Paris

In the morning we were taken on a city tour mainly by bus. It's not the way to get an in depth appreciation of a city, certainly not one with as much to explore as Paris but at least the tour put various locations in a context for further exploration. It is 38 years since my previous visit and my memories from that time are fairly vague so I certainly welcomed this refresher.

The one stop we made was to visit the Eiffel Tower which surely must be one of the most photographed and visited locations on earth.

My photo is no different from hundreds of millions of identical predecessors but the taking and publishing of it is no less satisfying for the image has been seen and taken by myself and so I inflict it on you.

We had tickets to take us up to level 2 which is the second of the platforms you can see in the photograph. That is still a long way short of the summit at level 3 which is the bubble near the top but I can assure you if you have not visited the tower that level 2 nonetheless provides spectacular views across the entire city.

As we queued to pass through security and ticket check electronic signage indicated delays of up to 45 minutes reaching level 2, such were the number of visitors. I imagine there are far longer delays on many busier days. It was sobering to note soldiers in bum hugging camoflage uniforms and with machine guns slung over their shoulders patrolling the grounds, a sight we saw repeated at various venues later on.

We entered the tower through the East pillar.

Some of my snaps from level 2...

Soldiers patrolling the grounds...

We found another nearby Brasserie for our lunch following which we walked back across to City Island to visit the Musee D'Orsay where we marvelled at magnificent paintings by Manet, Van Gogh and Gaugin amongst others. Photography was not permitted there.

After resting at our hotel a group of us spent the evening at the Moulin Rouge dinner and show. Again photography was not permitted.

After returning to the hotel at around 11.20pm I rushed out with my camera to capture the Eiffel Tower by night as seen from the Louvre...

...and finally our hotel at night...

A streetcar named Antwerp

A tram in Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp and Paris

The mood was almost sombre as our cruise ended and all 162 passengers disembarked. Well not all as some were staying on for a few hours until it was time for their transfer to the airport.

Forty of us boarded two buses for our drive to Paris via Antwerp in Belgium; twenty per bus. Our bus had sixty seats and was brand new and we were congratulating ourselves on our luck until we discovered it was too long for several tunnels and bridges and we therefore had to make several detours leaving the Netherlands and entering Belgium.

As a consequence we were taken on a roundabout route to enter Antwerp and received the least attractive introduction to a city imaginable. For over thirty minutes we circled refineries giving us splendid views such as these...

When eventually we made it to the town square we found there is more to Antwerp than dreary industry...

No, I don't know what he is up to, either

We finally made it to our Paris hotel around 5.45pm. This is where we are staying...

We found a nearby Brasserie for dinner and afterwards wandered across to the courtyard of the Louvre Museum next door where it was still light at 9.40pm and the sun was getting low in the sky creating further photo opportunities...

A streetcar named Amsterdam

A tram in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam

We sailed through the night and morning arriving at Amsterdam at 2.15pm under grey skies and rain. Once berthed we were immediately transferred to a canal cruise and city tour whilst a second group were taken to the Van Gogh Museum.

Perhaps the Museum would have been the safer option as we found ourselves let loose amongst a riot of cyclists and trams both of which have/take complete priority over pedestrians.

Some photos...

A city built on the sea

At home on the canal

Canals and bicycles

Bicycle parking station

This woman was cycling across the path of moving trams when her cardigan fell to the ground from her shoulders. She quickly dumped her bicycle on the footpath and ran back into the path of another tram to retrieve the fallen garment. This photo doesn't indicate how fast that tram was moving towards the woman.

Sadly tonight is our last night on board the Amabella. The cruise has passed too quickly.

Tomorrow morning we will depart Amsterdam by coach at 8am and several comfort and meal stops later we are due to arrive in Paris at 5.30pm.

A streetcar named Bonn

A tram in Bonn, Germany as viewed from our passing coach

Koblenz and Cologne

This morning coaches took us to Koblenz to visit Germany's biannual Flower Show. Whilst we were on that visit, the boat sailed on to Cologne where we joined it in the afternoon.

The flower show was different from my expectations. It occupies two large sites either side of the Rhine which are linked by a cable car. The diverse displays range from orchids in hot houses to displays of grave sites for humans and for insects as designed by children. There are many themes including evolution, the origin of foods and representations by sister cities of Koblenz.

We had a wonderful young guide, intelligent with a gentle manner and wry humour. He learnt his English by listening to Irish bands in his student days and spoke English with a surprising and entirely endearing Irish brogue. He was good looking to boot.

Some photos...

German guide with the Irish brogue

View of Koblenz and the Rhine from one section of the Flower Show

A small section of the open expanse at the show

Orchids

Crossing the Rhine by cable car

Another section at the show

From Koblenz we drove through Bonn to Cologne to join our boat which was just berthing as we arrived.

After lunch on board we took a walking tour of Cologne finishing at it's famous Cathedral.

Some of the stained glass windows at the Cathedral

We sailed from Cologne at 9pm heading for Amsterdam where we conclude the cruise. Then we will transfer to Paris by coach for a stay of three nights before returning to Australia. Our wonderful holiday is fast coming to an end.

A streetcar named Nuremberg

A tram in Nuremberg, Germany

Part of the tram network runs on open tracks

Rudesheim, the Rhine and Andernach

Sailing through the night we reached the confluence of the Rivers Main and Rhine at 10.40am.

About to turn right into the Rhine

First stop was Rudesheim for a stay of just three and half hours during which we visited Siegfried's Kabinett, a business which restores hundreds' years old musical machines. On the face of it not the most exciting of exhibitions which turned out to be a delightful experience. This machine was found in pieces in a home in Hungary and was lovingly restored to working order.

Musical machine

Rudesheim

Then we sailed down the Rhine passing thirty castles and the Loreley Rock to Andernach. I can't really pick between them all for scenic attraction so will just post one photograph which includes two of the castles. One castle is located on an island in the Rhine and the other on a nearby hill.

We reached Andernach at 9pm and immediately took a brief walking tour of the city. For a Saturday night the city was amazingly quiet...well dead actually. A row of combivans camped by our dock and containing Dutch tourists found our and our ship's arrival as the night's entertainment.

Here we are looking at an old gate to the city with an almost empty lane in the background.

Finally back to our ship for the night.

The Amabella docked tonight at Andernach

Tomorrow we go to Cologne and two optional tours are offered en route. One is to visit Maastricht in the Netherlands to see, amongst other things, the castle where Andre Rieu lives. We won't be doing that tour. Instead we will remain in Germany and travel to Koblenz, at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers, to see the flower show.

Wertheim and Miltenberg

First stop today was at Wertheim situated along the River Main. Overlooking the town is the remains of the castle which was once the seat of the Counts of Wertheim. Our local guide stated that descendants of the Counts still are the dominant property owners today and that her husband pays his respects to the current 'Count' whenever they cross paths in the market square.

The town is often flooded and many buildings have markers indicating the height of major floods dating back 500 years. As this photo indicates the flooding can be severe (our guide was the woman wearing the hat).

The castle at the top of the hill

Part of the view from the castle of the town and the River Main

We sailed on to Miltenberg a short way down the river where hordes of locals were spending an unofficial holiday being the day between the Ascension Day holiday and Saturday. Miltenberg is another town with a Medieval times centre. The boat pulled up alongside little more than scrub and a track where two Combi vans were parked and their occupants had set up a campsite. One matronly looking Fraulein was sunning herself in a bathing suit and looked most put out at the monster vessel tieing up right alongside. She seem mollified at the news we were only there for five hours and would be departing at 7pm and returned to her sunbathing but now with a top over her costuume so as not to frighten any elderly passengers.

Aggrieved Fraulein and one of our sailors tieing up the boat

Miltenberg market square

Tonight we set sail for the River Rhine and Rudesheim.

A streetcar named Linz

A tram in Linz, Austria

Kitzingen/Rothenburg/Wurzburg

Today was Ascension Day in Bavaria, a public holiday and all was very quiet indeed as we started the day with a walking tour of Kitzingen founded 1,300 years ago when a women's monastery was built there.

In more recent times the USA maintained a base in the area from 1945 to 2006. Their withdrawal was a huge blow to the town's economy which otherwise relied on it's vineyards. Our visit concluded with a late morning wine tasting in what we were told is Germany's oldest wine cellar by which time locals were rousing from their homes and/or church attendance to enliven the town.

In the afternoon we visited Rothenburg, a visit that already looks likely to be a highlight of the trip. The village is completely surrounded by it's city wall and all of it's buildings and squares maintain the style of it's Middle Ages hey day (aside from the motor cars and motor cycles squeezing through the the narrow cobbled stone lanes).

As it was a religious holiday, and by now very hot, the village was absolutely packed with German visitors in addition to all the overseas touring groups. Here are several snaps from our visit...

One end of the village viewed from the other end

Market square

A hotel

Outdoor dining

A side street

Market square

Oh yes and the local guide made a fine sight too

We were then driven an hour through countryside and on the autobahn to Wurzburg to link up with our boat which had sailed there in the meantime and with those passengers who chose a Wurzburg tour rather than the Rothenburg option.

Tonight we sailed for tomorrow's destinations, Wertheim and Miltenberg.