Onboard

• After two nights in our Nuremberg hotel, it was moving day. Our home for the next seven nights would be the Viking “Longship” Freya, waiting for us on the Main-Danube Canal just a few miles away. The move to dockside was smooth and easy. While it wasn’t mandatory to pose for pictures before boarding, we were happy to document the day and take a photo of our floating residence:
  

  

  

  

  
  Our ship, German-built and christened in 2012, would carry 185 passengers. We were among the first to board and were pleasantly surprised to find our adjoining rooms ready by 11 am.
  

  

  After a light lunch on the forward terrace, we spent the afternoon exploring the ship, settling in and getting some rest --- we were planning ahead.
  
  Dinner was an experience and this one was typical. While the food was delicious and the casual attire appreciated, the noise level from our fellow passengers was a surprise. Perhaps, it ought not to have been, given the general excitement --- friends greeting each other, the day’s adventures being compared, tomorrow’s plans under discussion, and so on. The wait staff were also experts at keeping wine glasses full, which may have boosted the exuberance. We acclimated to the noise but did wonder what might be done on the Freya for better sound insulation.
  
  Our afternoon siesta paid off in the lounge that evening. The floor was small but the music wonderful, the atmosphere festive and the dancing memorable.
  
  It was the following morning on a bus tour that we were able to view the Nazi Rally Grounds (described earlier). The coach also drove us past the courthouse famous for the Nuremberg trials but did not stop there. The tour did give us more time to see the Old Town on our own before bidding Nuremberg Auf Weidersehen! Onboard, while we had lunch, Freya cast off and down the canal we went:
  

  

  
  Only a short while later, we slowed to a stop at a canal lock, the first of many:
  

  

  As we waited, a ship going in the opposite direction emerged:
  

  

  Typically, these cruise ships have little clearance as the designers aim to maximize their vessels:
  

  

  

  
  Finally, it was our turn to enter the lock. This photo was taken from the bow of the Freya when almost all the way in:
  

  

  At this lock, as water filled the chamber, the ship was elevated to continue on its way.
  
  “Wait!” I can hear a reader ask, “If the ship was headed downriver, why was it being elevated?” The answer is that from the Main River to the Danube, the canal climbs over a mountain range and our ship was still not at the top. Once over the highest point of the range, all other locks we encountered lowered the ship.....Glad you asked.
  
  Our afternoon on the canal was spent lazily watching the scenery float by. Another great dinner followed and, afterwards, as much dancing as we had time and energy to enjoy.