The River Rhine

[ChEFF]

This next town was really cool. Strasbourg Germany. We took a bus into town.......As @ROBERT L said, How'd you like to drive The Beast down these streets? NO WAY. They're so small and so tight with other vehicles. Also, Drank the best Beer I drank all trip. As they say......When in Roma.......I always ordered what their beer was for that town / country. This beer is brewed in Strasbourg. It's called Fischer Tradition. Pretty Cool Logo. A woman chuggin a pitcher. Hope to find it here in the States. Our tour guide was a redhead lady from near Strasbourg. She mentioned back in the day, no one knew how to read or write. So they painted the bldg's different colors. Yellow, the color of bread. You could get bread from the Yellow Bldg. Red Bldg.....Meat......Green Bldg....Vegetables and so on. No signs.......Color. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

completely mind blowing how they could build those structures back in the day, the intracacy and ornate features with nothing more than their hands. no power tools, no cnc machines, just some dude beating on rocks for god knows how many years to produce those works of art. simply amazing

@zilla68 The Coliseum was built in 8 years. Our guide stated they had 80,000 Jewish slaves working on the building. He also mentioned your exact words.....Can you imagine the cuts they made with saws and how straight they had to be. And the columns, they came from Greece. How did they erect them? Crazy when you put yourself in that moment. Of course everyone has these pics but.......Just imagine having to erect this Bldg. And we complain about a hard days work? Not anymore. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

This statue is of a well know Doctor. What Degree did he get? I believe he founded some pharmaceuticals also. Pretty Cool getting your own statue in downtown Strasbourg, Germany. And the designs of these bldgs. Again.....Impressive. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Did I mention Churches? This Church in Strasbourg is Incredibly Beautiful. When the war started, they took all the stain glass windows out of the bldg. And the enemy found out where they were and wanted to destroy them. Out of nowhere, they disappeared. After the war, they were found in a small town hidden away. Brought them back and re-Installed the glass. The Round one is 50' wide. They call it the EYE OF GOD! Sits right above the front door. And of course the Organ. WOW! Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Inside this Incredible Church is the nicest Clock I've ever seen. In 200 years it'll be off 1 1/2 seconds. It is in constant movement. I wish I could have remembered everything about it to help you understand the levels of this clock. The moon is in the exact position. The one level has death on it. The angels move. The Angel holding the hour glass turns it over on the hour. The chariots move every 15 mins. Strasbourg is exactly on the line of the Eastern and Western Time Zone. You'll see two times in it. 30mins a part. It's incredible. Also, In this Church, they pay Respects to our Soldiers who fought for their Freedom. Strasbourg most likely my Favorite Tour. They all are good, this one caught my attention. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Our last tour on the Ship. The Black Forest. NOTE: They had a Tour of the WWII Museum also. I should have done that one instead. Who knew? The Black Forest is nice. 1 1/2 Hr Bus Ride. 10 min walk and we were done. Should have attended the WWII Museum Tour. If there ever is another trip, I'd see that. But......by this time, we were pretty worn down. It's a tiring Trip. If you take this Cruise Ship........start walking now. @ROBERT L and Sylvia did great. They were prepared. Da chEFF and Sharon.....Not so much. Still great times. Oh, I didn't take pictures of the Infamous Black Forest Cake. WOW! Looked awesome. Also, they build clocks. Cuckoo Clocks. Saw the most awesome clock too. The only one without a price tag on it. As @ROBERT L said...............Stupid Money buys that. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

We arrived in Basil, Switzerland. End of the VIKING BOAT TOUR. Now, fly to Amsterdam. Catch another plane to ROMA. Long Day in the Airport. 5 hr layover in Amsterdam. (Sylvia said 3hr layover........with that little grin) She knows how to handle Da chEFF! gotta prep his ADHD brain! HA
Short Flights tho. ROMA.....Here we come. Peace

 

[Bobalos]

What amazed me the most are the stones in the churches. Of course depending on where you are they are different sizes. In Belgium they were HUGE. Something like 15 or 18 feet long and 5x5 square. How the Eff did they get those stones 4 and 5 stories high to the top of the church??????

 

[Zeropulp]

Great pics and thanks for sharing.
If you go back, try renting a car thru Germany and driving into the other countries.
We love going this route , because it allows you to see many out of the way places and you won’t be tied down to a time line, like having to be back on the ship at a certain time.
We just got back from Europe.
Flew into Frankfurt and got a car.
Our route was Cologne, Ghent/Bruges Belgium , Amsterdam back into Germany (Borgholzhausen), Dresden, then into Prague.
Left Prague, and stayed in Munich, then Austria, back into Germany,Nuremberg, Wurzburg, then back to Frankfurt and home.
The crazy thing about driving is the countries are so small , that you can be in most places in 2 hours or less.
Like Bruges to Amsterdam is under 2 hours and you can see a lot more and stop if you see something that interests you.
The cruise looks awesome, enjoy Rome

 

[ChEFF]

Curious the Traveling from Country to Country. Was there Check Points at every border? Peace

 

[Hondajimz]

Beautiful pictures and excellent narration. Felt like I was right there with you.

 

[ChEFF]

Let me back track to the last couple evenings on the Ship. I'll share some pics of the Captains Dinner. And when in Germany...........Have a German Feast. The Crew was awesome. Great people. Only one guy wouldn't smile. He was from Bulgaria. I got him laughing on the last day. Cracked him! @ROBERT L and I were high FIVE-N. OH..............It must have been EFF OFF FRYDAY! Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Finally ROMA. We're hungry from a LONG day in Airports. Walk around the corner and we meet this Old Guy with No teeth. Thank Goodness Sylvia could speak Spanish. Apparently Italian and Spanish are fairly close languages. I'm not a wine drinker. I've learned how to see if a Wine is good or not. This Wine was Awesome! Yes, I helped them drink it. They like their cheese / Bead and Meats over there. We came back to this restaurant on our last evening. Really good Food for a hole in the wall. Peace

 

[rivermobster]

Just awesome

 

[ChEFF]

I'm confident Y'ALL have seen these pics before. Can honestly admit..........I've never seen this before. The Tour Guide we had was really passionate with his job. He said when he was Six Years Old he knew he wanted to be a Tour Guide. In his words "Look at this place" I've got to admit, The Church in Strasbourg was awesome......The Vatican wins HANDS DOWN! And the greatest Artist to ever live HANDS DOWN is Michelangelo. The Sistine Chapel is........don't think there are words to describe it. How the heck does he create such beauty? Not sure if you knew this about Michelangelo, he considered himself a sinner. He lived to be 90 years old and lived by himself.....no family........no friends..........all by himself. A sinner. He painted himself in the chapel. I hope to find that painting of himself. He portrayed himself as weak / frail / and downright a peasant who doesn't deserve life. It's amazing a man with such talent could see himself like that. When Y'all walk thru the maze...........you'll get a neck ache. Majority of everything is on the ceiling. Always looking Up! Of course in the Sistine Chapel.......No photographs allowed. No talking. Pure Silence. Hope these pictures do it some Justice. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Work your way outside to Saint Peters Square. I've seen this on TV when to Pope has his Easter Sunday Sermon. It's absolutely Huge. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Cuple more of St Peter Square. Too many Pics to keep up with. YES.........total Tourist. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

Now lets go inside. And I thought Strasbourgh Church was nice. You judge for yourself. Peace

 

[ChEFF]

More of Saint Peters Square. Peace

 

[RiverDave]

As I said in the other thread.. just incredible. I love history and could spend a month going through all those castles!!

Were those used for defense or just large structures to house the rich?

Thank you for sharing the pics!! Keep posting more we love them!

Do you mind if I ask about what the cruise costs?

RD