Hannah's Amadeus Blog

Hannah’s Blog Classical Rhine Cruise Aboard Amadeus Silver III

Classical Rhine Cruise Aboard Amadeus Silver III Day 1

home. We were taken to the monuments, shown

After an interesting start which required me

some interesting ‘modern’ art and informed of the

remembering my GSCE German to meet the ship,

lifestyle locals enjoy. Koblenz has a big attraction

we arrived in the beautiful port of Rudesheim, on

for wine and tourism with it being around the half-

a stunning sunny Thursday afternoon. We were

way point along the Rhine. We stepped foot into

joining the ship half way through the Classical Rhine

the colourful flower gardens which were situated

cruise, where Amadeus Silver III would be home

next to the Basilica St. Kastor, which has a heavily

for the next 4 nights. Straight to lunch in what can

Romanic influence with a Gothic ceiling. Recently

be described as a very spacious dining room with

the Basilica has had a new organ installed, a

plenty to choose from. Having been awake since

gentleman was playing away to test it out which

the early hours to catch our flight to Frankfurt, we

added to the ambience of our short visit.

tucked straight into the salad buffet, followed by

In 1944, 87% of Koblenz was destroyed. Today it is

the beef roulade. I could certainly get used to this

home to 113,000 inhabitants who enjoy life in this

standard of food and hands-down beats the normal

quaint city. The city really does come alive in the

sandwich I have at my desk!

second weekend in August for the annual Rhine in Flames celebrations with over 250,000 people descending in the area to witness to spectacular firework display.

Oktoberfest was in full swing at the time of our visit and interestingly we discovered the reason for this annual event. It allows the consumption of last year’s beer to be consumed before starting on this year’s harvest.

Sailing the Rhine I envisage castles nestled in the hills with picture-perfect moments along the way, surrounded by endless vineyards along the rolling hills. The only place to be this afternoon was on the sundeck, watching the scenery as you sail past. For a late September departure we were so fortunate with the weather and I had wished I had packed my suntan lotion.

Our port of call later afternoon was Koblenz,

Back on board for our first night and a delicious

where we were met by our tour guide, a very

a la carte menu to work our way through, many

comical local man named Heinz-Gerd. His tour

of us opting for the roasted duck breast for our

highlighted the interesting facts of the town he calls

main course. You can have up to a 5-course dinner

accompanied by wine, beer and soft drinks. Those

As Cochem is situated on the Moselle River and

with special requests need not fear as the menu is

it narrows considerably, the ship has to turn around

detailed to highlight particular dietary requirements.

at the larger part and back into this charming

We retired to the Panorama Lounge where the

town in order to be facing the right direction when

Amadeus Duo, Boriana and Vinci played a varied

leaving this port. Complete admiration for the

choice of songs. A perfect way to end our first day

Captain navigating the waterways of Europe and it is

on board.

impressive to observe the trickier manoeuvres.

A light lunch was only needed and then we had the afternoon to explore Cochem. Our guide, Dorothy provided a detailed historical background to her home town, which has an incredibly small population of just 5,100 people. We were taken by minibus to the castle which is perched beautifully in this town at is the main attraction, surrounded by vineyards.

We were shown around the castle and taken to 7 rooms by our knowledgeable guide.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of wine tasting at Hieronimi Cellars – all in the name of

Day 2 Following a breakfast which consists of fresh

research of course! Here, we learned the correct ways in tasting wine; a combination of sight, smell

fruit, pastries, cold meats, hot options and copious

and most importantly taste. As the landscape is

amounts of tea and coffee, this morning on the

on slate soil, this produces excellent wine for the

cruise we sailed to the port of Cochem. This gives

region. If there is an air temperature of 30 degrees,

those on board a relaxing morning, perhaps a

the slate can hold its heat with anything up to 62

lay-in, or finding a quiet spot in one of the many

degrees. With the desirable climate, these vineyards

public areas or relaxing on the sun deck. Along this

can receive up to 7,000 hours of sunshine annually,

section of the Mosel River you pass many points of

which assists in the wine they produce today. We

interest. Cruise Director Lorelay provides excellent

had 3 tastings, table wine which is classed as

commentary from the bridge so you know the areas

an everyday wine, quality wine and quality wine

you are sailing past. The main language on board

with special qualities. There were opportunities

is English, however I am amazed with her ability to

to continue wine tasting and also purchase some

translate in different languages with such ease, I

to take home. We ventured back to our home,

was actually rather envious and wished I had kept

Amadeus Silver III for a rest stop before enjoying

up with my languages since school. The weather

a talk on tomorrow’s port of call, Cologne, where

wasn’t as kind to us today so the sun deck was ruled

we were informed of a docking station change due

out, however we spent some time in the Amadeus

to low waters on the Rhine. Normally river levels

Lounge where you can look at the views whilst

are in the region of 300-400m, however due to the

helping yourself to the 24-hr tea/coffee station. At

exceptionally warm September water levels have

11am, we were drawn to the hive of activity in the

dropped to 160m. The only change was taking a

Panorama Lounge as it was Fruhschoppe time – a traditional German equivalent of brunch. Crew were kitted out in traditional clothing, the on board entertainment were playing some music and a beautiful feast laid before our eyes. Even though it had only been 2 hours since official breakfast time had ended, we joined in with the Weisswurst, sweet mustard, pretzels and Weissbier – it would have been rude not to. However it did seem strange drinking beer with brunch.

short coach journey of 10 minutes to the centre of

main attraction of the city to how we recognise it

Cologne rather than stepping foot off the ship and

today.

starting the tour straight away.

It is said that the Cathedral weighs 120,000

Cocktail hour and port talk starts from 6pm.

tonnes in Sandstone. To support this iconic sight,

Evening entertainment is low-key on board which

the foundations are to be said to also contain the

suits the customers on board. There is the Amadeus

same weight, to ensure this building doesn’t crumble

musical duo who perform a fantastic repertoire of

away, unsure of how close the Rhine is situated to

songs which for tonight, had many from the ship

the sandstone construction underground. There are

taking part in a music quiz. Songs for everyone to

52 stone masons employed to carry out the constant

recognise and get up to the dance floor for those

sandstone creations of the Cathedral. Sandstone

extra bonus points.

cannot been cleaned as it can then crumble, so what happens is that parts of the stone work are removed and newly created. There is constant scaffolding around the Cathedral as it requires work all of the time. In old money the Cathedral is worth €27. However the maintenance required to maintain such a building of significant importance requires an annual spend of €10m.

The railway bridge is usually featured in photographs of Cologne against the backdrop of the Cathedral. We learned that Germany is the only bridge in Europe to have kept the padlocks on their

Day 3 Our guide for the morning was Stefanie, a young lady who studied in Cologne for University and

bridge. The weight of the padlocks is estimated to be 14 tonnes.

Cologne has invested heavily into their flood

remained here ever since. Not only did she impress

defence system by installing 70km of defence to

us with her local knowledge, the history and the

protect the city and its inhabitants. It was built in

dates, but her English was incredible and I was

2010 and fortunately has not yet had to be used.

mesmerized by the quickness from one conversation

They test the flood defence every 2-3 years to

to the next.

ensure the mechanics are still operational. The

The tour lasted an hour as she guided us around

entire stretch can be constructed within 3-5 hours

this impressive city, highlighting in particular

with a team of people on stand-by when such issue

the home to the symphony orchestra, the close

may arise.

proximity of the train station which was explained in detail, the city hall and the Cathedral.

Cologne has an impressive shopping street and is Germany’s second largest. You can clearly see why there is a big draw to this city leading up to Christmas with the main shops but also the Christmas Market which is a huge attraction. The city is the fourth largest in Germany with over 1 million residents which is increasing all of the time with the current migration patterns. Currently there are 182 nations living in this thriving city. 95% of Cologne of destroyed in the war, surprisingly though,

The city was ruled by the French for many years

the Cathedral wasn’t. However back then, the

and whilst they were in Cologne they changed a

Cathedral was only half constructed and remained

couple of things which remain in place today. The

that way for 300 years until original drawings were

streets were cobbled to tidy up the look of the

located in Paris and they continued constructing the

city. Also the French were unable to pronounce the

name of the houses, so they changed the names to

been a truly wonderful 3 nights on board.

numbers. Even the Cathedral was numbered!

Day 4 Officially our last day and a scenic morning of sailing into the pretty town of Hoorn. Everyone on board was relaxing, either in their cabins or in the Panorama lounge, Amadeus Club or the Vienna Café. It is an early lunch to allow a prompt start for the afternoon’s excursion, which is an exploration around one of my favourite Dutch towns, Volendam.

Our guide Philip, a knowledgeable Dutchman took us around the side streets informing us of this popular town.

Having chosen a light option of pancakes for

It’s a coach journey to Volendam where you

breakfast this morning, we returned to the ship

take in the sights of the surrounding scenery. This

hungry for lunch and all opted for the cheese burger

is a very popular place for the Dutch to live, where

today. This appears on the lunch menu daily, ideal

housing is at a premium. Interestingly each front

for those wanting something simple for lunch to

door is different. The tale is that it used to make

tuck into. Those wanting a lighter lunch can sit in

it easier for the men folk to find their house after a

the Panorama Lounge for soup and sandwiches.

night out!

The next part along the Rhine is a long stretch,

Our next stop was a Gouda cheese farm just

sailing over 400km to reach Hoorn, so it requires

outside of the main town to be shown the processes.

nearly 24 hours of sailing. Having an afternoon at

We learned all about the production of cheese

leisure on board allows you to rest, take some time

before we went to try samples. This is a great

and relax in the communal areas, maybe book a hair

opportunity to also purchase cheese to take home,

or massage appointment. Hosted in the Panorama

we certainly did. Apparently cheese accompanied

Lounge was an Ice Cream Social, we had all saved

by mustard is good for digestion.

space for this. Various flavours of ice cream served

Onwards to Amsterdam – the land of the bicycles

with waffles or the option to tuck into pastries and

and houseboats. There are a staggering 2,800

sandwiches.

houseboats that line the canals in the city which

The penultimate night is when the Captain’s Gala

came about when more housing was required for

dinner is organised. This is perfectly arranged to

the Dutch. We experienced a canal cruise in the

allow the official last night for people to pack and

afternoon which allowed customers a different view

have an early night before onward travels. Although

of the city. Annually, 7,000 bicycles are retrieved

the dress code for all meals is smart-casual, tonight

from the canals every year and as you sail past

people can opt for something a little smarter. With

you can see why so many end up in the water, as

a glass of champagne in hand, the Cruise Director

pathways lead straight to the water’s edge.

introduces all departments of staff on board which

I had expected the Panorama Lounge to be quieter

allows customers to see the faces of all crew who

on the last evening, however the arrival of the

create such a memorable river cruising experience.

Dinner is certainly a special affair, with various courses to work your way through. My main meal was surf & turf which was cooked to perfection.

Prior to that I enjoyed a fish dish, a cleansing sorbet and the highlight of the whole menu was the baked Alaska. We then got the chance to meet all the chefs who work tirelessly behind the scenes and prepare all of the wonderful meals enjoyed during the sailing. A fantastic celebration to mark what has

Shanty Choir had the seats packed out whilst 13 ex-sailor men sang many songs to the guests encouraging everyone to join in and get up and dance.

This trip had so many highlights for me, sailing the Rhine Gorge was certainly up there. Amadeus Silver III created such a lovely home for the 4 nights I really didn’t want to leave. It made it such a lovely experience to unwind and relax and see various ports along the way, it won’t be long before I am back on board for my next sailing with Amadeus River Cruises.