Monthly Archives: August 2025

Off to Cologne – The Cathedral & Museum Ludwig.

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The spires of the Cathedral under a moody sky

We continued our cruise through the night from Dordrecht, with me dreaming of the wonderful windmills we had seen in Kinderdijk that day. The ‘ship’ docked in Monheim at approximately 9am on Friday. Soon after we were on a coach and heading into Cologne where we would begin our walking tour. Our destination – the Cathedral. We needed to cross the bridge, you see in the photo, but so did zillions of others, and rather like we found in Amsterdam, the pedestrians had to fight with cyclists for the same space. I was surprised when the tour guide told us that we would likely be shouted at, or even sworn at by cyclists! And although I was never sworn at, the walk across the bridge was certainly memorable.

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Off to Cologne – The Cathedral & Museum Ludwig.

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The spires of the Cathedral under a moody sky

We continued our cruise through the night from Dordrecht, with me dreaming of the wonderful windmills we had seen in Kinderdijk that day. The ‘ship’ docked in Monheim at approximately 9am on Friday. Soon after we were on a coach and heading into Cologne where we would begin our walking tour. Our destination – the Cathedral. We needed to cross the bridge, you see in the photo, but so did zillions of others, and rather like we found in Amsterdam, the pedestrians had to fight with cyclists for the same space. I was surprised when the tour guide told us that we would likely be shouted at, or even sworn at by cyclists! And although I was never sworn at, the walk across the bridge was certainly memorable.

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Cruising along and visiting windmills

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Amsterdam to Basel

After joining the ship, we spent the first afternoon settling in to our cabins (named staterooms on board), and prepared to meet staff and other passengers whose company we’d be among as we made our way from Amsterdam towards Basel, the culmination of our river cruise. As we imagined, the food and wine was of a high standard and helped us enjoy the eight days on board very well. Added to this was a crew member, who doubled as a great pianist and singer, whom we listened to throughout the evenings pre and post dinner. There was a rundown by the Programme Director on the following days’ events each day, with guided walks included in overall cost of cruise, and other excursions which cost more. But, if you have trouble sleeping, I suggest you do such a cruise as I, an erratic sleeper, cannot recall such a sound sleep as we moved through the night, and docked without my hearing a thing.

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It all started in Amsterdam

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Amsterdam was where we would join the Viking Sigrun (they call it a ship, not a boat) and the other approximately 179 others who had chosen this trip up the Rhine for a week’s voyage. Kerry and I chose to arrive early in Amsterdam, giving us time to meet friends, and to rid ourselves of jet lag, after our lengthy flights from New Zealand. Over 36 hours should you wonder.

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