Kinderdijk was a short stop for our ship. We got back on board and headed further upriver. We started our morning with the included walking tour. We were let off the ship in the town of Zons and then bussed into Köln or as we would know it better, Cologne. This procedure became typical as the boat takes more time to travel upriver as it sometimes has to go through a couple of locks before reaching town. In total our ship would go through 67 locks in our 15-day cruise.
Cathedral of Cologne 
Said to contain the bones of the Magi 
Sticks his tongue across the square 
As this guy moons him 
Will and his kliene (small) beer
After the walking tour we had a good amount of free time while waiting for our ship to make its way to Cologne. Being that it was a Mondy, many of the museums were closed, but the chocolate museum was open. It was a nice place to visit. They showed how the chocolate is made, provided some history on chocolate, and the best part were the free samples.
The chocolate fountain
And since we were in Cologne, why not take a tour of the originator of the Eau De Cologne. The original perfume scent was created in 1709 by John Farina. He named it Eau De Cologne to honor the town.
The Hohenzollern Bridge is covered in padlocks. People attach padlocks to the bridge and throw the key in the river as a sign of eternal love.
That’s a lot of locks 
Hohenzollern Bridge 
We stopped in Koblenz and were bussed to our next stop, which was a tour of Marksburg Castle in Braubach, Germany. Marksburg is a castle in the middle Rhine district that has never been destroyed. The other castles in that region have either been rebuilt in the 19th or 20th centuries or still lie in ruins. While the buildings in the Marksburg castle are mainly from the 13th – 15th centuries.
Koblenz
View of Braubach
Marksburg Castle
That afternoon we were back on board to enjoy some scenic sailing. We all got a spot on the sun deck, while our Program Director provided us with the history/folklore of the various castles as we were sailing by. It was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.
We even saw some train tunnels that looked like castles or churches. The Nazis did that to disguise the train tunnels in WWII. They felt that the allies would be less likely to bomb a church or a castle, but a train tunnel would be a definite target.
During the night, we had transitioned form the Rhine River to the Main River. In 1992 the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was opened. The canal connects the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea to the Black Sea and allow us to cruise through Europe today.
Our next stop was the picturesque town of Miltenberg, Germany. The town center is loaded with medieval half-timbered houses and tons of charm. We were provided with a walking tour and Will enjoyed the Faust beer, which cannot be purchased outside the town. Had just enough time to climb up to the Miltenberg Castle and take in the beautiful view of the town below.
Germany’s Oldest Inn 
Boys?! 😦
