Saturday, 10 June 2023

Frankfurt, Germany

Today is the final day of this week-long river cruise and Imagery II is docked in an industrial area of Frankfurt, at least a cab ride away from the city center. Since I have been to Frankfurt many times over many years, I will stay on board to relax and then face the ordeal of packing again. Avalon has arranged for a taxi to pick me up at 7am tomorrow for the ride to the airport. I am flying KLM to Amsterdam, another very short flight. This is the only flight I booked in Economy because Business Class was outrageously expensive. But when I checked in on-line I was offered a very low-cost upgrade. So now I don’t have to worry about how much my suitcase weighs.

But I return to the early days of the cruise on the Moselle in Luxembourg.

Monday, 5 June 2023

On the Moselle:  Luxembourg

The breakfast buffet on board offers a great variety of hot and cold foods. Omelets and other types of eggs are prepared individually. Only one minor issue: although the menu says, eggs Benedict, what I am served is egg Benedict. Fortunately I can supplement the one lonely egg yolk with additional stuff from the buffet. A more serious problem occurs at every lunch and especially at dinner:  the noise level in the dining room is unbearable. Conversations, tittering laughter, and even simple directions to the waitstaff are voiced at the highest decibel level possible. I will check with Katy, the tour guide, to see if this is true of all Avalon cruises or just the particular mix of passengers traveling with me.

But soon after breakfast I am on a coach heading to Luxembourg city for a four hour tour. Remich, where we docked overnight, is a short ride to the capital city (indeed, no place is very far in this little Grand Duchy). And yes, I have been here before, but only very short visits to change trains or a quick overnight before flying elsewhere. So I welcome the opportunity to see a little bit more of the city.

Stone Ramparts Line the Deep Pertrusse River Gorge that Winds Through the City

Former Convent Buildings Within the Petrusse Gorge

A Few Arte Nouveau Buildings Make Surprise Appearances

The Old and the New--the Grand and the Mundane--
Appear Side by Side

A Typical Medieval and Renaissance Street

The Street that Best Represents the Values
and Culture of Luxembourg

Although the Spiritual Gets Its Due
in the Towers of the Cathedral

After the tour, Avalon's chef serves up a lunch buffet--wonderful grilled burgers and accompaniments--on the open top deck.

While passengers are enjoying lunch in the warm and sunny weather, the captain guides Imagery II on our first day cruising down the Moselle toward an early evening stop in Trier, arguably Germany's oldest populated area. As we sail on this first day we will pass through river locks and pass by riverside villages and seemingly endless vineyards lining the steep sloes on both sides of the river.

Imagery II (on the right) Enters the First Canal of the Trip--Photo
Taken from My Stateroom Which Turns into a Full-Room Open Balcony

Vineyards Lining the Hills All Along the Moselle

There Is Lots of Two-Way Traffic on the River

And Lots of Villages That Start to Look the Same

View from Inside My Stateroom with Sliding Glass Doors Open

We arrive in Trier, a city founded by Germanic Tribes, and later invaded by the Romans, the Vikings, and the French. Luckily, the Romans left several important structures for the tourist to photograph.

Dinner tonight is scheduled for 6pm rather than the usual 7-9pm, so that passengers can join an included three-hour walk through the city that begins at 8pm. [Note: almost all the tours are included in the basic price of the cruise; except for a small number that require an additional fee.] The sky stays light until well after the tour ends, but the town is much quieter at this time than it is during the busy daytime.

The tour begins at the Electoral Palace, constructed by the Holy Roman Empire (run by the Prussians, not the Romans), starting in the mid 16th-century and completed in 1750; it is thus a mix of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. This was, and still remains, the seat of government in Trier. Run by the bishops of the HRE in earlier times, it is now the seat of the local parliament.

Aula Palatina, also called Basilica of Constantine (Roman, c310)

Medieval Archway Leading to Side-by-Side Churches

Two Churches--Left: High Cathedral of Saint Peter (1270),
and Right:  Liebfraukirche (1280)

Views of Liebfraukirche Structure (above and below)

Moorish Detail Above Front Door of Cathedral

Half-Timbered Houses Reconstructed After WWII

Approaching the Porta Nigra (Roman, 170)

 Porta Nigra (Roman, 170)

After everyone has returned from Trier, Imagery II sets sail at 11pm for Bernkastel-Keus, our next port. Tonight is one of the few overnight sailings; most distances are covered during the day so passengers can leisurely enjoy the fascinating scenery along the way.