Local pubs and restaurants on the Rhine cruise

[Host Jazzbeau]

You should try a Radler, it's described as a beer/lemonade or sprite-type mix -- that probably sounds worse than it is. One of the ladies we met on our first cruise didn't care for beer, but enjoyed the radlers. One of our tour guides recommended them.

 

In other parts of the world it's known by different names. In France they called it a Monaco. In the US, it's a Shandy.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Host Jazzbeau

[CPT Trips]

Exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks. Hubby wants to eat genuine pretzels, and brats in Germany.:) I really don't care for beer. What should I order?

 

Ein Weiss Wein.

[4774Papa]

We lived in Germany for four years. We did a day cruise from Rudesheim that was nice.

 

The Rhine valley is a bit more focused on wine that beer. That doesn't mean beer is not consumed there, it clearly is.

The basic choice in beer is export (standard) or pils (served in a special beer glass with lots of foam).

 

I suggest going for wine fests or wine while on the Rhine, while on the Danube, beer is the king. The best beer in Germany comes from Bavaria (around Munich).

[Apple_Valley_Greg]

I know most cruises don't stop in Dusseldorf, but if you're in Cologne for the day, first - see the Dom - and then hop on a train for a half-hour or so trip to Dusseldorf (Heinrich-Heine-Allee station) and hang out in the Altstadt - billed as "the longest bar in Europe/the world". Zum Schlüssel, Uerige, Im Füchschen, Brauerei Schumacher - all have their own version of freshly-brewed Altbier, and nice outdoor drinking/dining areas, and are surrounded by dozens of restaurants and food stands.

 

If you're into beer, or pork - try a Schweinehaxe (roasted pork hock) - you can do a lot worse than Altstadt Dusseldorf. I worked a few weeks in Dusseldorf several years ago, and spent a lot of evenings/weekends in the Altstadt.

[Got2Cruise]

We lived in Germany for four years. We did a day cruise from Rudesheim that was nice.

 

The Rhine valley is a bit more focused on wine that beer. That doesn't mean beer is not consumed there, it clearly is.

The basic choice in beer is export (standard) or pils (served in a special beer glass with lots of foam).

 

I suggest going for wine fests or wine while on the Rhine, while on the Danube, beer is the king. The best beer in Germany comes from Bavaria (around Munich).

 

Good to know. My Grandparents were from Southwest Germany near Stuttgart and I know that beer was important, pretzels we never had. lol

[CPT Trips]

We lived in Germany for four years. We did a day cruise from Rudesheim that was nice.

 

The Rhine valley is a bit more focused on wine that beer. That doesn't mean beer is not consumed there, it clearly is.

The basic choice in beer is export (standard) or pils (served in a special beer glass with lots of foam).

 

I suggest going for wine fests or wine while on the Rhine, while on the Danube, beer is the king. The best beer in Germany comes from Bavaria (around Munich).

 

You'll get a lot of non-Bavarians disagreeing with you on that, especially those who visit the Cannstatter Volksfest :p

[Got2Cruise]

I'm ready to print out this thread for our Romantic Rhine cruise in less than 17 days!:D

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Plus perhaps others haven't seen this thread, it is too valuable to get lost.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'm ready to print out this thread for our Romantic Rhine cruise in less than 17 days!:D

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Plus perhaps others haven't seen this thread, it is too valuable to get lost.

 

I was raised on Long Island, so I know what the best pizza is. That said, you must try the Alsatian Tarte Flambée (Flammkuchen in German). It's like pizza dough with onions and Swiss cheese (and optionally meat or other toppings). It looks like a pizza, but tastes completely different. Rick Steves recommends a restaurant in Strasbourg (Brasserie la Lanterne) which had the nerve to be closed for lunch when we were there, so we ended up at a tourist trap -- and still had a wonderful lunch of Tarte Flambée and the local beer.

[Bet & Peg]

Last December we found Flammkuchen on many menus along the Rhine. And in 2008 it was one of the best meals - lunch - I had in Germany, Regensburg. There it was made with fresh peppers - and it was fabulous!! To me the dough seemed a bit lighter than pizza but much the same - more like thin crust pizza. And you're fortunate - you'll be there during the summer when produce will be really fresh!!

 

Have a fantastic cruise - and don't miss those castles on the Rhine!!!

[Got2Cruise]

Thanks all for your recommendations! I know it will be fantastic. I'm watching all the World Cup matches to get in the mood :-)

[Orlandocruiser]

If you are in Bamberg you have got to try their specialty Rausch Bier. ( smoke beer). It has a smokey taste reminiscent of bacon. ( It tastes better than it sounds.). We got ours at Braueri Heller.

[notamermaid]

Hello FotoPeg,

 

I do not know any specific restaurants, but also recommend trying a tarte flambée, Flammkoche in Alsatian dialect if I remember correctly.

 

Hello Orlandocruiser,

 

I have never tasted this beer, sounds very unsual. Allow me to point out please, that the correct spelling is Rauch beer (Rauchbier). It is that sound coming deep from the throat (that frog ;)). A Rausch is the German word for the effect of something narcotic, exhilarating or lots of beer. Well, also narcotic, come to think of it! Anyway, must remember to try it when I get to Bamberg sometime.

 

notamermaid

[Bet & Peg]

notamermaid ~ SO good to hear from you again! Just got home from a road trip to Ireland and missed chatting about it beforehand on CC! However I did check out a few thinks on the port forums!!

 

Flammkuchen/Flammkoche I take it are served all over the Rhine River area. We didn't go to any special restaurants but had a great one at Le Gruber in Strasbourg, France. Also in a small place in Basel near the Cathedral & Christmas Market, I think it was called Bistro de Museum. In Rothenberg it was in the garden of a small café. All had differed toppings but still delicious!!

 

DH says the beer sounds good - he's never had it so another reason to return to Germany!!

[Hoyaheel]

My FIL loves the rauchbier - he brought home a few bottles from a river cruise a few years ago and my husband (an avid homebrewer) has brewed rauchbier a couple of times. I am not a fan;) But it's certainly something interesting to try! I travel to enjoy new foods & drinks so I'll try anything once!

 

(if you have a good bottle shop/craft beer store nearby, there's an export available in the US)

Edited June 22, 2014 by Hoyaheel

[sengsational]

My FIL loves the rauchbier - he brought home a few bottles from a river cruise a few years ago and my husband (an avid homebrewer) has brewed rauchbier a couple of times. I am not a fan;) But it's certainly something interesting to try! I travel to enjoy new foods & drinks so I'll try anything once!

 

(if you have a good bottle shop/craft beer store nearby, there's an export available in the US)

Hoyaheel, Having professional beer appreciation and is a tarheel gives us something in common. Your experience as a European river cruiser sets us apart, so I wondered if you would say the Rhine be a good place to start, or would Elbe or Moselle be more "interesting", from a beer perspective. I'm looking for unique, out of the way pub and/or brewery experiences. I'm not going to go off-season just to have them line-up beer specific tours, though. Going pubbing or beer shopping, finding what my sister calls "weird beers" and bringing them back aboard is something that sounds cool to me. I also need help finding a river cruise line that's got no corkage fee and a fridge, but that's another thread! BTW, rauchbiers are great if you like drinking a campfire, hehe!

[CPT Trips]

Hoyaheel, Having professional beer appreciation and is a tarheel gives us something in common. Your experience as a European river cruiser sets us apart, so I wondered if you would say the Rhine be a good place to start, or would Elbe or Moselle be more "interesting", from a beer perspective. I'm looking for unique, out of the way pub and/or brewery experiences. I'm not going to go off-season just to have them line-up beer specific tours, though. Going pubbing or beer shopping, finding what my sister calls "weird beers" and bringing them back aboard is something that sounds cool to me. I also need help finding a river cruise line that's got no corkage fee and a fridge, but that's another thread! BTW, rauchbiers are great if you like drinking a campfire, hehe!

 

We did a great Rhein & Mosel cruise that started in Antwerp . . .

 

Landed in Brussels, on the ship noonish, ate lunch and were sampling in local bars by 2, dinner on the ship, an after dinner sample in town. Next day, a walking tour then lunch of frites, moules and beer, walk to and tour the Red Star Line Museum, a couple beer stops on the walk back to the ship to sail away just before dinner.

Typical good German beers for the next ten days except for the time on the Mosel. Wine seemed must do there.

Strasbourg for an overnight also provided interesting beer sampling opportunity for two days.

 

Never have the same beer twice . . . a gallon Baggie of ice and a trash can make for a good beer cooler.

[Hoyaheel]

Avalon has fridges and that was a top reason we chose them. I have a review of our Christmas Market cruise somewhere. We did Nuremberg to Basel, so the canal, the Main, and a bit of the Rhine - but not the romantic castles section. Lots of German beer - my husband was in heaven!! His Untappd account got a lot of new input :-)

[ganski]

We were on the Viking Tor and cruised from Basel to Amsterdam in December. We went to the Fruh brewhaus in Cologne and found it a great spot. They served Kolsch beer in the traditional .2 liter glass which is tall and narrow. The food was really good, the menu was in German and English and they had a wide variety of traditional pub food. We ordered the sampler platter which had a variety of meats, cheeses and breads. This was right near the cathedral and a short walk to where the boat was docked.

[sengsational]

Thanks, all, for the ideas. I'm building up my knowledge with your help.

 

Avalon has fridges and that was a top reason we chose them.

That raises them a notch in my selection process! I'm so used to ocean cruises locking you into buying their (typically crappy) beer, being able to bring or buy your own, that sounds great.

 

I have a review of our Christmas Market cruise somewhere.

Yeah, I read that yesterday. I've got a side-doc with snips from that.

[Hoyaheel]

Avalon also had a couple of local beers on tap you could get included with dinner (instead of the wine) and all drinks were half price in the bar/lounge during happy hour.

 

I think other lines also have beer on tap but I don't have specifics. We had many many tastings, sharing with options others had found in town.

[ganski]

In Heidelberg there is a local brewery named Vetter. it is about a 2 minute walk from the bus stop that brings you back to the ship, they serve food and make beer there too. You can purchase liter bottles or mini 5 liter kegs. I purchased a mini keg for 10 euros and brought it back to the ship. Viking has small refrigerators in each room and it fit perfectly, I brought the mini keg up to the upper deck and shared it with other beer drinkers while we cruised up the Rhine.

 

 

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[jpalbny]

In Heidelberg there is a local brewery named Vetter. it is about a 2 minute walk from the bus stop that brings you back to the ship, they serve food and make beer there too. You can purchase liter bottles or mini 5 liter kegs. I purchased a mini keg for 10 euros and brought it back to the ship. Viking has small refrigerators in each room and it fit perfectly, I brought the mini keg up to the upper deck and shared it with other beer drinkers while we cruised up the Rhine.

 

 

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Yes! We had a pretzel and beer there for a snack. Why didn't I think of doing what you did...

 

 

Looks familiar? Thanks for the pleasant memory.