Saturday, May 7 Black Forest & Breisach, Germany

This was the last full day of our cruise.  It went by very quickly.  The weather has been incredible.  We had another clear blue sky day with temperatures in the 70s.

I have mentioned seeing swans all along the Rhine from the time we left Amsterdam.  When we woke this morning we were docking in Breisach, Germany.  They had a large number, maybe 70 or 80 swans, in the river to greet us.  Here are just a few of the swans in Breisach.

Mary wasn't feeling 100% this morning.  All the rich food we have been eating caught up with her.  I ventured off on the shore excursion into the Black Forest in the morning while Mary stayed back at the ship and relaxed and read her book.  So far she has read two books.  The first book she read was the Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King.  The second book was Noah's Compass by Ann Tyler.  She started and finished Noah's Compass yesterday.  It was a very good read and there were parts of it where Mary would laugh out loud.

The Black Forest is a hilly or low mountainous region in the southeastern part of Germany.  the very south part of the Black Forest borders Switzerland.  The entire area of the Black Forest is about 150 kilometers from north to south and on average about 50 kilometers from east to west.

The Romans gave this region the name Black Forest because the woods was very dense with trees (mostly pines) and was inaccesible to them due to the steep hills.  My visit to the Black Forest consisted mainly of a bus ride through the area.  We had a step on guide that gave commentary as we drove along.  We mae a couple of stops as we went along.  And, yes, the area is very scenic.  We were told over 50% of the trees from early times are now gone but the area still maintains a forest feeling.

The first stop on our visit to the Black Forest was at a former Benedictine Abbey in the town of Saint Peter.  The abbey was founded in the year 1093.  The present church was built in the 1700s.

The interior of the church was painted white with lots of ornamentation.

Our second stop was at a place called Hofgut Sternen located in Hell's Valley surrounded by the wooded mountains.  One of the things the Black Forest is known for is cuckoo clocks.  The side of this house is a giant cuckoo clock.

This is a stream running through Hofgut Sternen.  The bridge in the background is a railroad bridge.

A sample of the many cuckoo clocks you could buy.

One of our guides wearing a traditional Black Forest straw hat with "red bulbs."  The tradition of the bulb hat was created over 200 years ago.  The red bulbs indicate the woman is single.  After they wed, tradition dictates the woman wear black bulbs.

This afternoon there was someone waterskiing next to the boat.  The boat is a Mastercraft.  The water was very calm and just begging for someone to ski on it.

We were walking through the town of Breisach in the afternoon and saw this sign.  It reminded us of Raina and Bob.

This was tonight's dinner menu for the Captain's Farewell Dinner.  Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read the menu.

Mary and I both had the beef.  The beef was very tender and despite its red appearance, it was cooked!

Prior to serving the Baked Alaska, the waiters paraded through the dining room with the flaming Baked Alaska.  The grand finale of our cruise on the Viking Helvetia!