rhine castles and swiss alps - amawaterways

by sandy hohf

“Encompassing the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland, as well as iconic landmarks and majestic mountain landscapes, this distinctive itinerary is truly a dream come true.” - AmaWaterways

Pre Cruise – We landed in Milan, took the train to Como San Giovanni. We had planned to take a bus to the Hotel Vapore. After waiting over an hour, the bus finally arrived only to learn that the driver was finished for the day and that the next bus would be another 40 minutes. Then we decided to take a taxi but could not find one. We began walking and flagged a taxi (I think he was getting off work then, but he took pity on us.). We arrived at Hotel Vapore in Torno to check in only to find out that there is another Hotel Vapore but it was in Faggeto Lario a few miles away. The Hotel Vapore in Torno is lovely and was what I thought I had booked. We made reservations for the following evening to have dinner there as I had booked this hotel for the restaurant. We then boarded a boat that took us to the other Hotel Vapore in Faggeto Lario.

The following day we took the boat to Bellagio at the top of Lake Como. Shopping there was fun.

We ended our day back in Torno at the Hotel Vapore for dinner; we sat outside, and the food was fabulous. We were about finished and one of the hotel’s/restaurant’s owners tried to get a taxi for us. He ended up driving us back to the other Hotel Vapore. He was super sweet! I highly recommend the Hotel Vapore in Torno.

We took a train through the Swiss Alps to Basel and enjoyed the beautiful countryside.

Beautiful countryside on the way to Basel

In Basel, toured the Spalentor known as the Gate of Spalen which is the most magnificent and impressive of the three remaining city gateways. This gateway is regarded as one of the most beautiful gates of Switzerland.

We boarded the AmaSerena after touring Basel. The AmaSerena was fantastic! After a day touring Lake Lucerne and a castle, we dined at the Chef’s Table.

While in Strasbourg, we went inside the Cathedrale de Notre Dame with its famous astronomical clock. The huge clock was magnificent.

Our time in Heidelberg was amazing. We visited Heidelberg Castle which is surrounded with many myths and legends. According to legend, a knight was forced to jump through fire in full armor. The iron shoe of his armor left a deep impression in the sandstone on the Great Terrace. Visitors enjoy placing their own foot inside the imprint and if it fits, legend says that that person can expect to live a happy life.

The Knight’s legendary footprint in the sandstone.

At our stop in Rudesheim, we took the gondola excursion which was great! There is a huge monument at the top that commemorates the founding of the Germin Empire after the Franco-Prussian War – the Niederwald Monument. This monument towers over the valley and offers panoramic views of the river. It is regarded as the landmark of the region…keeping “watch on the Rhine”.

In Cologne, we walked around the Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO-designated cathedral where the remains of the fabled three Kings – the Magi- are believed to rest. Then a quick stop at the Chocolate Museum where all we had time for was to shop.

From Cologne, we cruised by windmills on our way to Amsterdam.

Once in Amsterdam, we took the canal excursion which included seeing Anne Frank’s house and protests in the streets.

The staff aboard the AmaSerena was fantastic! My stateroom was a single on the first level which is the smallest of the staterooms, but very adequate. I mentioned that I liked the chocolate left on my pillow at night, after that, Chun; left me two and then three chocolates the last night. She was so sweet! The head bartender, Mayhdi and the head waiter, Peter remembered me from last year. My daughter and son-in-law’s stateroom was on the third level (category BA) which had a queen bed, balcony, and french balcony.

I must say that I love these cruises and look forward to another one which I will be bringing others along.