On The Rhine with Amadeus Silver!

Thank you to Fred Olsen River Cruises, I was lucky enough to be invited on-board for a 4 night unforgettable journey on the Rhine.

Sailing from Koblenz to Amsterdam, along with stops at Cochem, Cologne, Volendam and Hoorn. I experienced the amazing Amadeus Silver. Holding approximately 150 passengers and not at full capacity, this 2.6k tonnage vessel went beyond expectation. The staff on-board cater to your every need, nothing is to much trouble and the dining was superb.

It is also equipped with a 2 story gym, hairdressers and massage room.

We started with a flight from Manchester to Frankfurt with Lufthansa, I had never flown with Lufthansa but I was impressed. Although only a 1 hour and 30 minute flight, we did receive a snack (sandwich or puff pretzel) and a drink of your choice on board.  Once arrived at Frankfurt International airport we took the train to Koblenz to meet the ship. I had a great french balcony cabin.

The following day we were in Cochem, this for me was the best place out of all the places we visited. Cochem has a population of approximately 5000, and the words quaint, small, beautiful, picturesque just role off the tongue. Amadeus Silver has 5 bicycles on-board for you to use at leisure, free of charge. So me and my colleagues ( Neil, Jo and Erica) took full advantage, and went for a cycle ride down the rivers edge, well recommended as it was flat with a cycle lane throughout.

The next day we visited Cologne, now if Cochem was small, quaint and picturesque. This was completely different,  the forth largest city in Germany housing the beautiful Kolner Dom, Cologne Cathedral.  Cologne is about 45 km southwest of Dussledorf and the locals of both cities think they have the upper-hand and are in direct competition. Something that has been on-going for many century’s. Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River, and a great way to see it from above is Cologne’s cable car.

On to Hoorn, although looking beautiful we unfortunately never spent much time in Hoorn, and only got to see it on the back of a transportation transfer, although it was a fun little ride.

From Hoorn, we did an excursion to visit Volendam and a walking tour. Our guide was really informative and gave us some free time to explore the town. Known for its colourful wooden houses and the old fishing boats in its harbour, it looked very appealing.

Once we left Volendam, we headed for Amsterdam, but not before stopping off at the Cheese Farm. We had a great educational talk on how cheese is made and of course to do some sampling of our own. It was that good I couldn’t resist but buy some to bring home.

In Amsterdam was our ship waiting for us to board. However our tour wasn’t quite over, as we then headed on to Amsterdam’s canals for a guided talk. Once the canal boat tour was over we headed to meet the ship which was docked overnight in Amsterdam.

This gave us time to have dinner and then head into Amsterdam’s city centre, to enjoy our last night. The following day we were flying home from Amsterdam to Manchester, our time may had come to an end but the memories were unforgettable.

River cruises are a complete different experience to an ocean cruise, however equally enjoyable. To see some further information on River cruises click HERE and give me a call to book your next experience.