Cousins European Vacation

Time for part two of our European Vacation. We are travelling to the UK to explore the highways and byways by motor home. Our transfer from Amsterdam was by train, We posed beside the giant aeroplane engine and wheels at Amsterdam airport before catching a  Thalys fast train to Brussels, Then it was on to London at nearly 300 klms p/hr in the Eurostar.  After a night in London feeling the effects of the respiratory infection we both caught on the river cruise, we caught a train an hour north to pick up our swanky motor home that we hope will transport us around the UK over the next 3 weeks. Merryl has planned out our itinerary and the first leg took us south of London to Dover where we nestled in under the white cliffs for our first night in England.

Today we took a short train trip to the city of Haarlem. It’s much smaller than Amsterdam and with hardly any tourists which made for a welcome change. Although having much of the old-world charm of Amsterdam, it also has lots of trendy shops and eating places and was well wort the visit. I seemed to get a bit taken away with bikes today, but they are THE mode of transport here and came in so many shapes and forms. Didn’t see any racing bikes like mine, but the granny bike is very popular. People of all ages ride around sitting bolt upright on their granny bikes. Couldn’t get “granny” on one though!

Just a few photos and videos to remind us of our life on Travelmarvel Diamond

Today we arrived at our destination, Amsterdam, marking the end of our 2 week Travelmarvel cruise.  Although tinged with sadness that we have to say goodbye to our wonderful crew and the many friends we have made on our cruise, we still had more sightseeing to do. Amsterdam is certainly the city of bicycles but we were surprised at the huge network of canals in the city which we were able to explore by boat as well as on foot. We have a couple more days to spend just close to the city before we head by train to London for the second part of our European vacation.

Today we called into visit the magic little town of Rudesheim. Our first visit was to the famous Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum where we heard some amazing old music machines. You can hear some of them on the video. Then, after a short walk through the village, we took a gondola chairlift ride up the mountain to see the huge statue that overlooks the town and where the view of the Rhine River was also amazing.

Today were cruised down the Rhine River gorge past picturesque castles, vineyards and towns. This is the classic Rhine River cruising that you see advertised. I’ll let the video tell the story. It was amazing.

The little town of Miltenberg is located on the Main River and is a genuine relic of bygone years. It’s quaint little street and buildings had lots of character and for us had much more appeal that the touristy Rotherburg. I think you’ll like some of the photos and videos we took and there a couple of interesting little surprises. Despite being only a small town, the shops were great and I even managed to buy a decent pair of jeans.

In the afternoon we were taken in small groups to the home of one of the residents in the town for a home-hosting event. TravelMarvel is the only cruise company that does this and we rated it a real highlight. We got to chat over coffee and cake with our hostess and enjoyed the hour spent in her home

We are now sailing down the Main River to the town of Wursburg, which is located in Franconia, a rich wine growing district of Germany. Its buildings feature a magnificent palace called the Residenz which was built for the prince bishops in the 18th century. Despite suffering some damage in the war, it has been completely restored and is surroundings by beautiful gardens.

Rothenburg

In the afternoon we visited the medieval town of Rothenburg which is one of Germany’s main tourist attractions. The town is fully enclosed by a huge wall and inside there are many interesting and historic buildings. We did a bit of shopping in the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop, but the place was a bit too touristy for my liking.  Perhaps the best part of the trip was when the guide opened the coach fridge and we all enjoyed a wine, beer or schnapps on the way back to our ship.

Bamberg is located at the entrance to the Main-Danube Canal and is small town with lots of character. Fortunately it escaped the bombing in WW2 and is now a UNESCO world heritage town. A tenth of its 70,000 inhabitants are students.The Regnitz River runs through the town providing a spectatular backdrop to the town hall and other old buildings. There are nearly 100 breweries in the town and its surrounding areas and it is famous for its smoked beer.

Today we sailed through to Main-Danube Canal, a masterpiece of human engineering that links the Danube and Main Rivers. There are 16 locks on the canal but 3 of them we traveled through today each lowered our ship by 25 metres. We arrived at Nuremberg at lunchtime and went on a coach sight-seeing tour of the town including the famous stadium where Hitler held his annual Nazi party rallies. We also saw the court where the famous  Nuremberg trails of Nazi war criminals were held.  The city is now the 2nd largest in Germany (half a million people) and has been rebuilt after it was almost completely destroyed in a 90 minute bombing raid in WW2. In particular, the old town has been faithfully reconstructed by skilled craftsmen. To be honest, we were not all that impressed with Nuremberg, but I think we’ve been spoilt along the way.