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Follow the romantic Rhine River on its winding journey through Central Europe, taking in the sights, history and culture of Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and France, as your riverboat glides along the river.Experience medieval winetowns, cathedrals, castles, museums, and river landscapes of the kind that inspired JMW Turner and Richard Wagner. Enjoy a two-night stay at a luxury hotel in Bern, with a choice of a city tour or a trip up to the Jungfraujoch in the Alps, and an idyll in Lucerne; sail from Basel with visits to Colmar, Baden-Baden, Rudesheim and Cologne... a Tauck Exclusive evening of dinner and music at Schloss Ehreshoven... a visit to the windmills of Kinderdijk, and exploration of Amsterdam including a canal boat tour along the city's historic waterways.
Tour begins: 6:30 PM. A transfer is included from Zurich Airport or the train station (Zürich Hauptbahnhof) to the Bellevue Palace Bern in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, which is surrounded by the Aare River and distant Alpine peaks. Your two-night stay is at an historic luxury hotel favored by celebrities and heads of state, and featured in master spy novelist John LeCarré's spy novels. Join us this evening for a welcome reception and dinner.
You have a choice of sightseeing adventures today. Head for the snow-capped mountains on a full-day's excursion to Jungfraujoch, known as the "Top of Europe." Drive to the village of Lauterbrunnen for a train ride to Kleine Scheidegg, then board a cogwheel train for the scenic climb to Jungfraujoch, highest railway station in Europe; here you'll find a restaurant, observatory, research station, a gallery of ice sculpture, and breathtaking views of the glacier-clad Bernese Alps. Alternatively, explore the eclectic charms of Bern on a walking tour – with a focus on chocolate! Bern played a key role in the commercial world of chocolate, with residents such as Lindt, Tobler and Bloch – and chocolate tasting is included. Sights on your walking tour include open-air markets and cozy underground bars, the Parliament Building, the Gothic cathedral, a bear park (in honor of the town's symbol and mascot), a house where Einstein lived and wrote his "Theory of Relativity," and the Zytglogge, a 16th-century astronomical clock featuring animated figures. Spend the evening as you please; the vibrant nightlife includes trendy clubs and restaurants, and a grand casino.
Arrive in Karlsruhe this morning and depart by coach to the spa town of Baden-Baden where curative waters and an air of olde-world luxury have attracted royals, the rich and many celebrities over the years. The Black Forest town boasts grand colonnaded buildings and whimsically turreted art nouveau villas spread across the hillsides framed by forested mountains. You'll enjoy a choice of three excursions in this grand dame of a German spa town that includes a guided walking tour, an opportunity to visit Caracella Spa with indoor and outdoor thermal baths, a rock grotto with hot and cold water, Roman sauna, steam bath and more, or a biking excursion to Karlsruhe, where you'll explore the surrounding areas of interest riding past lush woodlands that stretch out along the flat Rhine valley, highlighted by views of the baroque palace and its spectacular gardens. Return to the ship late afternoon for social hour in the lounge followed by dinner and musical entertainment onboard.
Depart Bonn this morning for a short cruise to Köln (Cologne). One of Germany's oldest cities (founded in the 1st Century AD), Köln was once a Roman provincial capital, and later a fabulously wealthy medieval trading port; the city was almost totally destroyed during World War II, but many of its architectural treasures have been restored, including the towering Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) – a twin-spired masterpiece of High Gothic architecture – which you'll visit today, along with the nearby Roman Germanic Museum. Enjoy a choice of excursions during your adventures around the city; one highlights the historical architecture of the city by coach; the other brings you on a walking tour focusing on the city's Jewish heritage including a visit to the National Socialist Documentation Center Museum. Return to the ship for lunch. Drive to Engelskirchen for a visit to its neighboring castle, Schloss Ehreshoven. Built in the 14th century and later expanded in the style of a grand Baroque manor house, the estate is surrounded by a moat, landscaped gardens, and a castle park. Schloss Ehreshoven is frequently used as a film location but this evening it's the elegant setting for a Tauck Exclusive cocktail reception and dinner with entertainment. Later this evening, cruise the lowlands of the Rhine en route to Dordrecht in the Netherlands.
Your riverboat arrives this morning in Dordrecht, a wealthy trading port in the Middle Ages, for an excursion that offers insights into windmills and their ubiquitous role in Dutch life... a visit to the village of Kinderdijk (Child's Dyke), where the flat landscape, crisscrossed with canals, presents the largest concentration of historic windmills in The Netherlands – which you can choose to explore on a walking tour and a boat ride, or on a two-hour bicycle excursion. The 19 windmills, most of them built in the 18th century, are national monuments; for centuries, their massive wind-driven mechanisms have been used to pump water out of the polder and into reservoirs and canals, reclaiming land from the river. Such ingenious methods of water management have enabled a country that is almost fifty percent below sea level to exist at all, lending weight to the local saying, "God created the Earth, but the Dutch created Holland." Return to the riverboat late afternoon and sail to Amsterdam.
Tour ends: Amsterdam. Fly home anytime; a transfer from your riverboat to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport or Central Train Station is included. Allow a minimum of three hours for flight check-in at the airport. For additional nights in Amsterdam, ask at booking.
Follow the romantic Rhine River on its winding journey through Central Europe, taking in the sights, history and culture of Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and France, as your riverboat glides along the river.Experience medieval winetowns, cathedrals, castles, museums, and river landscapes of the kind that inspired JMW Turner and Richard Wagner. Enjoy a two-night stay at a luxury hotel in Bern, with a choice of a city tour or a trip up to the Jungfraujoch in the Alps, and an idyll in Lucerne; sail from Basel with visits to Colmar, Baden-Baden, Rudesheim and Cologne... a Tauck Exclusive evening of dinner and music at Schloss Ehreshoven... a visit to the windmills of Kinderdijk, and exploration of Amsterdam including a canal boat tour along the city's historic waterways.
Tauck tours are always very professional and first class. The river boat that Tauck leased was gorgeous, with large bathrooms and well appointed cabins. The food was ample and very good, with a reasonable selection for all palates. The ports of call were lovely; while we did not stop at some of the larger cities such as Cologne, it allowed us to often be the only river boat at each port for many of the ports of call. The tours on land were diverse and interesting, and the Tauck tour directors made sure that the tours were informative and top notch.
kudos to Tauck - You get what you pay for........
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Very good itinerary and great on board staff, including the Cruise Director, who was immensely helpful when my partner became ill with bronchitis. Local guides in Colmar, Stuttgart, and Amsterdam were very, very good too. Food and drink were plentiful and well-prepared.