Author Archives: Serene

After sailing the Rhine, we boarded our bus and drove to Cochem. On the way we saw another castle on a hill – like our 35th of the day! The vineyards in this area evolved from its Roman heritage from … Continue reading →

When you see an advertisement for Viking River Cruises with castles along a river, you are probably seeing the castles along the Rhine River in Germany.  This was the day I was most excited for when we booked this cruise! … Continue reading →

We had a morning sail down the Main River, and eventually moved into the Rhine.   Sometimes we weren’t allowed to sit on top because of low bridge clearance but this day we were able to. But just barely! When … Continue reading →

Heidelberg University is Germany’s oldest university. It was founded in 1386.  This building is the oldest and is just one of many throughout the city.   This building was donated by a former American student around 1900 because there hadn’t … Continue reading →

Würzburg is a city of 135,000 residents and 35,000 of them are students. Tuition is free in Germany, even for international students. A potential student must be able to pass a German language test . There are a number of … Continue reading →

Bamberg is a “Medieval city wrapped in a baroque wrapper.”  Because of this uniqueness, and a treasure of medieval structures, Bamberg was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.     Fortunately, only four percent of Bamberg was damaged … Continue reading →

Leaving Prague, we traveled by bus to Nuremberg where we would board the Viking Alsvin after our tour.    While on the bus, we learned there is “free travel” between the Czech Republic and Germany, as there is through most … Continue reading →

From a distance we can see Prague Castle.  The complex actually holds four castles, built from the 9th to the 18th centuries.   It is the largest ancient castle complex in the world. The four castles include the old royal … Continue reading →

We began our Prague City tour in the Jewish quarter.  It was once a ghetto for Jews and the poor.  In the late 1800s it got so bad that the city of Prague cleaned it up and provided new sanitation … Continue reading →

In 1298, silver was discovered at Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora means “mountain to dig.”     In 1300, King Wenceslaus organized area mining into a royal monopoly and issued a mining code.  He specified administrative and working conditions for mine … Continue reading →