Cruising the Middle Rhine [Part One]

April 13, 2018

On our 5th day of our Rhine River cruise we had the amazing opportunity to spend the morning cruising the Middle Rhine River. It was a beautiful experience and I am so excited to share with y'all tons of pictures. It truly felt like a storybook come to life. Because there are so many pictures I am breaking this up into several posts! I hope y'all enjoy- it was magical and I hope this inspires you to plan a trip to cruise the Middle Rhine!
I loved the way that Viking Cruises did this scenic cruising morning. After a leisurely and wonderful breakfast we had a chance to gather our cameras (and dress warmly!) to head up to the top deck of the Viking Eir. On the top deck you could hear the program director sharing information about the places we were seeing and the castles that we were passing along with other interesting facts. It was cold and a bit rainy off and on that day so they also provided the lounge area where you could see and hear the information too. 
In some ways the moments where the clouds were extremely dark against the Rhine River outline almost made you feel that you had stepped back in time to when these castles were filled and used as defense areas. 
What was interesting to learn is that over half of the castles that we saw as we cruised were now hotels. In some of the pictures you will see signs for HOTEL which has allowed the castle to have continued upkeep. 
It seemed like around every bend there was a beautiful new castle or cathedral to see!
One of the neat things about river cruising is that you definitely get to really see the country or state that you are traveling through. One thing that I marveled at as we were cruising through the Rhine was the way that life has continued surrounded by all of these historical places. People have continued their communities, are driving to work, going to school, etc. Every single day they are surrounded by seeing these castles and that is a normal part of their day. It made me pause and think about what I consider to be a "normal" thing that I see every single day - and to really stop and appreciate the beauty that I am surrounded with. 
One of my favorite parts of the early morning was when this beautiful rainbow came out across the hills. It was simply gorgeous!
One of my favorite places on the river cruising- the beautiful church in the distance was so gorgeous!
This unique castle structure in the middle of the river was so cool! 
I hope that you loved the first part of our cruising on the Middle Rhine! I can't wait to share more with y'all in the coming week!

If you are interested in reading more about our Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Viking, you can click on the links below: 

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