Drifting through history: Travel 2000 years along the Rhine

Throughout history, the Rhine has long played an important role
And, by the 18th century, the Rhine Valley was famous for its castles
The SS Maria Theresa river-cruise ship offers a two-week itinerary
From Amsterdam to Budapest, travellers see the Rhine/Main and Danub

Frank Barrett For The Mail On Sunday

Published:
06:09 EST, 21 January 2016

|
Updated:
07:20 EST, 21 January 2016

View
comments

The Rhine has held an irresistible fascination for visitors to Germany for thousands of years.

For the Romans, it represented the limit of their civilised world. Eastwards from the Rhine was the barbarian world.

When he visited the Rhine Valley, Julius Caesar was appalled to find the locals had a subsistence diet of fish and birds’ eggs. In the movie Gladiator when Russell Crowe’s character Maximus Decimus Meridius unleashes hell, he is in Germania fighting the barbarians.

German gem: Miltenberg is one of the loveliest towns on the river, writes Frank Barrett of his Rhine cruise

By the 18th Century, the Rhine Valley, especially the Rhine Gorge, famous for its castles and the Lorelei Rock, had become the happy hunting ground of Romantic era painters and writers.

It is such an extraordinarily scenic place, it was easy to imagine all sorts of weird things happening here.

When writer Mary Shelley passed through on a journey that took her to Switzerland, she is said to have had the idea for her famous novel after seeing Frankenstein Castle near Frankfurt.

This pig really DOES fly! Meet Hamlet the hog, who provides…

My 10 days as an Eastern Princess: Float from Singapore to…

Floating villages in Cambodia or eight days in the Greek…

The route from Oz to Iceland – via Memphis: These are the…

Last summer I travelled on Uniworld’s new SS Maria Theresa river-cruise ship for part of its journey from Amsterdam to Budapest: the two-week journey roughly splits into a week on the Rhine/Main followed by a week on the Danube (and vice versa on the return journey from Budapest to Amsterdam).

In terms of scenery, the early part of the journey is unexceptional.

The vessel left late in the day allowing travellers plenty of time to see the sights of Amsterdam.

Opulent: Uniworld’s new SS Maria Theresa river-cruise ship is a luxurious vessel from which to take in the beautiful scenery

By the time we were running at the river-cruise-ship equivalent of full steam ahead, we were preparing for dinner.

It was then time for bed and, as the vessel keeps rolling on through the night, by morning we were approaching Cologne: you can spot the spires of the city’s famous cathedral long before you reach the berth in the city centre.

Cologne Cathedral has had a curious stop-start existence. Construction began in 1248 but came to a halt in 1473.

Some 400 years later, building began again and was completed – following the original medieval plan – in 1880.

The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires – its two huge spires give it the largest facade of any church in the world. It is also famous as housing the relics of the Three Wise Men.

According to legend, they were martyred for their faith and their bodies buried in Constantinople, from where they were subsequently removed to Milan and then to Cologne.

Perhaps the most miraculous thing about Cologne Cathedral is that it survived the ferocious bombing of the city by the Allies during the Second World War, despite being hit on 14 separate occasions.

The Rhine has another famous war connection 40 miles up-river. Here the battle to cross the Ludendorff – the famous Bridge at Remagen – was a pivotal moment in the eventual defeat of the German army.

Eary visitor: Maximus Decimus Meridius, played by Russell Crowe in Gladiator, fought in this part of Germany

By Remagen, the sides of the valley climb and the vessel enters the heart of the wonderful Rhine Gorge where you watch every castle in the expectation of seeing Rapunzel letting down her golden tresses.

Many of the smaller towns south of the Lorelei are not very well known as tourist places, but they’re all delightful.

The lovely little river town of Rudesheim, often described as the gateway to the Rhine Gorge, is a glorious place to wander around. It’s a centre of winemaking, with plenty of opportunities to sample the local vintages.

Soon the ship leaves the Rhine and joins the Main en route to the Danube. One of the loveliest towns is Miltenberg.

The area around here was where the Romans erected their stoutest defences against the troublesome barbarians.

Maximus might have unleashed hell there, but this is the most heavenly part of Germany – far more attractive than better known places such as the Black Forest or the Harz Mountains.

From Miltenberg, the cruise rapidly approached the halfway point near Nuremberg and marked my journey’s end. I was extremely sorry to leave.

TRAVEL FACTS

Titan, in partnership with Uniworld, offers a 15-day cruise on SS Maria Theresa sailing along the Rhine, Main and Danube. It costs from £3,799pp departing November 6.

It includes a 14-night all-inclusive cruise, flights, transfers, excursions and Titan’s door-to-door VIP Home Departure Service. Visit titantravel.co.uk/uniworld or call 0800 988 5873.