ASPECTS OF THE SCENIC RUBY CRUISE - AMSTERDAM TO RÜDESHEIM

Amsterdam

This city has interesting features but I would not describe it as spectacular. A tour of Amsterdam's maze of canals is recommended. I rate Amsterdam at:

Cologne

Cologne was virtually flattened by bombing during World War II. Nothing of the medieval city remains apart from the cathedral which the Allies appear to have striven to preserve. Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and Cologne cathedral are both magnificent examples of Gothic architecture, but in my opinion the Cologne cathedral is a cold pile of ornate stone that lacks the charm of Notre Dame. The Römisch-Germanishes Museum near the cathedral is well worth a visit to view the fine collection ancient Roman antiquities unearthed during World War II excavation. To give ourselves more time to explore this museum and the Cologne cathedral, we did not avail ourselves of the guided tour. As the "homosexual capital" of Germany, Cologne has a number of notable cultural events but few architectural drawcards. I rate Cologne at:

The Middle Rhine Valley (also known as the Rhine Gorge) - Fortresses, castles, and towns

This 65km-stretch of the Rhine Valley, with its medieval castles, fortresses, and towns, is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre featured prominently on most Rhine River cruises. I am a military historian with a strong interest in medieval fortresses and castles, and viewing the Rhine Valley fortresses and castles was one of the main reasons for my wishing to join this Scenic Tours cruise along the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers. Because this stretch of the Rhine is so internationally famous, I was very surprised to learn that we would pass Koblenz and enter the northern approach to the valley at 6.00am. I set my alarm and was dressed and on deck with my map of castle locations and camera at 6.00am. Lighting conditions were somewhere between first light and dawn. It was still too dark to take photographs. The huge Ehrenbreitstein fortress on top of a hill on the port side was barely visible in the darkness. The gigantic equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I dominating the confluence of the Mosel River with the Rhine and the historic city of Koblenz were also barely visible on the starboard side.

Koblenz straddles the Rhine at the Deutsche Ecke (German Corner) where a gigantic equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I looks down on the confluence of the Mosel with the
Rhine. Tour boats dock on the Rhine and Mosel sides of the statue. Scenic Tours Rhine cruises choose to by-pass Koblenz despite its architectural gems.

Tour boats dock on the Rhine and Mosel sides of the statue. It is difficult to understand why Scenic Tours Rhine cruise boats do not stop at Koblenz to allow passengers to see this historic city with its magnificent Altstadt (Old City). Instead, Scenic Tours inflicts on its passengers a day at Nuremberg which has to be one of the most uninteresting cities in Germany from an architectural and cultural point of view.

The pictures below show what was visible in the hour between 6.30am and 7.30am.

The famous castle Marksburg as it should be seen:

(Marksburg image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Marksburg (below) as viewed from Scenic Ruby at 7.00am on 27 August 2009

Sterrenburg Castle (right) was no better at 7.30am

Both photographs by James Bowen

Fortunately, by 11.00am, the light was much better and revealed the magnificent sight of Burg Rheinstein below:

Photograph by James Bowen

As mentioned above, Burg Rheinstein is opposite Assmannshausen which is part of Rüdesheim and readily accessible by crossing the Rhine. The owner of Burg Rheinstein welcomes visitors, including tour parties, but our Cruise Director Marianne on Scenic Ruby declined my request for assistance to visit this magnificent medieval castle and so frustrated a long held ambition to visit at least one such castle in my lifetime.

I rate the magnificent sights of the Middle Rhine Valley at:

I rate the performance of Scenic Tours in providing adequate viewing conditions of the Middle Rhine Valley at:

Rüdesheim

This little town at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers is famous for its Drossellgasse. The Drosselgasse is the heart of Rüdesheim's old town. The lane is full of beautifully decorated restaurants. Live band entertainment plays all day and all night during the summer in the many wine taverns and open-air garden taverns along the 144-metre-long narrow cobblestone pedestrian lane.

Fascinating sights that Scenic Tours failed to show us in Rüdesheim's famous Drosselgasse

Built in the 15th century, the Drosselgasse was for boat owners to move items from the river to homes in the town. Wikipedia describes the Drosselgasse as being Rüdesheim's most famous attraction and usually crowded with tourists in the summer. Strangely, our Cruise Director Marianne and our Scenic Tours Itinerary made no mention of the Drosselgasse as one of the major attractions of Rüdesheim. We were offered only a visit to Siegfried's Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum and a cable car ride to see the groteque Germania monument on the Niederwald. We declined the cable car trip. Siegfried's musical instrument displays were scattered through the rooms of a very old house, and the house was so crowded that it was very difficult to see anything on display. The heat generated by so many bodies crammed into small rooms on a very warm summer day was so overpowering that we were glad to hurry back to the coolness of Scenic Ruby. We only learned of the existence of the Drosselgasse, and what we had missed after we returned to Australia. I could not rate what I had not been shown at Rüdesheim. Scenic Tours needs to lift its game considerably when it deprives its clients of the sights and sounds of Rüdesheim's main tourist attraction. I gave Scenic Tours and its Cruise Director Marianne this rating for a bad performance at Rüdesheim:

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