We left the Kara at 10am after docking in Basel, Switzerland. We planned two days in Switzerland, the first of them here.
It was only a hop, skip and a jump from our boat to the Hotel Basel.
Colmar and Breisach, November 10, 2018
Colmar is a small, Medieval Alsatian village about 20 miles from the Rhine and the German town of Breisach, where we docked. Our tour guide, Kim, was very interesting and knowledgable and walked us through the lanes and squares of Colmar. The city is charming and in each direction one finds a mix of colorful French and German Renaissance homes and buildings.
Heidelberg, November 8, 2018
Heidelberg, which is built along the banks of the Neckar River, was our destination today. It took us almost two hours in a bus to get there from Strasbourg. The weather was glorious when we arrived; sunny and cool. Heidelberg is a city of students and tourists. The University of Heidelberg occupies the old part of town and is the single largest industry in the city. Tourism is second in its economic prosperity.
Here are a couple of shots taken at Universitatsplatz. In the background of some you can see the spire of the Jesuit Church.
Viking River Boats, Hlin and Kara, and swapping on the Rhine
Viking River boats are very attractive and comfortable. I spent about an hour or two taking photos of the Hlin and Kara. I researched the Norse valkyrie Kara and discovered that the name Kara means “the wild stormy one.” What follows is the result of my photographic efforts. I will caption the photos. A trip on either of these boats, or any other in the Viking fleet, is a delight.
Painting of Norse valkyrie Kara
Marksburg Castle and cruising in the heart of the Rhine River Valley, November 7, 2018
Our first stop today was in Braubach.
The morning view of the Rhine, with mist laying low above the water and the valley, was lovely and intriguing.
Cologne, November 6, 2018
Each day is a new adventure and with luck we have many new adventures in our future. Today’s adventure finds us in Cologne, Germany.
Kinderdijk, land of Windmills, November 5, 2018
We docked in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands, this morning. The day is chilly and somewhat overcast. We are taking a two hour walking tour of the windmills of Kinderdijk.
Amsterdam and the Viking Hlin, November 4, 2018
We were up early for our last day in Amsterdam. Today we are going to board the Viking Hlin. We were originally scheduled to sail on the Viking Kara but due to low water levels in the Rhine River the Kara can’t make it all the way to Amsterdam. We are going to do what is known as a “ship swap” which means we will change ships somewhere in the middle of our trip at which time we will join the Kara. Here is a photo of the Viking Hlin.
We decided to take a canal cruise today. So following breakfast and after checking out of the Banks Mansion, we made our way to our meeting place for the cruise. The boat was packed with people, all gawking through the glass windows and roof at the sites as we passed by.
