Rhine Getaway Viking River Cruise
Day 8: Sunday, November 07, 2021 - Speyer, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: low 50s, cloudy and windy with an upper 40s wind chill
- Steps: 12,777 Linda; 13,509 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 8
Breakfast didn't change much. Linda had the egg benedict - what a surprise!
I had the buffet again, but this time I added some dried sausage and three samples of cheese, clockwise from top left:
Aplpenkase, Bonifaz garlic, and walnuts cheese.
We had another brief stop, this time in Manheim, to drop off some passengers for an optional excursion.
This one did not include us.
Some excursions are included (at least one in every port), some are additional (taking place after the included
excursion), and very few are in-place-of (doing an optional excursion instead of the included one). Sometimes
excursion occur at the same time as others and you have to pick which one you want to do.
We have always done the included excursion, and have done a few of the additional ones too.
We were still en route to Speyer when we assembled in the lounge to hear of other exciting Viking River Cruises,
Ocean Voyages, and Expeditions.
We were going to be docked for almost two hours, so we decided to take a quick 15 minute jaunt around the area near
where the ship was docked.
We crossed a park, passed by a ballfield, climbed a half dozen steps to a street, walked down the street, turned back
toward the park, and eventually made our way back to the ship. Here are a few pics we grabbed on the short route.
This isn't the first time we saw this, but the first time we captured it. There were a few cities they did this, and even in one where the
lines were actually painted too. I am specifically referring to the half on the road half on the sidewalk thing they've got going here...
By the way, tell me if you [readily] see a single sedan (or even a pick-up truck) in this image...
We initially thought these puffs were bird nests. But we were told it is mistletoe. It's a parasite from bird
droppings.
And a quick selfie before getting back on the ship.
Before we arrived in Speyer, it was lunch time.
From the market fare, Linda had Ratatouille, and Steve had chicken wrap.
Linda had the carrot soup, chicken tiki masala, and flan pie for dessert.
Steve had the crudite platter, pulled BBQ pork sandwich, and chocolate mousse for dessert.
A couple shots while still underway around lunch time.
We eventually arrived and docked in Speyer.
Here is an approximation of our walk this day.
- Dark green is our walk through the park, and to the cathedral.
- Ligher dark green is our walk from the cathedral to the ruins (we were first looking for an open public restroom).
- Darker light green is our walk from the ruins to the church.
- Light green is our walk from the church, to the sculpture, through the park, and eventually to the ship.
We walked up the gang plank and our group of about 20 met our guide, Annette.
The town we were visiting, with a population of about 50k, was call Speyer, and she pronounced it "Sh-pie-er".
We started along the riverside - of course.
We headed toward town, through a park toward the main church.
This segment of wall is from the 12th century, and the tower is one of the remaining three of the original 68.
Then we walked around the church.
We were told that the Cathedral, aka Mary's Cathedral, is the biggest romanesque church in the world.
The pictures include right outside the entry doors, as well as the actual doors with people
in the foreground to show how large they are.
And eventaully inside the church.
This font, in front of the church, looks like it could hold a lot of holy water, actually holds wine for a big
celebration. It is reported to be emptied within a couple hours (it gets a plastic liner).
We continued around the town a little bit.
After a brief technical break, we proceded into this courtyard. It included a statue, and, more importantly, some ruins
The descriptions were written in three languages: German, English (in the middle in blue), and French. You''ll
have to click on the image to read the larger version if you actaully want to read the text.
An old ritual bathhouse, a Mikveh (pronounced "meek-ree"), the oldest known Mikveh.
After we were done with the ruins, we made our way back toward the main church. But we stopped inside this
Protestant church as well.
The fronts of the balconies are painted with scenes: the lower with the new testament, and the upper with the
old testament.
We had some free time before we had to return to the ship. Of course we made a quick stop at a small gift shop.
We also passed by the main church again.
We headed in the direction we came, to the right of the church..
On the south side of the church was this septagon roofed sculpture, called Denkmal Der Ölberg, or The
Mount of Olives, with a chapel underneath dedicated to Archangel Michael.
As we passed the church, we veered a little to the right, a little further into the park.
A riverfront biergarten.
We were back on board, and soon it was time to head to the Aquavit terrace for a Viking Explorer's (returning
travelers) cocktail party.
We also sampled a beverage - that I didn't note the name, which is OK, because neither of us liked it - toasted with it, actually. But
what was special about it was that while it is being shipped, it MUST cross the equator. A neat idea, but the drink was still... yucky.
After the toast, it was time for our port talk.
Then it was time to go downstairs for dinner.
Tonight's dinner menu.
Linda had the Regional Specialties again. This time it was French onion soup, filet de sandre au beurre blanc
(aka perch), and apple tarte tatin for dessert.
Steve had Norwegian Gravlax (aka salmon), roast duck breast, and mango lassie cake.
A little after dinner we returned to the lounge for the "Big Fat Quiz of the Cruise". Though there were no
questions about the actual cruise...
There were about 8 teams competing. There were five categories, and five questions in each. One of the categories was "Name that year".
Sharon, the Program Director, would read three items from a particular year, and we had to guess - exactly - what year it was.
Teams had to choose which category they wanted to "double their points".
Our team of three - Linda, Steve, and Mary - came in about third place. The winners got two bottles of wine of their choice.
It was a fun day. And it was time for bed.
Fun fact: the Rhine river was straightened going through Speyer many years ago.