Rhine - Beyond the Standard Ports

[notamermaid]

Beyond the standard ports... part 15

 

Xanten is a town on the Niederrhein, the lower Rhine valley which starts at Bonn officially, although the region Niederrhein is usually seen as being from around Düsseldorf and Krefeld, excluding Bonn and Cologne. As it is in the plains leading to the Netherlands the town has a different appeal to the Upper and Middle Rhine valleys.

 

Xanten is known for being the birthplace of the legendary Siegfried in the Nibelungen epic tale. Next to modern day Xanten is the old Roman town, which has been excavated and can be visited in an archaeological park. But there is also a unique feature in the landscape which has been dubbed the South Sea and the North Sea. Südsee and Nordsee are two lakes - "See" is the German word for lake but is also used for the Sea. A fun twist and a very successful endeavour of creating a recreation area around bodies of water.

 

First, here is the info about the Roman heritage: https://www.dw.com/en/follow-in-roman-gladiators-footsteps-at-germanys-xanten-park/a-19426443

 

The Siegfriedmuseum (German website online): https://www.siegfriedmuseum-xanten.de/

 

Photos of the Lakes: https://www.xanten.de/de/tix/nord-und-suedsee/

 

Who stops in Xanten? Unfortunately, I could not find many. For this year I can find CroisiEurope with the Douce France on dates from August till October. The German company 1AVista Reisen offers a festive cruise and "bring your dog" river cruises in Autumn. German bike and barge cruises, including on the MS Olympia, with also a Dutch company in the barge itineraries offers, stop in Xanten.

 

For 2021, according to a tourism assistant in Xanten, there are no more planned stops for Scenic. For next year they appear to be back.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Beyond the standard ports... part 16

 

In the Upper Middle Rhine Valley at kilometre 550 lies the town of Oberwesel. This place is known for its medieval towers and the vineyards, but also has a castle on the top of the hill (anybody surprised ). The town retains much of its old town walls, with the railway line passing two of the towers really close: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberwesel#/media/Datei:Ochsenturm_in_Oberwesel_von_Süden._Im_Vordergrund_der_Katzenturm.jpg

 

The Ochsenturm is the landmark here: https://www.romantischer-rhein.de/en/a-ochsenturm

 

Overlooking the town and the river is  the Schönburg (castle): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schönburg_(Rhine)

 

Needless to say this town is popular with regional tourists; seeing that the castle is now a hotel this adds to the attraction of the place. Here is the view from the hill on the webcam: https://www.feratel.com/en/webcams/germany/schoenburg-oberwesel.html

 

A small town packed with old walls and history and - if you feel like exploring the hill and castle - you get to admire a view that inspired the early Romantic painters. William Turner was here on his famous trip in 1817.

 

The town has a landing stage that allows 135m river cruise ships to dock.

 

Who stops there? German river cruise lines like DCS, NickoCruises and A-Rosa, but also Amadeus Flusskreuzfahrten on a couple of dates. CroisiEurope goes there on a festive cruise. Uniworld also has Oberwesel as part of one itinerary. New on the market are TUI who have chosen Oberwesel as a fully established port stop on their itineraries both this year and next, starting in Frankfurt and sailing the Rhine and sometimes the Moselle.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

Beyond the standard ports... part 17

 

We travel a little upstream from Oberwesel, out of the Rhine Gorge to where the valley widens and turns into the sunny region called the Rheingau: https://www.rheingau.com/en/

Yes, this is great wine country and past Rüdesheim, also on the right bank, we find Eltville. We could say that this town is Rüdesheim's quiet sister, but it is more than that. And has something that the more famous river cruise stop does not have: roses in abundance! You can read about it here: https://www.eltville.de/tourismus/information-in-english/highlights-and-sightseeing/

 

The good thing about the close proximity to Rüdesheim is that if you want to get away from it you can take the train and be in Eltville in 17 minutes.

 

Let us assume you want to see this small town on a river cruise. In the past few years companies have offered excursions for wine tasting. Eberbach monastery is famous for wine and also has a hotel: https://kloster-eberbach.de/de

 

Who stops there in Eltville? This year Avalon Waterways has an overnight stop on the Active & Discovery Remich to Frankfurt itinerary. They use the Avalon Imagery which is 110m long. I am not certain but assume that ships use the KD dock which is only designed for ships up to 110m: https://www.riverdocking.com/de/anleger/eltville/

I cannot see a larger possibility for docking on the map.

Right there at the dock at kilometer 511 in the old storage building and waiting hall for passengers is a small restaurant called, well, anleger511: https://www.anleger511.de/ahoi

Other companies that dock there are GTA Touristik with the MS Klimt, nicko cruises, 1AVista Reisen and Plantours. I cannot see find any international cruise lines apart from Avalon Waterways.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by notamermaid

[notamermaid]

An update to part 4 - Wiesbaden-Biebrich

 

In post #26 I have already added some new developments in that year at the port of Wiesbaden. The German company Viva Cruises offers an itinerary that stops in Wiesbaden and in the last two years that operator has increasingly marketed to the English-speaking world, so here is that itinerary: https://www.viva-*****/en/cruisedetail?id=352&adults=2

Düsseldorf to Regensburg is an interesting combination of Rhine and Main I find, with the Canal and a tiny bit of the Danube as well.

 

But I should move on to other ports in the Middle Rhine valley that are not so frequented - and on the Lower Rhine I have only done Xanten.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Update to part #14 Nierstein

 

This is an unusual update and a topic I have not mentioned here before. Alternative ports due to rerouting itineraries or changing itineraries during low water or flooding. One such port that became temporarily more used due to the flooding at the end of 2023 is Nierstein. Advent 2023 along the rivers Rhine and Danube was marked by flooding, companies had to activate plans B and C to keep the itineraries running. With some landing stages partially submerged docks became inaccessible and minor ports gained attraction for logistical reasons. We have the mention of Nierstein here, post #105: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2968897-christmas-markets-river-cruises-2023-infos-and-tips/page/5/#comments

 

And on the same page, CC's own Adam Coulter experienced the alternative port of Andernach due to flooding. That one is part 8 of this series.

 

As regards regular dockings, Nierstein is seeing almost the same itineraries as in past years. And Arosa is again coming just for one gourmet river cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

update to part 3 - Karlsruhe

 

On 3/12/2017 at 6:13 PM, notamermaid said:

With older towns in the vicinity Karlsruhe does not attract the large crowds. Very few river cruises stop there, German ships only, from what I could see.

 

Still, for a different view of Germany, and as a balance to all that cathedral and castle viewing, Karlsruhe deserves mentioning in my opinion.

 

A few more river cruise ships, also internationally, have found their way to Karlsruhe since then but one big name was unlikely to include the city. Now they are doing so. Viking is stopping in Karlsruhe! This is the new itinerary called "Rhine and Main Explorer" sailing in 2025: https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/rhine-and-main-explorer/2024-nuremberg-antwerp-basel/index.html

 

If you are looking for something different from the standard Rhine cruise this is a good one to consider. They also have a short stop in Worms (see part #2) on an excursion. And no Rhine Gorge low water issues on this route.

 

Here is to variety in itineraries! Well done in my opinion. 👏

 

notamermaid