Unlike ocean cruising, river cruises often feature two stops in one day. Its a rather unique feature of river cruising that begins by letting passengers disembarking at one port. Once there, a guided walking tour along with some free time to explore on their own is featured. But then, rather than returning to the same place to get back on the ship, river cruise passengers either walk or are bussed to a different port. That’s just what happened to us on Luftner Cruises’ Amadeus Brilliant, dropping us in Wurzbert, Germany but picking us up later in the day in Rothenberg, a place we would have liked to stay a bit longer. First Stop Of The Day
Arriving in Wurzburg, we docked in an industrial area. Transportation somewhere would be needed for any activity other than walking along the riverbank, arguably not a bad way to spend a day and some passengers did just that. Others went a different direction, taking a motor coach to Kloster Bronnbach, a former Cistercian monastery dating back to the 12th century before retuning to Amadeus Brilliant for lunch.
Second Stop Of The Day
After lunch it was off to Rothenburg for a tour of a town referred to as Germany’s well-preserved ‘Jewel of the Middle Ages’, and rightfully so. Our local guide explained that what we were seeing was basically the same as it has always been, with the addition of running water, electricity and other modern conveniences as they were invented. Towers, city gates, walls and cobblestone streets have remained unchanged since the Thirty Years War. A bit of free time at the conclusion of the tour allowed us to look around at our leisure before the ride back to Amadeus Brilliant.
Dinner had us sailing away and off into the sunset, arguably one of the best parts of river cruising.