Just Back from the Rhine on Uniworld SS Antoinette!

[acwmom]

After a weekend away, the castle appearances continue....

 

First, from the village of Niederheimbach, Burg Heimburg, also called the Altenburg (Alteburg). This one dates back to the 10th century. It fell into ruins, and its stone was used for building materials. What remains of the castle was opened to the public in 1990.

 

 

Next, the Furstenberg castle ruin. There isn't a lot of info about this one, but one of my favorite pictures includes it

 

 

 

Villages, vineyards, windmills, and a castle!

 

 

A hillside park/garden

 

 

St. Martin's Church, in the foreground, with another church on the hill, in Lorch

 

[acwmom]

Stahleck Castle was next. It, and the surrounding town of Bacharach, were quite picturesque. The castle is now a hostel, and apparently, a very hard place to secure a room. Like many of the other castles, it dates back to the 12th century.

 

Near the bottom of the hill, to the right, are the Wernerkapelle Ruins

 

 

A better view of the Church ruins, on the left, the Postenturm on the hillside, and St. Peter's Church, in the middle

 

 

A very similar view, but with the Steeger Tor town gate in the background, behind the church, on the left

 

And, last, the old wall, around the city

 

[acwmom]

A little further down river, were Gutenfels Castle

 

 

 

And, in the same area, Pfalzgrafenstein Castle

 

 

The two castles worked together as toll collecting stations

 

 

[acwmom]

The castles just kept coming. Next, Schoenburg, which is now a hotel. It was destroyed in the late 1600's, restored in the late 1800's, and is currently owned by the town of Oberwesel. At the bottom of the hill, the Liebfrauenkirch (Church of our Lady), which dates back to the 1300's.

 

 

 

Also in Oberwesel was St. Martin's Church. Its bell tower was originally built as a defense tower

 

 

The town also had medieval walls which were largely intact

 

And, this tower and the homes below it match:-)

 

[jpalbny]

Beautiful castle pictures! You had good lighting. Envious. But enjoying the review.

 

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[acwmom]

Beautiful castle pictures! You had good lighting. Envious. But enjoying the review.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks, JP. The weather was like that all week, we were so lucky, since it was the end of March. And, thank goodness for my iPhone, because after a while, all of these castles start to run together. Still, it's a lot of work, trying to ID them all! This is taking way longer than I thought it would.

 

Robin

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks, JP. The weather was like that all week, we were so lucky, since it was the end of March. And, thank goodness for my iPhone, because after a while, all of these castles start to run together. Still, it's a lot of work, trying to ID them all! This is taking way longer than I thought it would.

 

Robin

 

I had the same problem, but they sold a phonebook onboard our ship that had every castle labeled. It still took some head-scratching, but I eventually ID'd them all.

[acwmom]

Apologies for the delay-sometimes work gets in the way......

 

We next approached Lorelei.

 

 

For some reason, I missed the announcement about the statue......But, here she is, at the very edge of the picture, on the left. I was focused more on the beautiful hillside.

 

 

Next up, Burg Katz....sadly, privately owned, and not available for tours.

 

 

 

And, some villages.....because, there's more to the cruise than just castles:-)

 

 

[acwmom]

Next up, Rheinfels Castle. Built in the 1200's, like so many others, as a customs fortress to protect the tax collectors. The exterior walls and castle were blown up in the late 1700's by the French. It is the largest castle in the Rhine valley, according to Wikipedia.

 

It is undergoing extensive renovations this year, but is still open to visitors, and tours are available. The tudor building on the left is the Darmstadt Building

 

 

 

 

 

A little further downstream was Burg Maus. Its construction started in the 1300's, and was built to enforce Trier's Rhine River toll rights. Unlike Burg Katz and Burg Rheinfels, it was never destroyed. It did suffer damage in WWII. Today, it "hosts an aviary that is home to falcons, owls, and eagles."

 

 

 

And, I did listen to the cruise director on this one......this is the Zur Klosterschanke, in the town of St. Goar. It is a church.....attached to a pub!

 

[acwmom]

Our last two castles of the afternoon, before arriving in Boppard, were Burg Liebenstein and Burg Sterrenberg. To say these castles are close neighbors is an understatement. Together, they are known as the "Hostile Brothers," according to the Castle Liebenstein's website. Legend has it that they cheated their blind sister out of her portion of their inheritance, and were cursed with nothing but trouble, and became such enemies that a wall was built between the castles. (At least this was the story on the Castle Liebenstein's website)

 

Liebenstein (on the right) is open as a hotel seasonally, closed from 1/1 through early April.

 

 

 

 

Burg Sternberg currently has a restaurant.

 

 

 

One last view, before we made our way to Boppard

 

[acwmom]

We sailed by Boppard, toward our docking location at the end of town. A short walking tour was included, for those who were interested. We took the time to do a little shopping, instead, as the Repeat Passenger Reception was being held that evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had the river side at this port, this was our view, overnight.

 

[acwmom]

I snapped a picture of the Antoinette before we boarded to get ready for the Return Guest Reception.

 

 

There were 26 repeat passengers on board. Ten showed up for the reception, which was held in the Leopard Lounge. It was kind of sad, as there were more employees there than guests. But, those of us who did attend enjoyed it, and were treated to a little caviar.....my husband gave me his:-)

 

Next up, dinner.

 

 

 

 

[acwmom]

We awoke to cool, crisp air the next morning, and had a few more castles to see, as we cruised from Boppard to Koblenz. There was an included bike ride offered, and all bikes were taken. The bikers arrived in Koblenz within 30 minutes of the ship's arrival.

 

I almost missed the first castle, as I had to go get my jacket (for the first time the entire week). This is Liebeneck Castle, and dates only back to the late 1800's.

 

 

Next up was Marksburg Castle, the castle we would be personally visiting later in the afternoon. First, a view from the bikers (I wasn't one of them) with the Antoinette sailing by.....

 

 

 

A little further downstream was Martinsburg Castle. It was built in the early 14th century, and has remained entirely preserved.The additions were added in the 18th century.

 

 

Just across the river was Burg Lahneck. It was constructed in the early 13th century at the mouth of the Lahn River. The website states that the last 12 Knights Templars were killed in battle here. It is open for tours. (apologies for the picture, the sun was behind the castle)

 

 

[Ritabob]

6 weeks ago on the River Ambassador, more than half of the passengers were River Heritage Club Members! I guess it depends on the itinerary? The ship ?

Ah, well, more caviar for you....we didn't get any.

 

RB

[acwmom]

Our last castle, before arriving in Koblenz, was Stolzenfels Castle. It was destroyed, as many other castles were. In the early 1800's, the ruins were "gifted" the the crown prince of Prussia,rebuilt it.

 

 

 

Soon, Ehrenbreitstein Fortress was in front of us. Unfortunately, due to our timing (late March) this tour was not available on our sailing.

 

 

The cable cars weren't yet officially open yet, though they were going through a practice run, while we were there

 

 

 

And, on the other side of the ship, the German Corner, and Emperor William I

 

[JerryInIL]

Sorry to repeat if this was already discussed, but our TA told us the ship has a self service laundry. True? Easy to do?

[acwmom]

True, and easy to do. I thought I took s picture, but if I did, it wasn't with my phone. I'll check tomorrow. I believe there were 3 w/d sets, as well as a sink and iron/ironing board.

 

 

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[mauimary]

Thank you for sharing this river cruise with us. Your photographs are beautiful. We can't wait to experience a similar cruise in Sept.

 

After reading through all of these river cruise blogs I'm afraid this is about to become an expensive hobby! After many years of ocean cruising we are so ready for a smaller more personal experience with great food and wonderful scenery and excursions. We have no doubts we will fall in love with river cruising!

Mary[emoji41]

 

 

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[acwmom]

Thank you for sharing this river cruise with us. Your photographs are beautiful. We can't wait to experience a similar cruise in Sept.

 

After reading through all of these river cruise blogs I'm afraid this is about to become an expensive hobby! After many years of ocean cruising we are so ready for a smaller more personal experience with great food and wonderful scenery and excursions. We have no doubts we will fall in love with river cruising!

Mary[emoji41]

 

 

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My pleasure, Mary. We loved this itinerary, and we loved the SS Antoinette. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Tauck, and I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip. We decided we won't do any large ocean cruises again. We are booked on Viking Ocean'a Italian Sojourn next spring, and that's probably about as big as we will go.

 

Moving on......by day 6-Koblenz, we were kind of walking tour "overloaded." As I mentioned above, we were too early in the year to take the tram up to the fortress, so our only morning option was a walking tour. We started on the tour, and stopped at a few of the stops, but when 2 other groups had gone into the church, and back out, and our guide was still continuing to talk (instead of taking "our turn" going inside) we left the tour, and walked around town on our own.

 

Of course, we had to have a picture of her:

 

 

And, this:

 

 

Sections of the Berlin wall:

 

 

A view from the back of the German corner:

 

 

And, a close-up of its construction:

 

 

Finally, what remains of the "original" German corner:

 

[acwmom]

A few more city sights:

 

 

 

 

 

And, the Moselle River

 

[jklc123]

We enjoyed just strolling around Koblenz. It was one of my favorite days on the Rhine cruise. I loved reliving it through your photos!

[jpalbny]

Konlenz sure is pretty in the spring time! Enjoying the pictures so much, I'm having almost as much fun on your trip as you did!

 

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[acwmom]

We enjoyed just strolling around Koblenz. It was one of my favorite days on the Rhine cruise. I loved reliving it through your photos!

 

Thanks! And I really enjoyed your review of your Egypt cruise. It's definitely in our future:-)

 

Robin

[acwmom]

Konlenz sure is pretty in the spring time! Enjoying the pictures so much, I'm having almost as much fun on your trip as you did!

 

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Sadly, the review is almost over. Trying now to plan the next river cruise:-)

 

Robin

[mskaufman]

Please keep those pictures coming. I am using them to plan where to get the good shots on my upcoming cruise!