viking.com | 45
H I S TO R Y & A R C H I T E C T U R E I S S U E 2 2
Clockwise from above:
Marksburg Castle over-
looks the Rhine below;
John enjoyed a slice of
tarte flambée, a local
version of pizza
Koblenz, its replacement is completed. The
Revolutionaries are unlikely to try another
– the new Ehrenbreitstein is one of the
largest fortifications in Europe.
Join Viking's eight-day Rhine Getaway and
you will make a journey through time,
though do not expect a chronological order.
Then again, going backward and forward
through the centuries as you travel is all part
of the unforgettable experience.
Each date is a snapshot of the history of the
places visited on the leisurely glide along the
river from Amsterdam to Basel, or vice versa
if you prefer. And there are a great many
more fascinating insights into the past to
discover along the way.
The morning after my departure from the
heart of Amsterdam, I was making the short
hop over the dike to the first of many
UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the
itinerary. The string of handsome windmills
around the polder at Kinderdijk, the densest
concentration in The Netherlands, makes for
a stirring vision. But incredibly, although
modern pumps have been used to keep the
farmland dry since the 1950s, a couple of the
18th-century mills remain on standby here
just in case an emergency occurs.
I stood beneath the softly whomping sail of
one, listening to our guide explaining how
the mills worked in tandem to gradually raise
the water into reservoirs until it could be
sluiced into the river.
On into Germany, and to say Cologne's
mighty cathedral dominates the city is a
massive understatement. I was glad they
finally completed those soaring spires in the
late 19th century, making the cathedral the
tallest building in the world at that time.
The next morning, we were enjoying
wraparound views from a cable car. The
destination was impressive – the giant
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, looming over the
confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers
from its 118m perch opposite Koblenz.
An actor in period costume conducted the
lively tour of the Prussian complex, built in
the early 19th century and now housing an
excellent museum. We learnt that it is the
latest of a number of incarnations of a
fortress, going back 3,000 years, on this
strategically important hill.
Koblenz and sailing along the Romantic Rhine
