Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

We spent our last cruising day entering the Netherlands. It was a cold but sunny day and the canal scenery was of open fields, small towns and lots of fishing with locals setting up their gear on regularly placed sites on the canal sides. The houses were of different designs to Germany with much newer architecture.

Once docked we went off for an afternoon tour of the Amsterdam countryside. This was 'touristy' but very good with a visit to a small cheese and clog business and the Zaanse Schans windmills.

After dinner we braved the -5 degree temperature to walk through the city to the red light district - sleazy but educational!

We discoed away our last night onboard and were sad to see the end of this wonderful holiday.

IF IT'S SATURDAY IT MUST BE COLOGNE (GERMANY)

Cruising though breakfast then docking in Cologne mid-morning.

 The cold is definitely here now as we rug up for our city tour. Of course this is a beautiful city with amazing history but, after a kolsch beer-tasting at a great pub, Ron and I abandon the tour to dive into the masses at the Christmas markets - so many people and so many markets! One market even had set up an ice-skating rink for our entertainment!

 We enjoyed ourselves wandering the city until after dark - especially the Lindt Chocolate Museum and the Mustard Museum - walking and tasting keeps you warm!

Rudesheim to Coblenz ( Rhine Gorge - Germany)

We awoke to a sunshine after a snowy night. We headed for a busy day in Rudensheim, in the heart of the Rheingau wine-growing region. The vines were very pretty with their coating of snow as we crossed them on a chairlift to see the 125 foot Niederwald Monument overlooking the town and the river. We had a tour of Siegfried's Mechanical Instrument Museum - very different! The cold day convinced us to try the local coffee speciality which contains more of the local brandy than coffee - maybe best on a full stomach and when you have no more plans for the day.

For the afternoon we sailed the Rhine Gorge with castle after castle to view. The temperature had dropped below 0 degrees and we were only able to stay on the deck for 6 castles before we surrendered and moved our frozen bodies to the bar.

At night we moored in Coblenz and after dinner we walked through the town where the Christmas gluwein bars and markets were in full swing and the locals were out partying - very pretty.

Wertheim (Germany)

Wertheim is situated on a spit of land at the confluence of the Tauber and the Main Rivers. We spent the morning wandering through this town and accidently discovered the Museum. This is housed in two 16th century houses and it was great to experience these old buildings from the inside. The floors sloped, the walls were at all angles, the doorways were low and the window glass was very old - wonderful - and that's not taking away from the exhibits of furniture, costumes, paintings etc.

The town is renowned for its glass industry and as we sailed that afternoon we were treated to an excellent and entertaining exhibition of glass blowing by master glass blower from a family of five generations in the business.

Wurzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Germany)

Today we docked at Wurzburg and went for a tour to Rothenburg. This is our second visit to this beautiful, medieval, walled city and nothing has changed - maybe not surprising as it was first granted a town charter in 1172 and they knew how to build things to last. We had our first snow flurries here and it was lovley to see the Christmas-themed shops in this weather - the warm shops and cafes were very nice too!

On returning to Wurzburg we wandered into the town for a tasty bratwurst lunch in a gorgeous pub and continued with some more retail therapy until the dash back to the boat.

This was our night to dine in the Portobello Restaurant - excellently done and a fine way to finish an exceptional day.

Bamberg (Germany)

Explored this UNESCO World heritage city. The town centre is the largest preserved old quarter in Europe. We saw the iconic Old Townhall built in the middle of the Regnitz River plus many of the 2400 listed buildings.- - a very beautiful city again!

We had a welcoming (from the cold) beer tasting at Zehnthaus Private Brewery (Est. 1533). And of course we were forced to have some of these pastries with our afternoon coffee!

Nuremberg (Germany)

Spent the morning moving through locks ( over  60 for whole trip) of the Main-Rhine canal. These take us over a 400 metre rise with 3 being 27 m depths – amazing to watch!

A wet day in Nuremberg so we were happy to do a city tour by bus.  Spent 2 hours in the Documentation Centre. This is an excellent museum tracing the rise and fall of Hitler and the part Nuremberg played in those events.