Next Day

Departing by coach, our first stop was Hitler's infamous parade grounds — the scene of those spectacular displays of the 1930s. There was no attempt at denial as to the horrendous things that happened as a result of these events. Later, we travelled across the city to the site of the Nuremberg Trials that followed the war.

With its tarnished modern history out of the way we continued our tour of Nuremberg, the former capital of Franconia, and now Bavaria's second largest city. Being Sunday there was little traffic which meant we had no trouble with traffic but we travelled a little fast for getting good pictures of the grave sites festooned with flowers following their special cemetery day just passed. Dominating the walled historic center is the Imperial Castle. From here, our guide led us on a walk through the scenic old town to the market square where the fountain marks the year 1882, when the central water system was installed. and where grasping the gold ring is said to make wishes come true.

After a busy morning it was time to head back to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon we continued our cruise with locks up to the highest point of any commercial waterway in Europe - 1332 feet above sea level. We had a mini celebration at this point including an explanation of the lock system used. While taking turns checking out the galley, we descended through stair-step locks and enjoyed a leisurely evening cruise to the town of Riedenburg for the night.

Next Day

Cruising Across Europe — Index

Great Adventures