Viking's Grand European River Cruise: Regensburg, Germany

Viking River Cruise, Day 9:  Regensburg, Germany (Facebook collage)

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This was one of the rare days on this adventure when we had an all-morning scenic cruise and needed it, just like the doctor ordered!

Everyone else needed it, too.

Can you tell?!?!

We even did the scenic part, enjoying the sights as we passed by.

And when we finally docked in Regensburg after lunch, we were ready.

It had been a choppy Danube that morning, splashing our cabin windows.

A good day for a bath!

Did I mention that this was Sunday?  PALM SUNDAY, to be exact.  In fact, by the time you finish this post, I guarentee you will be so churched-out, you may never want to see another one till...Day 10.  HA!

The planned excursion for the day was a walking tour of one of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities, Regensburg.  However, after hearing about some other goodies at our briefing the previous evening, we opted to go out on our own to do our own thing.

 We walked straightaway to St. Emmeram's Basilica, now known as Schloss Thurn and Taxis.

It's a Benedictine monastery founded c. 739.  My kind of O.L.D.

Don't get me started on how over-the-top opulent it was!

Almost every square inch was covered in gold or art.

To be honest, I'm still shaking my head about it all.  I don't know how to process it.

And to show you how it affected us both....

...we immediately walked towards city center and found a place to just relax for awhile.

Of course, it was freezing cold and we needed a potty break...before tackling the rest of the churches!

Since St.Peter's Cathedral is Regensburg's biggest church, we went there first, on the market square.

Mention of the church goes all the way back to the 700's.  O.L.D.

And the spires are 350 ft. high, visible from all over the city.

Most of the stained-glass windows were installed in the 14th century and still survive today.

Not the same feel as St. Emmeram.  But still O.L.D.

Coming out of St. Peter's, we turned the corner there on the Domplatz to see this.

The St. Ulrich Church is getting a facelift.  And how's that for a zodiac clock!

On the other side of St. Peter's, we walked into St. Johann's collegiate church, founded in 1127.

 And then the Neupfarrkirche Evangelical Lutheran Church, from 1540, 

built on the site of the former Jewish quarter.
See how plain it looks!

The Alte Kapelle, from 875, wasn't "open" but we could go inside and peek through the "gates."

A wee church, full of character...and...more opulence!

Last but not least, we entered the Niedermunster Abbey, from 788.

This was probably my favorite of the 6 churches we entered that day.

I fell in love with the organ and the ceiling!

And as we left, ladies were preparing Easter goodies to sell out in the foyer.

See what I mean about being churched-out...on Palm Sunday?!

So, ladies and gentlemen...this is Regensburg.

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

We understand, of course, how and why Viking picks and chooses these UNESCO World sites.

How can you not love a city like this!

It was time to go back to the boat for supper after a full afternoon...but not before we walked across Germany's oldest bridge from 1135, the Steinerne Brucke (Stone Bridge):

The knights of the 2nd and 3rd Crusades used it to cross the Danube on their way to the Holy Land!

From the bridge you see the shoreline of the Danube...

...and then look back to the iconic buildings of the city center.

Just when we think it couldn't possibly get better, it does.  What a day!

You'll hear that more than once, you know.

Viking's Grand European River Cruise: Abridged

WE DID IT!  And for those of you who didn't see this on my Facebook page, here's the short version of our incredible 15-day river cruise in one swell foop:

Day 1: Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

The only thing we wanted to do today (besides find our longship, which is the middle one of the 3 above) was to walk to the Python Bridge from 2001, which we hadn't yet seen. It was a two-hour walk total and was a good way to start our cruise. So far so good. :)

[Amsterdam is in our backyard, which is why we didn't do anything else our first day.]

Day 2: Kinderdijk, Netherlands. 

We sailed through the night from Amsterdam to Kinderdijk where we just spent the morning. Before we lose our internet connection [which never happened!], while sailing the rest of the day and night to Cologne, here's a taste of Holland. Kinderdijk is just half an hour's drive from where we live in the Netherlands and is a UNESCO site...even on a grey winter's day.

[My blog header is from Kinderdijk and is another of our favorite backyard sites.]

  After Kinderdijk this morning we've been on the Waal river all day, sailing towards Cologne, Germany. We even sailed past our city, Gorinchem. Besides an obligatory fire drill, we played sjoelen (table shuffleboard). Astrid grew up on it and came in second, losing by one point. As she says, "More Dutch you cannot get!"

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Day 3: Cologne, Germany. 

We've been in this one spot all day in gloriously SUNNY weather. The Dom/Cathedral is the main draw, but so is the St. Martin Church and the white Alte Abbey across the Rhine river. The Hohenzollern Bridge that crosses the Rhine has love padlocks the entire length (we're guessing over a million). Yes, we're in heaven!

 [We were at their Christmas markets this past December, for those who remember.]

Day 4: Koblenz and Middle Rhine, Germany. 

Today was a day of castles. First, this morning we took a tour through the Marksburg Castle, which is Germany's oldest castle that was never conquered or destroyed or damaged in its 800 years (top left image). In the afternoon we sat on the top deck in the sun, looking at some of the 29 castles on a 16-mile stretch of the Middle Rhine. Heaven!

 Day 5: Miltenberg, Germany. 

We're passing through 60+ locks on this cruise and today was the first day of watching several of them. We could reach out and touch the lock walls, that's how close we were.  Our excursion today was in a little medieval town, Miltenberg, with half-timbered, gabled houses. It was like a fairytale.

 Day 6: Rothenburg and Würzburg, Germany. 

We're on the Main River now, still sailing through lock after lock. Today we visited the best-preserved medieval town in Germany (Rothenburg), followed by Würzburg where we visited the Bishops' Residenz/Palace. As Astrid says, we're short of eyes!

 Day 7: Bamberg, Germany. 

We're on the canal between the Main and Danube rivers right now. It was a gloriously sunny day today but freezing cold! Bamberg is known for its rauchbier/smoked beer. :)

 Day 8: Nuremberg, Germany. 

This is Bavaria's 2nd largest city and is sister to Atlanta [where I lived 25 years]! No wonder I love this place, with its medieval old town and castle. We're still sailing the canal between the Main and Danube rivers.

 Day 9: Regensburg, Germany. 

We're on the Danube River now and this is its oldest city, among the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. And because it's Sunday, we spent much of the afternoon inside many of its churches. South Germany is very Roman Catholic!

 Day 10: Passau, Germany. 

Before sailing into Austria tonight, we stopped this morning in this border town at the confluence of the 3 rivers, Inn, Ilz and the Danube. St. Steven's Cathedral, built in 1688, boasts the largest pipe organ outside of the USA. It's still bitter cold with off and on sun, but no rain! We even saw some snowflakes this afternoon.

Day 11: Melk and Krems/Stein, Austria. 

We woke up to snow today and then watched it snow all day. This morning we stopped in Melk to see the 900-year-old abbey. After lunch we sailed along the Wachau Valley and then stopped in Stein, next door to Krems, where we spent time walking through the little town. Snow and more snow, all day. 

We were like little kids!

 Day 12: Vienna, Austria. 

 It's impossible to synthesize this day into one collage, but here it is regardless. What can I say! You'd need to spend days here to "get" it. Just glad we could taste it.

 Day 13: Bratislava, Slovakia. 

We were here only for the morning but fell totally in love with this capital city, with a chance to visit the castle as well as the main square of the old town. Don't you love how they can take a joke!

Day 14: Budapest, Hungary. 

Today is our last full day of our river cruise. Lots of rain. Tomorrow we disembark and then stay another 4 days on our own to explore this incredible city, rain or shine. It really has been the trip of a lifetime for us both! Thanks to all of you who have been following it with us.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We did indeed stay another 4 days in Budapest on our own to see the sights!  We flew back home to the Netherlands yesterday afternoon and are now getting back into the saddle.  Astrid is back at work while I start weeding through all the photos to make more complete posts.  Stay tuned!

 In the meantime, talk about "short of eyes," my favorite Dutch expression!

That's what my short post at Vision and Verb was about this past Monday.