Hurry up before the river dries up - Cologne

Apparently the Rhein River is at its lowest level of water since 2007, which means our itinerary is changing drastically. Each day the ship's captain races the ship further up river in search of deeper waters. What that means is that we then get bussed to our modified destinations which has not been fun. Adding to it all are the high temperatures now in the high 90's. Oh well, one must stay flexible. We are still having fun seeing the sites, meeting new people and eating very well. 

In the afternoon at the highest temperatures of the day we hiked up to the Marksburg Castle in Braubach. Beautiful setting and interesting history.  It wasn’t as grueling as I thought it would be but some people struggled with the heat and incline.

Fortunately the ship picked us up close by and now we are on our way to Mainz, my old stomping grounds. The evening was perfect as we sailed up the Rhein admiring castle after castle while sipping a fine riesling.

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Viking cruise on the Rhein

I have never been on a river cruise and so far love it. Imagine the world just floating by while lounging on a sun deck or eating a five star meal accompanied by a fine German riesling. I could do this more often. I couldn't sleep the first night because I kept having to look out our room-sized window as we floated under bridges or next to large barges or ships. Even the sound was new and exciting. Finally Janice and I just gave up, turned the A/C on and closed the drapes to get some sleep.

Due to low river water levels the ship and schedule has changed a couple times already. Instead of taking the ship to Kinderdijk, we had to bus there throwing the whole day off. Guess that is life on a river with global warming.

The bikes and canals of Amsterdam

Day 1 to the start of our Viking River Cruise adventure. But first a couple days in Amsterdam. Love this city of cafes, canals and museums. Although we had no sleep we still managed to have a full day at the Van Gough Museum and a nice tapas dinner after an aperol spritz on the canal. Friends make it complete.