My mother and father in law are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year and, to celebrate, they treated the whole family to a Rhine River Cruise with Adventures by Disney in July. Our epic travel group consisted of Ben’s parents, both of his brothers, sister in law and our niece and nephew. The itinerary was ambitious, but the kids handled it like champs and loved spending an entire eight days together. The trip got off to an epic start when we boarded our Delta jet and settled into the luxurious first class pods for the transatlantic flight to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam we flew into Basel, Switzerland, where we boarded our Ama Waterways ship and met our Disney Adventure Guides.
Basel is a pretty city, but we didn’t do much exploring as the jet lag situation was catching up to us. Our first full day of the trip was spent in the Black Forest. It is quite impressive. I’d never been to Germany before and was unprepared for how pretty it is. While in the Black Forest we rode a toboggan down a steep hill and also learned how to make cuckoo pipes and butter. The toboggan run was definitely a highlight for the kids….and adults.
Next up: Strasbourg, France. The entire trip was wonderful, but I think our day in Strasbourg was my favorite. It is the prettiest city I’ve ever seen and we experienced glorious weather while there. We paddled canoes all throughout the city and even got to go through a lock! After the canoe trip we wandered around the charming streets and enjoyed lunch at an outdoor cafe.
We were back in Germany for the next several days, starting with the town of Heidelberg and its famous castle that dates back to the early 1600s. Our day in Heidelberg was chilly and rainy, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. We all loved Heidelberg.
After Heidelberg, we sailed up the river to another beautiful German town: Rudesheim. We didn’t have any set tours while in Rudesheim, so we ambled around town and ended up taking a gondola ride to the Niederwald Monument. Once again, I was struck by the beauty of Germany. 
Bodie ordered Nuremberg sausage every chance he could. How is he my child?
We got caught in a torrential downpour on our way back to the ship for dinner so we stopped in a coffee shop for some famous Rudesheim coffee. It’s quite an experience! The coffee has a brandy floater that is lit on fire at the table. It comes in these special mugs and is topped with whipped cream and chocolate. What’s not to like!?!? *Side note: we ate every dinner on the ship and it was delightful. Our servers were phenomenal and the food delicious. I did not take a single picture at any of the dinners, which makes me sad! The kids seldom dined with us as they were so smitten with their Adventure Guides and made fast friends with some of the other shorties on the ship and they chose to eat in the kids’ dining room almost every evening. How nice to have leisurely adult conversation for two hours at the end of the day!
Most of our sailing was done overnight, but one day we sailed during the afternoon and were treated to views of castle after castle. I had no idea so many castles would be visible from the river.
Our stop in Cologne, Germany, consisted of a visit to an indoor ski hill! It was FREEZING, but the indoor winter park provided us with all of the necessary gear to have fun in the snow. We didn’t actually get to ski here, but we did watch a few athletes take some training runs. Our family participated in curling, sledding, tubing and the ski bike. I didn’t take my camera on this excursion, so I don’t have any pictures. But, it was fun and the kids enjoyed a break from all of the history.
Our last two days were spent in Amsterdam. Of course Amsterdam is infamous for its red light district, but the rest of the city is stunning and welcoming. The bulk of our first day was spent at the Van Gogh Museum. Although many of Van Gogh’s works are on display, our guided tour focused much more on Van Gogh the man, which is fascinating. I didn’t want the tour to end! I must admit that the kids were not enamored with an art museum, but they loved our next activity: attempting our own Van Gogh paintings while cruising along Amsterdam’s famed canals. We even saw the Ann Frank house while gliding around town.
We departed Amsterdam the next evening and enjoyed another blissful flight home. Thank you, Linda and Jerry, for the most wonderful adventure we could ever ask for. If anyone is considering cruising the Rhine with kids, I cannot recommend Adventures by Disney enough.
