Day 9 – the oldest town in Germany!
The morning dawned misty, but promised a fine day. We left on the buses for a short trip to the city of Trier, touted as the oldest city in Germany. Read the history here. It was a Roman city, set … Continued
Day 8 – the Moselle Valley – or grape growing for mountain goats
The Romans brought the art of the vigneron to what are now Germany and France. In cooler climates they favoured the hillsides along the banks of the large rivers. The steep slopes allowed for maximum sunlight, and the rivers provided … Continued
Day 7 – Want to impress your wife? Buy her a castle.
Cochem is a lovely little town in Germany’s Moselle country. There has been a town here since before the Romans came. As it happens, most of the old buildings in the town centre were destroyed during various wars – the … Continued
Day 6 – Where the Moselle meets the Rhine
I think I’ve found a favourite European city. Koblenz is just plain lovely. Pete and I had a great time simply wandering around, soaking up the ambience. There are large buildings (churches, palaces, government offices), but wide pavements and beautiful … Continued
Day 5 – Nibelungen, not Romans
Duisburg is in the middle of the Ruhr industrial area, basically levelled in WW2. The glory days as the industrial center of Germany are gone. Only one of the coal mines is still operational, scheduled to close in 2018. These … Continued
Day 4 – Andre Rieu’s hometown
Maastricht is on the River Maas (or Meuse if you prefer the French version), which forms a part of the Rhine delta. The city claims to be the oldest town in the Netherlands (haha – see the post about Nijmegen). … Continued
Day 3 – Nijmegen and the killing fields of Arnhem
Nijmegen claims to be the oldest city in the Netherlands – but they’re not the only ones to claim that title. Whatever. It’s in Gelderland, one part of the Netherlands that’s actually above sea level. And it has several bridges … Continued
Day 2 – the lovely little Dutch village of Veere
Veere is a gorgeous little village on one of the islands of Zeeland, close to the Belgian border. Very, very picturesque, with lovely gardens and cute lanes lined with neat houses. In the afternoon we were taken to see the … Continued
Day 1 – Amsterdam to Antwerp
We sailed out of Amsterdam in the early evening, heading for the Amsterdam Rhine canal, and from there to Antwerp on the River Scheldt. It’s a boring run for the most part, passing green fields, man-made rock walls and hundreds … Continued
Europe 2016 – a river cruise with Scenic
We joined Scenic’s Scenic Jade at Amsterdam along with one hundred and nineteen other passengers for a fifteen day cruise on the Rhine and the Moselle, back to the Rhine and up to Basel in Switzerland. It’s seven hundred and … Continued