An original castle

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Geo: 51.3779, 14.3287

Really enjoying this river cruise. We have met so many nice people. I think there are about 180 guests and we seem to know most of them by now. Most are retired profesionals but there are also a few teenagers and a few young couples. Mostly people are from the States, UK, Australia or Canada. One couple are in the suite that features in all the ads for Viking cruises and Stefan was disappointed that the balcony was not as big as it appears on the ads! However we cracked a couple of bottles of champagne with them before dinner.
The next day we spent the morning doing scenic cruising down the Rhine. It was windy and rainy initially but the weather gradually cheered up by the time we reached Koblenz after lunch. I have never seen so many castles perched on hills above the little villages. Germany is far more picturesque than I ever imagined and they have so many more original medieval buildings than in England. Apparently there are 25000 castles in Germany which seems a lot more than in the UK
Marksberg castle just outside Koblenz is 800 years old and has never been conquered or destroyed. It is therefore a rare example of a complete medieval castle with all its original features. It is quite a walk up to the castle over uneven ground so good walking shoes are required. Inside there are multiple rooms showing how people lived in the middle ages with a kitchen, bedroom, dining room, wine cellar and even a torture room. As usual the guide who took us round was excellent- not too much information with amusing asides- perfect. All the guides have been the best we have ever experienced.
We were moored in Koblenz all evening so some people went out to dinner or to the bars. The ship did a Germanic buffet of regional dishes. Not that keen on german food we were relieved to find fabulous roast beef aand pork in the galley so we could also get to see where all the food is prepared. There was also continual entertainment from a lady playing some sort of wind up thing sorry cannot think of the name of the instrument. There was also an accordionist and after a few wines we were all singing along!
The staff on this cruise have all been very nice indeed. The food has been excellent at some meals and so so on others but the standard on the whole has been excellent. The Alsvin is a new ship so the standard of fittings is very good . Will certainly go on another river cruise as we cannot fault them for their organisation..

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Comments

[roberta]

I love reading your travel notes tiz...

[David & Shirley]

The trip looks fantastic. Wish we could have made the trip.