Explore More UK Summer 2020

TRAVEL
and draining into the North Sea.
Several tributaries feed the
Rhine, among them is the Necker,
overlooked by the quaint university
city of Heidelberg, and the Moselle,
which twists and turns along a
narrow, forest-clad valley.
The Main flows through
Frankfurt, Germany’s financial
powerhouse but with a lovely old
centre, the Römerberg (Roman
Hill), where a series of elegant
patrician houses have been joined
to create the Rathaus (town hall).
Then in nearby Würzburg, the
Bishop’s Residenz is one of Europe’s
finest baroque palaces, with ornate
frescoes and immaculate gardens.
Throughout history, the Rhine
has defined borders and empires.
Caesar’s armies reached what is
now Cologne in 51 BC and built
the first bridge, giving them access
to the right bank and the hostile
territories beyond. The waterway
is dotted with former Roman
settlements, vestiges of which
remain in the form of ancient walls
and watchtowers. By the Middle
Ages, the Rhine was a treacherous
route for sailors; every bend was
guarded by a castle and bribes and
taxes had to be paid to sail past.
Passenger shipping in a much
more civilised form began with the
evolution of the paddle steamer in
1836, returning after the war until
the 1960s, when more modern
hotel ships started to appear.
Shipping on the river changed
forever in 1992 with the opening
of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal,
an engineering masterpiece that
allowed ships, for the first time, to
sail all the way from the North Sea,
along the Rhine, through the canal
to join the Main, into the Danube
and east to the Black Sea.
There are many highlights of
a Rhine voyage, from the rolling
hills of the Black Forest to the
half-timbered houses and market
squares of Strasbourg, where hours
can be whiled away in a street café,
sampling fruity Alsace wines.
For the length of the Rhine
Gorge, the scenery is dominated
PHOTOS: © ISTOCK
by imposing castles perched on
impossibly sheer rocky outcrops,
each one hiding stories and legends
of dynastic battles and evil-doing.
At St. Goarshausen, the river twists
around jagged rocks in a series
of deep whirlpools; it is here that
the Lorelei nymph, according to
legend, lured sailors to their deaths
with her voice’s haunting beauty.
The pretty little town of
Boppard reveals layer upon layer
of history; here, you can see the
remains of what was once a series
of 28 Roman watchtowers, and
the town’s original medieval gates.
In Cologne, ships moor close
to the heart of the city, which is
dominated by the magnificent
Dom (Cathedral). Bonn and
Düsseldorf, meanwhile, have a
wealth of superb art museums and
some of Germany’s finest shopping.
Amsterdam, the final port on
many Rhine voyages (or the first,
depending on the direction of
the trip), is packed with sights,
from the graceful canals to the
magnificent and newly re-opened
Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank
House and the Maritime Museum.
Each season on the Rhine has
its own charm. Spring is the time
for admiring the glorious Dutch
bulb fields, swathes of scarlet, blue,
yellow and orange forming vast
stripes across the landscape, and
Keukenhof Gardens putting on a
beautiful display of colours.
Summer is the season of festivals,
of long afternoons in riverside beer
gardens and lazy days on deck as
the ship drifts gently through lush
vineyards and sunny meadows.
In autumn, the woodlands in the
Middle and Upper Rhine turn
yellow and gold and the wine
harvest comes in, which is always
a cause for celebration. December
is the season for Advent cruises,
exploring a new Christmas market
every day, shopping for handmade
gifts and sampling mulled wine.
Whatever the time of year, a
voyage along the Rhine is a glimpse
into the way this waterway has
shaped European history.
Clockwise, from
far left: Viking
guests are able to
enjoy lunch whilst
appreciating the
landscape of the
Rhine region;
Strasbourg comes
to life at sunrise
72 VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK | SUMMER 2020
SUMMER 2020 | VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK 73