Day 27 Brisbane

Well that's it all over with plenty of wonderful sights, plenty of cobbles, narrow streets, the wonder of it all, how did they build  it, without all of our modern tools, the Cathedrals, the Castles, and the history of it all...thanks for being part of our journey...

Day 26 Singapore

Arrived after a long 12hr haul, waiting for the next one and saying goodbyes to Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth folk.....

Photo

Day 25 Amsterdam

Up early and off to the airport where we are now waiting for our flight, coffee in hand, and because Rome never stamped our passports there was a slight delay while that was fixed and we could leave the EU...it's teaming with rain here the first decent amount since we left home....the Italian group as we have named ourselves are all getting together again..while we wait, some have gone to continue their travels in UK, Paris and all over...

Day 24 Amsterdam

Today we continued our cruise to Amsterdam, travelling through the last of the locks to get into the main canal, and then docking for the final time on this tour ...after lunch we departed for our city tour of Amsterdam, hearing about all the different aspects of this land...interesting to hear that some of the heritage houses are slowly sinking because the  timber foundations are giving away, at least we know it has taken many hundreds of years...following the bus tour we then visited the floating flower markets...yes even cannabis seeds for sale here..though illegal a blind eye is turned over all this ... One wonders why!!!Tonight our Italian group managed to get dinner together which was great then a photo opportunity on the stairs and time to say farewell as we will be on our way early in the morning...

      View from the canal before docking 

    Windmill from the ship

There were 3 children in the box, quite normal here, easiest way to get around

Day 23 Koblenz -Cologne, Germany

This morning it was up early and onto the coaches for a guided tour to Marksburg Castle...some steps to climb here but the sight and history were well worth the effort, so that's why we put the kilo's on so we could exercise them off!!!!! Some stayed on board and enjoyed the scenery of the Rhine as we cruised to Andernach, where we awaited the guided tour group to rejoin the ship....off again and onto Cologne passing many folk enjoying their Saturday either camping, caravaning, motor homes every where, or just fishing, and picnicking...we passed the remnants of the Remagen Bridge and the Dragon's  castle...arriving in Cologne....it was off again on yet another guided tour of yet another Cathedral, however they are all beautiful and well worth the visit, there was also a visit to the beer place and the vouchers were well used...temperature,well, after the mist lifted it was in the high 20's low 30's, so we rolled back on board to get ready for the Captains Cocktails and Farewell Dinner...another wonderful holiday sadly drawing to a close...have we won lotto yet?????

Remagen Brudge Remnants

Andernach

Look out we are coming through..shipping on the Rhine

Housing at Cologne over the Rhine....yes that's the way they are built...Cathedral at Cologne

Day 22 Rudesheim - Rhine Valley - Koblenz

Today was castle day, where we sailed the last kilometres of the Main River and entered the Rhine..We visited Rudesheim  which is famous for Siegfried's Musical Cabinet viewing and hearing a stunning collection of mechanical instruments and organs, there are very few folk left to keep this tradition going, where do you find someone who can put all those needles and dots on paper to put onto the keyboards to play music as it was played in the late 1800's and the early 1900's..those early instruments make the mind boggle..another World Heritage City..it was nice to be able to wander  the cobble stones and see for ourselves, back on board we sampled  the Rudesheim  Coffee..Asbach brandy is a specialty..a sip of this brandy is poured into a special mug and set on fire - then doused with coffee and topped by whipped cream and chocolate flakes....if you are ever here do not miss it!!!

Off we sailed, (no on the ship,) to take in the castles and the majesty of the Rhine Gorge, no other river in the world has a greater concentration of castles or castle ruins than the Rhine has between Bingen and Koblenz...Docking in Koblenz it was dinner and then a guided walk around town Koblenz  is where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers merge..

       Landing at Frankfurt Airport

    Siegfried's Musical Museum, Rudesheim 

   Rudesheim 

     Rhine Gorge..........sunset at Koblenz

Day 21 Miltenberg

Dancing in the lounge tonight after a restful day..nice evening...beautiful sunset on the river

Day 21

A quietish day cruising the Main River, it's name meaning 'the snake', seeing many small villages and motor homes parked in small spots, looked like free camping is alive and well thank goodness....did I tell you that the speed on the autobahn is open but busses restricted to 100kph trucks to 80kmh, our guide said she had done 210kmh in her husbands car!!! Road toll is jus ya out nilch on the autobahn but high in the towns/cities where there are speed restrictions...interesting...docking in Miltenberg we spent a couple of hours with a local family,for afternoon tea, it was lovely, daughter studies English at school, and mum has been to Australia...back on board and tonight we cruise still in the Main River until we arrive late morning at Rudesheim......not looking forward to re-packing ....10 more locks to go before we reach The Rhine...not sure what the figures all aroundMiltenburg represented we forgot to ask!!!  The veg gardens are well kept and loved the style of the garden shed!! Early morning cruising on Main River

Day 20 Wurzburg

Arriving at Wurzburg we set off to visit the Wurzburg Residenze, this was the resident of the former Prince Bishops, it has been declared a World Heritage Site...the interior of this Baroque Bisschops Palace dates back to 1753.... Very impressive and the gardens the same..the Palace was damaged during the war and has been restored....after returning to the ship for lunch we then bussed to Rothenburg...another picturesque village and one of the most famous in Germany, it is surrounded by its city wall but full of character and charm, it also has the famous Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas Store..another day finishes as we again cruise the night away down the Mine on the way to the Rhine...

Arriving at Wurzburg 6am

The Beach on the river at Wurzburg

The Baroque Bisschops Palace

Rothenburg.....City Wall

Day 19 Nuremberg - Bamberg & cruising

Had a talk today about the Main-Danube-Rhine canal hard to believe it is only 4metres deep...the ship below the water line is 1.3m...lots of other technicalities as well...today after docking we went on a guided tour of Bamburg, it is a quaint gem of a city with murals on the walls and we spent most of our time in the older part of the city visiting The Cathedral, the New Residence with its rose garden, the old Court, Old Town Hall in the middle of the river, and a medieval row of houses by the river called Little Venice...Bamberg is endowed with one of Europes largest fully intact old town centres. Based on early medieval foundations the city is World Heritage Listed. After the walk some free time then black to the ship where we sailed almost immediately out of the canal and into Main River.. Not on the Rhine just yet...plenty of locks but the drop is getting smaller as we head to the Rhine..

Bamberg

Monastery..closed because of a fire..has to have UNESCO approval to repair

Elephant towel.......Rose Garden at Town Hall

Day 18 Regensburg - Nuremberg

By 8.00am we had passed the  Continental Divide, the highest point of our cruise...3 locks of 24.70m in height, were travassed and three times so far the canal has gone over the road, this stretch the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal is an interesting engineering masterpiece.the water being pumped into holding tanks on the side of the canal...this afternoon we were bussed into see the city of Nuremberg..what an interesting place, so much history, both good and bad...back on the ship for dinner and leaving port tonight's entertainment is a Bavarian Party with Zwaa Stiezi and lots of hum-pa-Paz music..

Into the lock

View from the lock

Inside the lock

Water filling the holding tank

Over the road..........and Nuremberg

Day 17 Passau - Regensburg

Leaving Passau we cruised to Regensburg, passing many locks and low bridges on the way, we are unable at the moment to use the sun deck as the bridges are too low. Just before lunch we passed the Walhalia a Greek Temple built by King Ludwig 1as Hall and Fame..arriving at Regensburg we left to have the usual guided tour but this time there was a sausage tasting..Regensburg is in the state of Bavaria, and located in the southeast of Germany.it is a preserved medieval city on the banks of the Danube, and we are told its charm lies in its many narrow alleys, quaint squares, and all the cobbles, all the streets etc are cobbles..we are getting used to walking on these now...Today 34deg ...everyone who was not at the medieval festival or the markets were outside at the resturants eating etc...we had the sausage tasting not sure how to describe the taste on that one...Regensburg has the oldest bratwurst (sausage) kitchen in Germany, and was spared destruction in WW11.... It was also home to Oskar Schindler, remember Schindlers list the film...Pope Benedict XVl was born here, and his brother is a Priest here.. the BMW factory and the University are the largest employers...Tonight we sail the Main Danube Canel crossing the  Continental Divide in the morning..tonight a great evening of 60's-70's-80's. 

Sausage tasting 

Narrow streets & alleys

Drug shop

Cathedral of St Peter

Walhalia..Greek Temple .......sun deck nearly all folded down ready for low bridges