The Rhine Gone Wild : A lively cruise filled with legends, flavors, and good cheer (port-to-port cruise)

Departure by coach towards Heidelberg, the symbolic city of German Romanticism. Meet your guides at Heidelberg Castle and discover with them the exterior of this magnificent partially ruined pink sandstone castle. Since the late 18th century, the castle ruins have inspired painters and poets, who saw in them a symbol of the grandeur and decay of human achievements. Goethe, Hölderlin, Uhland, and Eichendorff celebrated the castle’s landscape, while numerous painters chose it as their subject. Also explore the geometric terraces of the Palatinate Garden, the “Hortus Palatinus,” once considered the “eighth wonder of the world.” Then visit the Pharmacy Museum. Located within the famous Heidelberg Castle, this unique museum immerses visitors in the fascinating history of pharmacy and medicine through the centuries. It showcases an impressive collection of ancient tools, bottles, alembics, and laboratory instruments, tracing the evolution of pharmaceutical practices from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

PLEASE NOTE

• Depending on the cruise, departure and/or return on board in Mannheim
• The access to the castle needs climbing up a 300m gradient.
• Good walking shoes are recommended.
• The order of the visits can change.
• Times are approximate.

Departure by coach to Glees, located on the shores of the peaceful Lake Laacher See, a remnant of an ancient volcanic caldera in the Eifel region. The Benedictine Abbey of Maria Laach, founded in the 11th century, is one of the finest examples of German Romanesque architecture, with its massive towers and harmoniously proportioned abbey church.
Inside, the prayerful atmosphere invites contemplation: frescoes, mosaics, sculpted capitals, and sober décor bear witness to the artistic and spiritual richness of the Middle Ages. Still inhabited by a community of Benedictine monks, the abbey remains a living place, where prayer and work punctuate daily life according to the Rule of Saint Benedict.
The visit also includes the abbey's library, which houses several thousand ancient volumes. It illustrates the intellectual and scholarly tradition of the Benedictine monks, dedicated to the transmission of knowledge and the study of theology, science, and medieval manuscripts. Visitors can admire rare and precious works in an atmosphere of calm, serenity, and spirituality. Return transfer to Koblenz.

PLEASE NOTE

• The visit to Maria Laach Abbey will be replaced by the Rhine Museum in Koblenz (Rhein-Museum) on Sundays and in case of unavailability.
• The order of the visits can change.
• Times are approximate.

Across approximately 1,600 m², the museum presents a variety of themes: river navigation, hydrology, fishing, tourism, ecology, and art related to the Rhine. Visitors can discover models of historical ships, hydrological objects, and large steam engines. Among the highlights is the "Ehrenbreitstein Ship," a unique 17th-century vestige.

PLEASE NOTE

• The order of the visits can change.
• Times are approximate.

A little train will take us through the small alleyways of Rudesheim. The visit will continue on to the Music Museum, located in an old building from the 15th century, close to the Drosselgasse. We'll visit the "Siegfrieds Mechanisches Musikkabinett" which holds an impressive collection of no less than 350 mechanical musical instruments dating back to the 18th century to the 20th, all spread out on more than 4000 ft².
"You won't believe your ears” once you embark on a musical adventure into the world of historical automated instruments. This is a vast collection, dating back three centuries, of fascinating musical instruments that function like computers, ranging from tiny, delicate music boxes to an enormous orchestrion. Tools and machines for the production of organ pipes, cardboard sheet music, rolls of sheet music and perforated disks are also on display in the collection.
You will then walk down the Drosselgasse, famous for its small restaurants with orchestras. Free time and return on board on foot.

PLEASE NOTE

• The order of the visits can change.
• Times are approximate.
• Good walking shoes are recommended.