PICKING POSIES: SPLENDOURS OF EUROPE

Join me on these my longest blog posts along approximately 1400 km along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers, stopping at historical cities in The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary.

This journey filled our senses every day from a delicious buffet breakfast, cruising alongside beautiful vistas, and guided tours in the cities with incredible history lessons. Church bells rang in steeples. We looked upwards whilst glancing down to watch our footsteps over cobblestone streets. So many churches, castles, fortresses, statues and people. So much to process and share with fellow travellers as we chatted over goblets of wine and scrumptious dinners. Special guests came on board in the evenings to entertain us with cultural music and dance. Bedtime was so welcomed as our weary bodies rejuvenated in preparation for a new city to explore in the morning.

The Emerald Sky ship became our home away from home.

We were 170 guests on board with a crew of 50 + who treated us royally with their kind service and provided us with sumptuous meals and enjoyable evening entertainment.

This canal lock in Zaandam where we embarked, is an icon representing the 68 locks we would pass through.

A quaint cottage in Zaandam with the parade of wooden clogs made me pinch myself

that I indeed was in Holland.

We explored the Dutch Golden Age on a canal boat cruise through Amsterdam. Being that it was a national holiday the city streets were overcrowded so we did not walk through Amsterdam.

Houseboats line the canals with expensive apartments as a backdrop

The Zuiderkerk is a 17th Century Protestant church in Nieumarkt area of Amsterdam. Important in the life of Rembrandt and a subject in a Monet painting.

Leaving Amsterdam we sailed past lush Dutch countryside. Trees flanked the canal for long stretches on our way to the Rhine River.

St Stevenskerk, Nijmegan Netherlands

A quiet, relaxing view from our stateroom. The panorama window came down to a wooden rail with the press of a button.

The first of the 68 locks we passed through

Wally exercising on the rooftop walking track while I stand poised to catch a glimpse of the Cologne Cathedral with its twin towers

Founded in 50 AD by the Romans, the city of Cologne is one of the oldest cities in Germany and has become one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Northern Europe.

Hohenzollernbrucke, crossing the Rhine river in Cologne, Germany

taken from the sundeck of our ship.

The Cologne Cathedral was begun in 1248 and took almost 600 years to complete in 1880 with the completion of the twin spires standing 510 feet tall.

The majestic Gothic interior of Cologne Cathedral

The Cologne bridge walking lanes are crammed with love locks, where couples demonstrate the indestructibility of their love by throwing the key into the Rhine River below. Having just celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary we were standing firm without a lovelock.

Day 4 began the highlight of the cruise as the ship wove its's way back and forth along the fairytale-like surroundings of the UNESCO World Heritage Rhine Gorge, where there are 40 hilltop castles and fortresses built over a period of 1000 years. These are just a few which captured my attention.

Stolenfels castle Rhineland 1259 AD and rebuilt in 1823

Martinsburg castle with its tall medieval keep, (the strong fortress where the Lord and his family and Knights lived) in the town of Oberlahnstein

Marksburg castle 1117 AD

Katz Castle built around 1371, bombarded in 1809 by Napoleon, and rebuilt in 1896

Stahleck castle is a 12th century fortified castle

Reichenstein castle built around 1100 AD is now a youth hostel

Rheinstein Castle 1316 AD

Burg Lahneck built on 1226 AD

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle on Falenau island in the middle of the Rhine River built in 1327 and functioned as a toll collecting station where a chain stopped all ships.

Not to be overlooked is the infamous Lorelei, a steep slate rock 433 ft high on the bank of the Rhine which has inspired a legend of a mythological, beautiful creature that lured sailors with her calls, resulting in many shipwrecks. The statue passed by so quickly that I could not zoom in for a photo.