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| Walking to the Busses in Amsterdam |
Quick question for all my readers: What do you call a European river cruise when the rivers are too low for much cruising? We signed on for an upbeat Viking adventure, imagining Europe drifting past our window—without maneuvering our behemoth GMC 3500 dually and fifth wheel through the narrow streets of Germany and the Netherlands. Instead, our elegant floating hotel stayed put, buses became our tow vehicle, and the trip began to resemble RV touring—minus our kitchen, closets, and comforts of home. We found ourselves living out of suitcases and heading off on daily excursions. So what does Viking become when the river refuses to cooperate? I called it a Boutique Riverfront Staycation—with Excursions—and, in true glass-half-full fashion, an entirely different European adventure. Enough said!
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| Kinderdijk Windmills |
That “different kind of European adventure” began the next morning, when our river cruise took to the road. After a short walk to our motor coach, we rode 45 minutes to the nearly unpronounceable Dutch town of Kinderdijk—“Kinder-dike.” This UNESCO World Heritage Site has nineteen 17th- and 18th-century windmills standing amid a spectacular, water-woven landscape. Without its network of canals and pumps, this fertile region would be swallowed by the sea. The windmills were massive water pumps and remain operational backups to modern pumping stations. Judy joined a walking tour while I explored by e-bike, sharing the paths with helmet-free “Dutchies” who flew past like speed demons. Most amazing was how millers and their families lived inside these working machines. Only a small portion was usable living space, yet a family might include 10 or 12 children, tucked into tight quarters beside the great gears and machinery. Millers also maintained the canals, including the muddy job of “mucking them out.” Dodging locals while balancing my camera brought
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| E-Bike Ride through Kinderdijk |
Act I: The Grueling Transfer To Frankfurt
and the Heart of the Altstadt
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| Römerberg: Currently a City Building |
That “Boutique Staycation” hit a jarring roadblock: a 452-kilometer (281-mile) motor-coach marathon from Amsterdam to Frankfurt that cost us a day to highway asphalt. By the next morning, however, the fatigue evaporated into a lovely Saturday. A walking tour through the Altstadt led us to the stunning Römerberg. Its crown jewel, the Frankfurter Römer, is a magnificent medieval complex with stepped gables that has served as city hall for over 600 years. The postwar reconstruction is staggering; among the ornate half-timbered facades, it is nearly impossible to imagine that this “parlour of the city” was flattened by RAF incendiary bombs in 1944.
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| Walking tour through the Altstadt |
Act II: Live Music, Opera, and Silent Protests
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| Opera House, Frankfurt Germany |
As the afternoon rolled in, the city truly woke up for the weekend, and we wandered over to the spectacular plaza surrounding the Alte Oper (Old Opera House). We completely lucked out and walked right into the energy of the Fratopia Festival, an incredible open-air event where live music echoed off the grand architecture and locals browsed a maze of vibrant stalls. Yet, just as we were returning to the ship for lunch, we encountered a quintessential piece of modern European culture: a rather large rally moving through the streets, touting a pro-vegan lifestyle. Then, at exactly noon, bells began ringing from the many churches in the area, adding to the cacophony of noise and excitement. We ultimately ended up marching right alongside the demonstrators as they headed back toward the Römerberg. By the time the rally settled into the main square, the area was absolutely mobbed with people, giving us a front-row seat to a city that is fiercely passionate, intensely alive, and beautifully chaotic.
Act III: The 328-Step Triumph
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| Frankfurt Skyline Across the Main River |
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| Frankfurt Cathedral |
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| View From atop Spire of Frankfurt Cathedral |
Our whirlwind introduction to Frankfurt marked our fourth full day on this highly unconventional "cruise," and up until this point, our elegant longship had felt more like a permanent fixture of the concrete dock than a moving vessel. But after days of watching Europe through a tour bus window, the travel gods finally smiled upon us. As we sat down for supper, the hum of the ship's engines changed, the mooring lines were cast off, and the boat finally began to glide down the Main River, trading the highway for the waterways we had been dreaming of. Our destination for tomorrow? The storybook town of Miltenberg, a picturesque, medieval half-timbered gem nestled deep in the Franconia region of Bavaria—the largest and arguably most enchanting province in all of Germany.
Waking to the ship’s gentle movement was pure bliss. For once, no dreaded motor coach waited at dawn; our guides met us on the dock, and we walked straight into postcard-perfect Miltenberg. Nestled between the Odenwald mountains and the Main River, it escaped World War II bombing, preserving its centuries-old character. In the Schwarzviertel (Black Quarter), massive oak beams have shifted over time, leaving the half-timbered buildings beautifully warped and crooked. Yet Miltenberg has a cheeky side. We found the Staffelbrunserbrunnen, a fountain of three bronze boys gleefully peeing into a pool, each wearing a different expression. Nearby, a storefront displayed two artistic human pelvises—the man’s fitted with a water spigot, the woman’s with a heavy padlock. It was an irreverent surprise in an ancient town.
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| Oldest house, 1333, & uneven beams - Miltenberg, Bavaria |
For all the grand architecture we looked up at in both
Frankfurt and Miltenberg, the most impactful detail of the trip required
looking straight down at the pavement. Our guide in Frankfurt first called my
attention to the Stolpersteine, or "stumbling stones." These
are small, 10x10 cm brass plaques embedded directly into the public sidewalks
in front of the last freely chosen homes of Nazi victims. Each plate is
hand-engraved with a single name, birth date, and their tragic fate. The artist
behind them, Gunter Demnig, famously quotes the Talmud: "A human being
is forgotten only when his or her name is forgotten." Looking down at
those shiny brass blocks glinting in the historic cobblestones, I realized what
a profound statement this makes about modern German society. They don't hide
their darkest history; they weave it right into the fabric of daily life. You
are forced to literally "stumble" over the memory of the neighbors
who were stolen away, ensuring the past is never ignored. It is a powerful,
decentralized act of collective remembrance that stays with you long after you
walk past.
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| Stolpersteine, (stumbling stone), Miltenberg, Germany |
Our next destination, one we will actually sail to, is the energetic
city of Würzburg. There, a special excursion will lead us from the
iconic Käppele Sanctuary, perched high above the Main River, down to the
riverbank and then back up through spectacular, steeply tiered vineyards.
Waiting at the end is the magnificent Würzburg Residence, a grand palace filled
with artistic treasures, architectural splendor, and stories of its own. It
promises to be a fitting centerpiece for more unforgettable days in Germany, as we tell… the
Rest of the Story.
By the way, if you want to see the video portions of this blog please see us on Instagram. Follow the link @couplescoachs23
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