Our Grand European Viking River Trip Blog

Welcome to our trip blog. This is the first trip that all 4 Keeley brothers and sisters and their spouses have gone on together. We started this blog to share our trip with our family and friends back home. It is also a way for those of you who are interested in a Viking river cruise to learn more about what a typical river cruise is like. We hope you enjoy our travelogue and photos. We will add more photos after we return, so please check back again later. To navigate this blog, click on any of the destinations or links on the right or just read from top to bottom and click on "older posts" when you get to the bottom right of the page. Our trip starts with Budapest (at the bottom of the blog list on the right) and ends with Kinderdijk and a description of our Viking ship and experience aboard the Idi. Have fun reading our blog!

The Viking Ship, Idi, and Life Aboard a Viking Cruise

The Idi was built in Germany and launched in April 2014. It is their latest generation of river boat that brings together the best of the ships before it. It’s 445’ long x 38’ wide and needs just 5’ of water. (And it has a double hull in the event of an accident.) There are three floors of cabins, a spacious dining room, a lounge able to sit all guests around comfortable tables and small couches, an open air deck (Aquavit) at the bow and an open-air deck that runs the length of the ship. 

The Idi can accommodate 200 guests that are well taken care of by a crew of 60. They hail from 13 countries, many are Eastern Europeans and some from as far away as the Philippines. Many work on a 6-week on and 2-week off schedule. While most staff speak 2 or more languages, with English being required, a young lady at the main desk speaks six.

The staterooms are very comfortable and modern. A large flat screen TV gives you the weather, daily trip information, a lounge cam so you can view the presentations in the lounge if you are in your room, a bow cam so you can get a captain’s view of the river 24/7, and options for free movies, TV, etc. All the amenities you need are in your room, including a refrigerator where you can keep your German beer and L'Occitane products!  We opted for the lower deck rooms, which are the less expensive accommodations since the rooms do not have a balcony or suite, only a top window. We only used our rooms for sleeping. Why spend a lot of money on your room when there is so much to do and a top sun deck to hang out in or a comfy lounge?

The dining was definitely gourmet and the service was excellent. We got to know our server, Galina (from the Ukraine) quite well and found out she was engaged to the Idi ship manager, Gunther (from Austria)! The breakfast buffet had everything you could imagine- not only the typical breakfast fare, but fresh made smoothies, muesli, fruits, cheeses, salmon, sliced meats, grilled veggies, and a huge assortment of fresh breads and pastries, with a local specialty featured each morning. If one wanted lighter fare, one could eat on deck at the Aquavit lounge.

Lunch in the dining room always included an appetizer, soup, entrée, and dessert. If you couldn’t decide on the choices, you could have all three (but beware of the calories!).  Sometimes we ordered an extra dish which we passed around so we could have a taste of something that sounded interesting. The center of the dining room had an amazing array of salads and fruits to choose from and a pasta station. Lighter fare was served on the deck off the lounge where you could sit outside and have sandwiches, salads, and occasionally they grilled hamburgers out on the deck.

Dinners always had three choices of appetizers, entrees, desserts, and a fruit/cheese plate of the local cheeses. Unlimited wine is included. Dinners often included a local specialty such as Hungarian Goulash or River Sturgeon (which we decided was too fishy!). The Captain’s dinner was an elegant affair we could get dressed up for. Jackie and Page had an excuse to wear their sparkles that night!

By the lounge there is a self-serve area where you can get coffee, tea, water, sparkling water, and fresh baked cookies throughout the day.

Before each dinner there is a local briefing in the lounge to explain what you will see the next day and the Concierge describes optional things you can do at each stop. The chef comes out and describes the dinner offerings.

Lazlo is the ship musician. He plays the piano in the lounge during the day and evenings and often sings. It was quite amusing to hear him sing songs we knew in his Eastern European accent. He was quite talented on the piano and could play anything.

Sometimes we just played cards, worked on our blog, or read books in the lounge. The floor to ceiling windows gave a great view of the passing scenery.  Or we went up on the top deck when it was open where you could get a fresh air view of the passing scenery as well as walk the walking track. The top deck also had a putting green and an herb garden from which the chefs snipped their herbs. In the beginning it was fun and novel to watch how the ship entered and passed through the 70+ locks we encountered on the rivers. But after awhile, it became “just another lock”. For three days the top deck chairs and railing had to be taken down to flatten the ship so it could pass through low bridges.

Interesting lectures were offered in the lounge such as the History of the European Union or the Dutch Cheeses. There were also demos. Page got to be the volunteer for the Making Apple Strudel demo and there was also a demo by a local German glass blower. Special music performances were offered in the evening as well. There was a local opera group that sang opera pieces after our visit to Vienna and a very talented trio of a cellist, Clarinet player, and pianist who played classical pieces from composers of the countries we visited.

Each day included a walking tour, where we had silent boxes and earpieces to follow our local guides. You learned many interesting things from the guides that you would not know if you went out on your own. The other half of the day was spent on your own or you could sign up for optional tours.

There is a “community feel” on the ship. After a while, you get to know many people and recognize all the passengers, unlike being on a large ocean cruiser with over 1,000 people.  You really get to know the staff, from the captain (well, not quite the captain as he did not speak English) right down to the crew and our cabin girl. The people who go on Viking cruises are mostly around our age, seem well-educated, and have an interest in the culture and history of the region. They are not there to sail on a "party boat". A Viking cruise is a relaxing vacation as well as a learning opportunity.  But the best part- experiencing it together with family!

The Idi

We didn't spend time in our rooms, other than to sleep.

A typical dinner menu

A variety of appetizers

Yummy entrees

Delectable desserts

Cheerful chefs!

Sometimes we would eat lunch on the bow to enjoy the scenery

Some serious card games in the lounge

Or just hanging out reading a book

Center of the ship

Evening briefing on next day's walking tour, etc.

Checking out the sample cheeses during the cheese lecture

Tristan- our favorite server in the lounge! Decked out in his lederhosen for German night

Galina  Batkilina from the Ukraine. She was our server and new friend!

Lazlo entertained us on the piano

Violetta- our Program Director, dressed up in traditional Bavarian dress for German night

Everyone chips in to write our trip blog!

Kinderdijk, Netherlands,

We left Cologne around mid-night and steamed into the night towards the Netherlands and our final port of call – Kinderdijk in south Holland. Walking the upper deck before 7:00 AM it was still dark and so VERY windy that the deck chairs were being blown about. Our program director, Violeta, gave a brief talk on Dutch cheeses and the Masters (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.). This was followed by a very nice talk about water management in the Netherlands. Their country is the size of Maine but with a population of 17 million. They have struggled with the encroaching sea for 2000 years and now 20% of the land is below sea level. As a result of their ongoing and ingenious water management practices they have become world leaders in building dikes, levees, polders, scoops, pumping stations, reservoirs, and windmills to move the water where they want.

We’re blessed with another sunny, blue sky day – maybe 65 degrees. We walked amongst 16 historic windmills that are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 1997.  It has the largest concentration of original old windmills in Netherlands. They are still functioning – moving the water from the land to the sea. (They can move 16,000 gallons/hour and raise it 5’. Windmills built in succession can combine to raise it 15-20’.) They can operate in winds up to 150 K/H and have wooden breaks to stop the four blades when needed. All of the internal workings are made of wood and can last for 25-years before being so worn they need to be replaced.  (There are two types of windmill – post [these rotate] and tower [just the top of the windmill rotates]).  The pumping stations they built to supplement the windmills, using huge Archimedes screws, can move 95 gallons/minute.

Families lived inside these windmills which were built in the 1700"s. We went inside one of the windmills that was preserved with artifacts from family life inside the "mill". The "millers"  had large families, 10-12 children was the average. They had to be self-supporting- they grew their own vegetables, fished, and kept some animals. A photo of a miller's family showed all the children had shaved heads. This was because lice infestations were common. On the ground floor of the windmill was the under wheel and to the right of it was a multifunctional room- bedroom, living room, and kitchen. The children slept together on the next floor in very short beds. The third floor was the "smoke attic" where they smoked their fish, which is why the walls were black. The 4th floor is where most of the mechanism of the windmill resides. Seeing so many windmills in one place and learning about the ingenuity of the Dutch people made for a very interesting day.

Back to the ship for a final dinner and packing before heading to Amsterdam to depart for the U.S.

Windmill-itis! Enjoying the last day of our trip!

Learning about the Dutch water management system

 Huge Archimedes screws for moving water

 Close up of an Archimedes screw

There are 19 preserved (several operating) windmills on this site, built in the 1700's.

How would you like to live inside one of these windmills?

Picture living in a windmill community back in the 1700's.

 The wind blades are huge!

This rapidly turning windmill had its sails on.

Built in 1738

A windmiller's family and their wooden shoes

 Inside the windmill with windmiller family relics

 Wooden gear system inside the windmill

 Raising "heirloom" Jacob's sheep

 It was a picture perfect windy and brisk day to walk along the canals and dikes among the windmills

In the "workshop" to learn how the windmills were maintained and  repaired

We always knew David Keeley had "large shoes to fill"!

Cologne, Germany

Sadly our tip is winding down. On Day 14 we dock in Cologne – Germany’s fourth largest city with one million inhabitants. 95% of the city was eliminated by ferocious allied bombing which means most of what we see was built in the last 70-years. The allies launched 262 separate air raids. As if by divine intervention the sole building remaining was the Cologne Cathedral that dominates the horizon from miles away.  It attracts 20,000 visitors a day so we were not alone as we strolled around and inside this UNESCO site. Construction began in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. Its twin towers are 515 feet tall making it the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. They spend 7 million euro a year (over $8 U.S. dollars) on renovations with 60 craftsman working daily. It is an “eternal building site”.  We were impressed in particular with the spectacular stained glass windows. The sun was shining thru the window with the 3 Magi, and it just came to life. It would be hard to find something more beautiful.

It’s a Sunday and the streets are clogged with families, street performers and tourists. The boardwalk along the Rhine offers great views up and down the river. We visited an excellent Roman museum to get a feel for the city’s history and were rewarded with hundreds of sculptures, jewelry, glassware, mosaic tiles, and much more. Beneath the streets of Cologne are Roman ruins yet to be discovered. The ‘home’ of Eau de Cologne, we were able to peek in the beautiful windows of Farina, which was established in 1709 as the first "cologne" used by emperors, kings, queens, composers, etc. to mask their "body scent" as many did not bathe at the time or wash their clothes as they believed too much contact with water on their skin would make them sick (we also learned that the women and men wore very ornate, tiny flea traps inside their clothes as they were infested with fleas). The eighth generation is still bringing the beautiful scent to the world.  4711 is another company that is bringing in the tourists as a perfume and cologne competitor.

The Captain’s toast and dinner was lovely tonight. A special menu was provided with five courses to tempt us, and yummy chocolate dessert to top it off. After dinner we were blessed to hear the Sound of Europe in the lounge. Three young people performed, cello, clarinet and piano playing upbeat classical music. The clarinetist just happened to be from Alabama and his performance was simply amazing. From morning till bedtime our time in Cologne was delightful.

 The Cologne Cathedral as seen from the Rhine.

Cologne Cathedral- Largest cathedral in Northern Europe. A Gothic masterpiece begun in the 13th century. Cannot possible capture the entire massive Cathedral without a fish eye lens- 157 m tall and double in width.

People on the plaza look like tiny ants next to this massive cathedral!

Flying buttresses, arches, spires- architectural splendor!

Gargoyles!

 Many gorgeous stained glass windows

 Stained glass reflected onto the pillars inside the cathedral

More light from the stained glass reflected onto the walls and pillars of the Cathedral

The original Farina store where Eau de Cologne was "invented" by the Farina family.

Site where JFK gave his speech during the Cold War

A lot of people hanging out in the Cathedral Square. Saw several toddlers riding these wooden balance bikes (no pedals). This little girl reminded me of Emma!

Chalk artist on the square

The Elf Statue- Legend has it that long ago, people in the city were quite lazy. There were little elves that came out at night and did all the work for the townspeople. But no one could ever see them, they were so secretive. But a curious woman decided she was going to see them, so she spread peas out on the steps. The little elves slipped on the peas and fell down the steps. They were so angry, they left and never came back and from then on, the townspeople had to do their own work.

Roman mask from the Roman ruins excavated in Cologne on display at the Cologne Museum of Roman Antiquities

 Musicians in the Cathedral Square