Logwood Farms


Est. 2001



RHINE River Cruise July 2024



After our GREAT Danube River cruise last summer, we decided we had to do it again, this time on the Rhine River! Instead of dealing with low water levels like we did last year, we had the opposite issue this time, HIGH water levels. Go figure! We were so lucky that the river receded because two sailings before ours had their cruise cancelled as the boats could not make it under the bridges.


Our adventure started in Amsterdam. As we embarked our ship, Avalon’s ‘Expression’, it was so good to hear “Welcome Aboard!” again. We knew the layout of the boat and all the ins and outs so felt at home immediately. Amsterdam was unseasonably cold, rainy, and the wind was so gusty we had trouble walking around the city without getting blown all over. This was the only bad day in the forecast for our entire trip so we were relieved. After a canal cruise and a visit to the Zaanse Schans shoe factory and windmills, we were done. Dick managed to get lost amongst the windmills, took us two hours to find him.


It was great to get out of the weather and return to the ship for “happy hour” and our first dinner onboard. We loved our crew last year and were looking forward to meeting the crew on this ship. At dinner the Maître D started a conversation with us as he was pouring our wine.


Petru: Is this your first Avalon cruise?

Dick: No, we were on the Danube River last summer.

Petru: I remember you, welcome back!

Susan: I bet you remember Dick’s black eye, lol

Petru: Of course I do!


It was so fun to see him again!


Traveling down the Rhine River we encountered many locks just as we did on the Danube. However, the difference was our trip on the Rhine was totally upstream. Therefore, all the locks raised us UP to the next level. It was cool sitting on the top deck as we went through one of the locks. The captain came by and told us we needed to remain seated as he went through the entrance as we barely squeaked under. We packed up some drinks, rode the water up, and then watched the sunset as we sailed out of the lock. So much fun! Our cruise director told us he is one of the most fun captains as most of them close the top deck.


Seriously, this is THE BEST river cruise line with THE BEST crew!



Cologne was our first stop. Of course, the BIG cathedral is what people come to see. The inside of the cathedral was specular! It would take years to learn about everything in there. We were fortunate to leave after dark so we could see the cathedral lit up. So beautiful!

Heidelberg was just as we remembered it when we visited in 2007. Being a big college town, there were so many shops and restaurants. The views of the Neckar River with its bridges and locks from atop the castle ruins were beautiful! We ate at an authentic German restaurant here, the food was so delicious.

Rudesheim, in the wine region of Germany, was our most FAVORITE town on the cruise! The town was within walking distance of where we docked, but they also had a tram to the town center. In town there was a cable car to the top of the mountain. The scenery up top could not be beat. The village was so cool, many little shops and places to sit down and have a beer, our kind of place. As we were walking down the cobblestoned street in the Old Town, STOP, right in front of us was a Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store! Of course an authentic Christmas pyramid (German: Weihnachtspyramide) made its way back home with us.


The highlight of our trip was sailing through the Rhine Gorge in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The picturesque views were absolutely amazing. There was nothing better than sitting on the top deck of the boat, with beautiful sunny weather as we passed castles, vineyards, cliffs, and forested hillsides.

The last two towns we visited were in France, Strasbourg (its La Petite France District) and Colmar (France’s Little Venice). A fun side trip for us was to the Fritz-Schmitt winery in the Alsace countryside for some wine tasting. The area was gorgeous, however, we did not care for the wine. We could certainly tell the difference in German towns vs. the French towns, even though they were right across the border from each other.

There is no way we could compare which river we liked best – the Danube or the Rhine. They were completely different. We loved both. But we DO know one thing. We will definitely river cruise again. The BIG question is “where to next”? Maybe the Nile River, wink, wink!



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