MS CHARLEMAGNE

NECKAR/RHINE CRUISE

BAD WIMPFEN – KOBLENZ

2008

On this itinerary you will experience the beauty of the Neckar River, the wonders of Heidelberg, before joining the Rhine for a beautiful journey on the Romantic Rhine.   This is wine country dotted with beautiful castles of this fairytale land. Charlemagne is one of the only hotel vessels to offer cruises on the Neckar as most of the vessels on the Rhine are too large for this beautiful river.  The Neckar Valley is the land of fortified villages dating from the time of Christ.  Everywhere there are signs of the early Roman occupation dating from the time of Christ..

The Romantic Rhine offers an incredible wine region dotted with castle after castle.   You will soon discover for yourself the reason the Rhine is one of the most cruised vacation rivers in the world.

Your Charlemagne Neckar River cruise offers you 3 days on the beautiful Neckar and 3 days on the most romantic part of the Rhine River.

 

The famous Castle of Heidelberg

The Old Bridge in Heidelberg on the Neckar

SATURDAY                                                                                                                                          BAD WIMPFEN

We meet at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof hotel in Frankfurt at 14:00 (2pm) and transfer by motor coach to Ms Charlemagne moored in the town of Bad Wimpfen.  There is a welcome reception and afterwards, you will be shown to your cabin with time to settle in before dinner is served at 7.30 this evening.

SUNDAY                                                                                                                      BAD WIMPFEN – EBERBACH

After breakfast, a visit to the town of Bad Wimpfen .  This small fortified town dominates the river and was the ancient Imperial residence of the Hohenstaufen in the 13^th c.  The town has a picturesque ensemble of half timbered houses that we will discover along the winding streets.  We return on board for lunch and in the afternoon, a pleasant cruise to Eberbach.  Here the Neckar rejoins the massif stone of l’Odenwald and flows between the lush wooded areas where we can see the roofs of castles.  Charlemagne will arrive into Eberbach this evening, it is an agreeable touristique town.

MONDAY                                                                                                                         EBERBACH-HEIDELBERG

This morning, a visit to Michelstadt, existing since 741.  The town in famous for its numerous half timbered houses,  the Rathaus (town hall) and the synagogue dating from 18^th c, one of the very few to have survived the nazi period.  Also famous, the Einhardsbasilika which was built on the initiative of Einhard a member of the court of Charlemagne in 821.  We return to Charlemagne by the romantic road of Odenwald.   Lunch is on board and an afternoon cruise through the narrow straits of the Neckar , full of chateaux and small villages.  Well known is Hirschhorn with its fortified spur and Neckarsteinach where there are four chateaux.  We arrive into Heidelberg in the late afternoon.

TUESDAY                                                                                                                              HEIDELBERG-WORMS

This morning, we will visit Heidelberg .  This important  site of  German romanticism has inspired numerous poets seducted by the natural beauty of the town and its ruined chateau built on a hillside.  We will have a guided visit of both the city and chateau, this is the pearl of the Neckar route and is far from being a  just a museum, today it has a vibrant university and the students bring lots of life and animation.  During lunch on board, we will leave our mooring in Heidelberg and cruise to Mannheim , a large industrial town, this is where the Neckar and the Rhine join.  We continue our cruise on the Romantic Rhine to Worms one of the three Imperial residences along the Rhine , it constitutes one of the settings for the saga of Niebelungen.

WEDNESDAY                                                                                                             WORMS-MAINZ-RUDESHEIM

This morning, we cruise to Mainz , a city at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers and established in 39 B.C. by the Romans.  The roman cathedral confirmed the power of the German kings but has less fame than Gutenberg who invented the printing press.  An afternoon cruise along the famous vineyards of the Rheingau to Rudesheim where we find the world renown Drosselgasse rich in wine bars and the mecca of reisling with an incomparable  atmosphere.

THURSDAY                                                                                                     RUDESHEIM-BOPPARD-KOBLENZ

This morning we navigate in the heart of the Rhine valley, known as the Romantic Rhine, full of idyllic villages, chateaux, some ruined and all impressionable,  together the Lorelei, the legendary rock which has become the symbol of this passage.  At Boppard, we stop for a small stroll along the riverside and during lunch on board, we continue our cruising towards Koblenz .  After lunch, a guided tour of Koblenz , a city at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers.  We visit the basilica of St Kastor and the monumental statue of the emperor Guillaume 1er.  There will be free time in the city before our Farewell Gala dinner this evening.

FRIDAY                                                                                                                                                KOBLENZ-FRANKFORT

This morning, after breakfast, we return to Frankfort by motor coach, arriving around lunchtime.

Reverse Itinerary for Koblenz – Bad Wimpfen itinerary.  This cruise does the Neckar River 2 weeks out of each 4 and the Moselle River the other two weeks.

2 week cruises include all meals beginning with diner on day 1 and ending with breakfast on day 14 except for lunch and dinner on day 7 and breakfast and lunch on day 8 (between the cruise itineraries)

You will stay on board between the itinerary changes on 2 week cruises