Chicken Breasts on the grill, and everyone seemed quite happy with lunch. The ship docked a little before 1:00 in Wurzburg. We decided to forgo the provided excursion and left the ship, along with a few others, as soon as the gangway was in place. We walked around the “Ring park” to the far side of the Wurzburg Residenz where we entered the East garden. We greatly enjoyed the gardens, the rose gardens, the terraces, and the statues throughout the East & South gardens. From the Residenz we followed Rick Steve's walking tour and passed the Fountain of Franconia before touring the Dom, AKA St. Killian's Cathedral. We also toured the Neumunster Basilica before enjoying the Upper Market Square and the main Market Square. We needed a break and enjoyed some beverages and Apple Strudel at Wirtshaus Lammle just off the square by Marienkapelle church. Leaving there we headed towards the rathaus (City Hall) and ran into the program director just finishing up a Bratwurst sandwich. He walked with us as he said he needed to meet some of the tours there. We could not find the WW2 memorial near the rathaus. We finished our tour at the Old Main Bridge where we partook of the Wurzburg tradition and enjoyed a glass each of Franconian wine from Alte Mainmuble at the base of the bridge. The bridge dates from 1133, and is the second oldest in Germany. On the bridge we found the statue of St. Killian with his golden sword pointing the way to heaven. We returned our glasses for the deposit and walked back to the Eistla, arriving just after 5:00. That gave us time to freshen up before the port talk for the next day and dinner. We wanted to try dinner in the Aquavit but the “Treasure Wine Tasting” was still going on at 7:10, so we proceeded to the dining room. Dinner was very good but service seemed slow this evening and we didn't get out of there until just after 9:00. We enjoyed entertainer Api for a while and called it a night at 9:50. Oh, and tomorrow we leave for our tour to Bamberg at 1:30 but will not be able to return to the ship until 6:15.

Tomorrow's program includes an "Enrichment lecture: Canals & Locks."

Yes, we went inside the mill they have prepared for tourists. Steep narrow stairs to go upstairs a few levels to see the workings. They also have a ground floor 'living quarters' set up. Talk about "Cozy!" What we don't like is being locked in to being away from the ship for "X" amount of time. Today the ship was docked in Wurzburg for the afternoon. We could leave and return when we wanted if we didn't take the provided tour. A fairly good number of folks took this option. We left as soon as we docked, which was an hour before the tour time, and returned an hour earlier than the tour, giving us time to shower and freshen up before dinner. Tomorrow we leave the ship at 1:30 at Zell am Main, and don't return until 6:15 when the ship reaches Bamberg. If we don't like that, then you stay on board & give up the chance to see Bamberg.

Two photos from Kinderdijk:

Thoughts and observations thus far: This river cruise is different that what we expected. In particular, overall the food is better than anticipated. On the other hand, the drop off, take a bus, and meet the ship later by bus, was not anticipated and to be honest, we don't care for it. We spoke with the cruise director last night and basically doing this is the only way that the ship can cover the distance required for the journey, taking into account potential delays at the 68 locks. I thought we kind of knew about river cruises after our 2013 trip, but it turns out we didn't. Entertainment is what we expected. I would like more 'enrichment.' For myself, I am curious about how this waterway came into being and the construction of the 68 locks. When we did a Panama Canal cruise there were many lectures on the canal. Our cabin is very adequate while it is 'tight.' We use the shelf by the window for storage of electronics, guidebooks, etc. But if DW is seated at the counter no one could get by. The safe is very large. We are not using the refrigerator so for us that is wasted space. The bathroom is tight but it works and our stateroom attendant, Chino, keeps it spotless. We just learned this morning that one can get a full breakfast served in the Aquavit. On the next really nice weather day, we will try that. I'd rather have breakfast served than serve myself at the buffet in any case.

Our friend Milton is doing just fine. Enjoy the last few days with your granddaughters! Sorry the town with your name was not quite perfect!

Thank you for your comments. For whatever reason the "Like" button is not working! Eastbound cruises stop in Karlstadt. Westbound ones do not. I believe Karlstadt may be where the glass-blower's shop actually is. He has quite a story and is well worth attending his event.

Testing photo posting. Photos of our cabin, #108 on the Eistla.