This is going to be a very quick blog ! I’ve had a great birthday today, starting off with a hike through the Wurzburg Hills and Marienberg Fortress, then a guided tour around the Wurzburg Residence, and finishing with a tour through the town. The result of which I’m too tired to write a blog ! So a picture of the “ Viking Hiking Gruppen” with our tour guide Andre will have to do for now. I’ll have more time tomorrow morning to do a proper one.

We have also just learnt that we are going to have to change ships in a couple of days time. The water levels around Nuremberg are low already, so we will change ships with an identical Viking Ship coming up from Bucharest. We get full details tomorrow.

With a leisurely start to the day we made our way to the Aquavit Terrace, an outside dining area at the front of the ship, for brekkie. The locks are coming thick and fast now, so we had a ringside seat to the procedure.

It was a great experience, H really enjoyed not having to be a lock labourer. A glass blower had been organised for the mornings entertainment . From East Germany he regaled us with stories about his career, originally making scientific glass apparatus, and now more art pieces. A little glass sparrow is coming back to Tasmania with us, hope he gets through quarantine ok !

After a couple of hours cruising we passed Miltenberg, with a lot of people enjoying Mothering Sunday, have a GREAT DAY MUM, ❤️❤️But there was no room in the Inn, so we cruised on a bit more before mooring next to a fleet of buses who took us back into town.

Entering town past the church a number of houses had shell motifs and chalk marks around the front door. It’s on a major pilgrimage to Spain, with these houses providing lodging.

With houses dating back to the 1300’s ! the Main Street was a mixture of cute half timbered houses with a Brothers Grim twist. Being a center for witch hunting, most old houses have glyphs carved into them to ward off the evil spirits…..but on this sunny Sunday most people were concentrating on getting ice cream !

It was a truly delightful town, everything you expect to see in an old, fairytale town. In other good news these pictures were taken with my Hasselblad. I remembered about an update feature on my previous one, tried it on the new one and it sorta works. The eye sensor needs replacing but I can work around it for now. We finished the day off at the Aquavit Terrace again, this time having dinner with new friends from Seattle. Another great day to remember, and with my ?? birthday tomorrow, I have a special walk organised. H gets a lie in !

Yesterday had plenty to see and do, starting off with a visit to Konlenz, at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine. Built on the footprint of a battleship projecting into the river, a striking statue of the Prussian Emperor Franz Joseph the ? dominated our landing area.

Our guide was excellent, a retired tank commander, with a dry sense of humour. Our stroll into town was sprinkled with a history lesson of various tribes, armies and barons who populated the area. The town had squares and shops, not open yet 👍, with narrow streets winding between. Compared to Cologne we found it much more appealing. So many big cities are alike with their big brand shops, loud music and dirty streets. Oh dear I’m sounding like a grumpy old man….well it is my birthday tomorrow 🤫

We really enjoyed Koblenz, but it was time for one of the trips main highlights, the Middle Rhine Valley.

The plains rapidly gave way to steep sided valley with vineyards scattered on the slopes. The river channel narrowed, with the water flowing strongly. Navigation wouldn’t be easily.

The barges are huge, there’s a lot of traffic on this part of the Rhine. I’m amazed how close we get to some, at one point we had 5 vessels doing a Waltz around each other.

The Castles were coming thick and fast now, our program director was giving a narrative as we sailed past. Most of the “Robber” Barons who built them were of dubious virtue.

At one stage the river twists and turns so much there are traffic lights to control the one way direction.

After an afternoon of Castles under a blue sky the Mouse Tower appeared on its island, signifying the end of this particular section. It was an amazing cruise and well worth travelling half way around the world ! We seem to have been on Vidar for ages, but still have over 2 weeks to go ! We are getting to know a few familiar faces, and have greatly enjoyed their company and tales.

The only negative thing to happen is a fault in my Hasselblad camera, the eye sensor is faulty, making switching from the back panel and its controls to the electronic viewfinder difficult. I’ve tried every trick to remedy it, but it looks like a service in Sweden is due in the future. So the Leica CL is pressed into full service !

Later that evening we left the Rhine and are now on the much smaller Main. Passing thru Frankfurt saw a stream of planes flying off around the world. For us it was locks, the first of many to come. Sadly the top deck is now closed for 4 days…..just too many low bridges !

Today has been a spectacular day ! Perfect weather for a visit to Koblenz, then up the Middle Rhine Valley with its picture perfect castles and vineyards. As it’s been a long day and tomorrow’s walking tour is in the late afternoon I’ll do a blog about it tomorrow. In the meantime here’s a taster…..

The icing on the cake was a lock as we entered the Main, a tributary of the Rhine…

We had an early start with our local guide for a walking tour of the city. “Tall” Piet, there were 3 Piets guiding hence the nickname, proved a knowledgeable man with a lively sense of humour. I think some locals were startled when 20 tourists burst into laughter simultaneously, with our headphones being connected to the guides commentary.

Cologne is dominated by the twin towers of its Cathedral, started in Medieval times, it took 600 years to complete, and was the highest building in the world, for a while.

As it was still early we had plenty of room to stroll around, whilst absorbing all the facts and figures Piet gave us. To a medieval pilgrim it would have a miraculous sight.

The gargoyles were an amusing feature on an otherwise formal building. The golden shrine inside, housing relics of the three wise men, was equally impressive, along with the stained glass windows.

A most impressive building, bound to struck awe into pilgrams and their purses ! I had signed up for another Cathedral tour later in the afternoon…….to the top of the crossover spire, an interesting choice as I’m not great with heights, and a definite no from H ! On the way back to the ship Piet showed us 2 other essentials, a Bakery and Brewery…..we tried a pretzel, but skipped the beer.

I walked into the city that afternoon for my “top of Cologne tour”. Allowing plenty of time for the 20 minute walk, with the meeting point next to a camera shop 😳

Sure enough the shop was directly attached to the Cathedral! With a spare half hour a Voightlander VSL1 35mm film camera and 2 lenses somehow found their way into my backpack….

There were 7 other victims, participants for the tour, and after a nondescript door we started climbing. This was via a stone spiral staircase, barely wide enough for one person, and dimly lit. H had made a wise decision!

Emerging out on the first level balcony we discovered we had barely started…….this was going to be interesting! For the next level we went via a balcony looking over the exterior at first, then the interior.

Onto the next level, more spiral stairs and scarier balconies.

More stair climbing, then out onto that scary platform…..optional but I did it, hanging onto the handrails. Not for the faint hearted !

Our final ascent took us above the vault ceiling, a tangled mass of iron beams held together giant nuts and bolts. This was a real suprise, being the first such iron structure, and was much admired by a Mr Eiffel…..of tower fame.

Then onto a slightly incongruous steel spiral staircase into the cross over tower.

Where we emerged into the sunshine, and spectacular views of the city, and surrounding spires of the Cathedral.

It had taken us over an hour to ascend, but was throughly worth it, and I had enough energy to walk back to the ship as well. Desert with tonight’s dinner had been earned, and was eaten guilt free.

We left Amsterdam last night just before midnight, apparently, because I was fast asleep ! The ship is so quiet and stable you would hardly know we were afloat. We will be traversing 8 countries over the next 3 weeks, but it’s in 2 parts…..

Amsterdam to Budapest to Bucharest. I did wake up at 3 am, looking out there was a surreal moon lit landscape of the canal, lines of pollarded willows and full moon, simply stunning !

Shortly after brekkie we moored up alongside the 19 Kinderdijk windmills. These are arranged in 2 parallel lines, pumping water up each level before being discharged into the river.

Our guide took us to the gift shop first, where we resisted all the pottery knick knacks. Upon leaving that the sun broke out, and one of the windmills started turning. Only 2 of the 19 mills are open to the public, so that’s where we headed next.

Our excellent guide described their inner workings and use since inception. Replaced by modern pipes they are now retained for the tourism, but are still in full working order.

Up close the sails were fairly whizzing around, and provided a challenge to photograph them.

Inside was a mixture of mechanical beams and cogs, surrounded by the family living quarters of the miller.

Back on the ship it was soon time for lunch, whilst viewing ships of varying sizes whizzing around us. Compared to an Ocean Cruiser the large windows really bring the surrounding landscape inside, providing a more intimate experience.

I did a bridge tour this afternoon, a very impressive set up. Hybrid electric rear azipod thrusters, electric bow thrusters, ballast tanks to lower the ship in the water and a hydraulic wheel house that can completely sink into the top deck for very low bridges. Our Captain has 35 years experience, so we are in safe hands.

With time to spare before boarding our ship, the Viking Vadar, we walked into town to look around. You must be very vigilant when crossing roads, bike lanes and even the pavements. Bikes were everywhere, even having their own escalators !

We found a beautiful second hand camera shop, full of Leica gear, that was CLOSED…….talk about frustration 😁 However a little coffee shop inside the Central Station was open, some chairs and a hot chocolate providing some respite for Hazel, who is still a bit sore from the flights.

Talking to the Viking rep back at our hotel confirmed Vidar’s location, quite a way away, so we Uber’d over just before lunch. Things seem to be a lot more casual than ocean cruising, we just wandered aboard up the gang plank. “Leave your bags there”….check in took 2 minutes….“have a bit of lunch whilst we ready your room”…….all very easy.

Lunch in the restaurant was good, and we soon started meeting Aussies, with a couple from Mandurah joining our table.

Sure enough our cabin was soon ready, and swallowed all our gear with loads of storage areas.

There is a very convenient coffee station and library at the end of our corridor, and with seating areas scattered around the ship it looks very comfortable and is in pristine condition.

The sun deck above us has a walking track, herb area and plenty of seating for all. It should be a great place to panoramic shots !

We are all settled in and are shortly due in the lounge to meet our fellow travellers and share a drink before the safety briefing.

So a great start to what hopes to be a memorable trip !

After 8 hours solid sleep I’m able to add a few more pictures and words to yesterdays cruise. By selecting a local guide you get a much more personal look into their country, and Remco certainly did that. Rather than Edam cheese and Windmills, nothing wrong with that, we learned about how the farming community is under constant pressure from the Government, with signs against wind farms and re zoning scattered along the canalside. Not that much different from home really.

There were lots of windmills though, and some beautiful homes and towns spread along the canal banks. A few hire and private boats passed us, all boaters give the same casual wave…..which really means how lucky we are compared to those on the land !

It was a highly enjoyable tour, with the Hasselblad shooting in Xpan mode for those panoramic photos, so suited to river shots.

Last night talking to the Viking rep we learned our boat was unlikely to be moored in the passenger terminal area next to our hotel, so much for selecting it due to the location ! We will have another chat with him today to confirm it, and then Uber over for an afternoon embarkation. I suspect there will be an Amsterdam Part 3 blog coming, after a morning stroll around the city.

After over 36 hours travel we arrived in Amsterdam early this morning ! The 6.5 hours stopover in Singapore was a bit trying, along with a bit of turbulence, and over crowded lounge we are both done with air travel for a while.

I had organised a private guide to fill in time before the afternoon hotel check in, and sure enough Remco and his black S type Jaguar picked us out of the airport and into the countryside. Canals, windmills and boats were perused in leisure before he made us coffee at his canalside small house and suggested a cruise in his boat. What a perfect way to start…..

I had intended to add a few more pics, but I can hardly focus my eyes, let alone process Raw image pictures, Part 2 tomorrow.

Tasotter and H will soon be back on rivers, with a cruise from Amsterdam to Bucharest, then back onto our narrowboat Prime Thyme and the River Wey.

But first we have to get there……so I’m writing this at a Melbourne Airport hotel, with our flight from Melbourne to Amsterdam via Singapore tomorrow. Autumn morning fogs in Lonnie frequently disrupt connections, so we always play it safe with an overnight stop ! It was short but eventful flight. With the fastest meal service, curry in a hurry, and a spectacular sunset.

As the indigestion settled in we flew directly over the city and promptly landed after a 45 minute flight. It took longer to collect the luggage and walk to the hotel.

As usual I’ll share our adventures with regular blogs and photos. This trip I’ll be using a crop sensor Leica TL and versatile 16-300mm lens, a full frame Hasselblad X1D MKII with a 35-75mm lens, and a very rare Voightlander 667W medium format, wide angle, 120mm film camera.

Stay tuned for further updates, we have a tour straight out of Schiphol Airport organised first.