Viking Helvetia 2014 8-Day Rhine River Cruise Review
Day 2 November 3, 2014 Breisach, Germany Departure: 7:00PM
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Day 2 November 3, 2014 Breisach, Germany Departure: 7:00PM
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Arrival in Breisach: We sailed overnight to Breisach, arriving very early in the morning. We could see the beautiful day break scene and swans out of our stateroom window.
Daybreak in Breisach
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Swans Seen From Cabin Window
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German Countryside
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German Countryside
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Church in Breisach
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Towel Animal Swan Left In Cabin
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Breakfast: Each morning you had a choice of eating an early café breakfast (coffee, juice and pastries) from 6-11am at the coffee station in front of the 3rd deck lounge or a buffet breakfast and a choice of dishes cooked to order in the Restaurant on the 2nd deck from 7-9:30am. We liked the buffet which had many different dishes to choose from but ordered omelets on other mornings. Everything was delicious and freshly cooked.
Shore Excursion: For all the excursions you were provided receivers with earphones to take with you in order to hear the tour guide who told you what channel he/she was using for that tour. Before leaving on an excursion you were required to pick up your coach assignment (A,B,C, or D) and cards with your name and ship name giving location of the ship and phone number. The card had a double purpose. In case you got separated from the group, you had the information to get you back to the ship. The other purpose was to account for you upon your return since you had to turn your cards in at the desk. If you didn’t, you were called before departure to make sure you were onboard.
Our first excursion was a coach trip through the scenic German countryside to the Black Forest (dark woods). Think Hanzel & Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood! We stopped at a location in the Black Forest where you could observe a cuckoo clock making demo or take a walk through the woods to a waterfall. We enjoyed the walk even though we never made it all the way to the waterfall. There was also a very interesting building which had one wall that looked like a cuckoo clock. The figures came out and danced as the clock struck the hour.
Our first excursion was a coach trip through the scenic German countryside to the Black Forest (dark woods). Think Hanzel & Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood! We stopped at a location in the Black Forest where you could observe a cuckoo clock making demo or take a walk through the woods to a waterfall. We enjoyed the walk even though we never made it all the way to the waterfall. There was also a very interesting building which had one wall that looked like a cuckoo clock. The figures came out and danced as the clock struck the hour.
Black Forest Walk In Woods
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Black Forest Walk In Woods
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Black Forest Walk In Woods
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Figures Move and Dance on The Hour
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Figures Move and Dance on the Hour
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Safety Instruction: After returning to the ship and before lunch, we all met in the Lounge and received instructions as to what we should do in case of an emergency. We were shown proper procedures for our lifejackets and told where to assemble. Then we went back to our staterooms and waited for the emergency signal to sound and practiced what we were shown.
Lunch: Lunch each day was either a lighter, buffet-style lunch in the Lounge or a salad bar/menu ordered lunch in the Restaurant. Since we were traveling by ourselves, we enjoyed sitting with different people each meal and getting to make new acquaintances from other parts of the world.
Optional Excursions: There were two optional excursions offered that afternoon. One was the Colmar City Tour which was a guided tour of the quaint Alsatian town with the half-timbered houses. The other tour was the World War II Tour which included the Colmar Pocket Museum, the Audie Murphy Memorial and the village of Ostheim which was the first village liberated in this campaign. (Note: These optional excursions were an addition charge.)
Lunch: Lunch each day was either a lighter, buffet-style lunch in the Lounge or a salad bar/menu ordered lunch in the Restaurant. Since we were traveling by ourselves, we enjoyed sitting with different people each meal and getting to make new acquaintances from other parts of the world.
Optional Excursions: There were two optional excursions offered that afternoon. One was the Colmar City Tour which was a guided tour of the quaint Alsatian town with the half-timbered houses. The other tour was the World War II Tour which included the Colmar Pocket Museum, the Audie Murphy Memorial and the village of Ostheim which was the first village liberated in this campaign. (Note: These optional excursions were an addition charge.)
Audie Murphy Memorial
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Ostheim Memorial Wall
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Audie Murphy Memorial
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Evening Entertainment: After dinner, there was a special performance of French Entertainment featuring a classical concert “From Rhine to Seine”.
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