Travel
Five countries, 44 locks and one unforgettable European river cruise
If a luxurious European river cruise from Brussels to Basel sounds like your speed, all aboard!
By Leonie Jarrett
Fourteen hundred kilometers. Forty-four locks. Five countries (six if you opted for an included excursion to Luxembourg)! More than fifteen cities. This was an unforgettable river cruise journey with Uniworld Cruises from Brussels to Basel.
Next, maybe a French river cruise for good measure?
The tallest church in Belgium
We visited Antwerp on a Sunday amidst pealing church bells. Antwerp’s Cathedral, called Cathedral of Our Lady, is the tallest church in Belgium. Indeed, there is an unwritten rule that no building in Belgium can be taller than this Gothic sandstone masterpiece.
Waffles and walking tours
As part of our included walking tour, we stopped in the UNESCO-protected Grote Markt (Big Market) for a waffle with cream. The waffle was lighter than air and was a wonderful way to start our food journey.
Our local tour guide, Bart, educated our group about Belgian beer. He told us that there are more than two thousand sorts of beer in Belgium. Each beer has a special glass as, “It would be a sin to drink beer other than its proper glass!” Every Belgian has a cupboard full of different beer glasses apparently!
I knew of Maastricht as André Rieu’s birthplace and home. I didn’t know that it was founded by the Romans in the 1st century AD, that the Treaty of Maastricht formally creating the European Union was signed there in 1992 or how big a student town it is – about 23,000 of the 123,000 population are students.
Love seeing the sights on foot? Read walking wonders of the Swiss Alps
We got our fill of history and culture
After returning to our boat, the SS (Super Ship) Victoria, for a beautiful lunch, my husband and I walked across the road back into Maastricht. We went inside the 11th century Basilica, into a 14th century former church which is now a bookshop and wandered the Vrijthof square where André Rieu gives outdoor concerts every July.
History and culture ticked for the day, we meandered the lively shopping and restaurant area. What a hidden gem of a town!
Check out some history closer to home too
I shouldn’t pick favourites but when a port is the oldest town in Germany and has well-preserved Roman structures, it’s a definite highlight!
An afternoon traversing Trier
Our walking tour of Trier started at the magnificent Porta Nigra (Latin for Black Gate). Construction of this city gate started around 180AD. UNESCO-protected, it was built under the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius with no mortar. Instead, gravity and iron clamps were used, a testament to Roman engineering. It is the best-preserved Roman gate north of the Alps.
Later in the walking tour, we also toured other Roman buildings - the Basilica of Constantine (Aula Palatina) and the Imperial Baths.
The Basilica of Constantine was where people once came for audiences with the Emperor. A large part of the thirty-three metre high building is original, dating from around 300AD. In Roman times, it had both underfloor heating and wall heating!
The Imperial Baths also date from the early fourth century. Here, slaves once sat on toilet seats to warm them up whilst underfloor heating warmed the bathing pools. Construction was never finished but the complex was planned to be the largest bath complex in the Roman Empire outside of Rome.
In addition to the Roman marvels, Trier has a picture-postcard Market Square - Hauptmarkt. Badly damaged in WWII, the living room of Trier was rebuilt to look like it did in medieval times. Pedestrian malls radiate from Haupmarkt and, on the Saturday we visited, the area was bustling with shoppers, diners and buskers. We had lunch there, happily watching the world go by.
Pedal powered local excursions
Uniworld includes at least one excursion every day, always with a local guide. Some of these excursions were bike rides guided by locals and we signed up for several of them. We also took advantage of the free bikes onboard and we ventured off on our own a few times. None of the bikes were e-bikes but the paved bike paths along the waterways were flat so cycling was easy even for a non-frequent bike rider like me.
Something novel was in Düsseldorf where we cycled along the Rhine then took a ferry across the Rhine to cycle back to the S.S. Victoria. These small car, bike and pedestrian ferries dot the rivers.
Aboard the S.S. Victoria Splendour
We had a 23.5 square metre suite on this trip. The sumptuous and elegant stateroom included a walk-in robe and a huge bathroom. Grey, white, marble with accents of polished brass, this stateroom had everything you could want or need. It was also set up to welcome two people getting ready together with two hairdryers, two vanities and two illuminated makeup mirrors.
This cruise was dressier than any other we had been on – passengers generally changed for dinner into smart casual clothes. Staying in a suite, having clean, pressed clothes was no issue as unlimited laundry was included (what a treat!). There was also a free self-service laundromat onboard with two Miele washing machines and two Miele dryers. An iron and an ironing board too.
Another benefit of the suite was a bar of our own plus a mini bar which was replenished daily. When the team noticed that a Coke was missing, they replaced it with three! What service!
Amenities on the ship
For a small ship (maximum passenger capacity is 110; there were 87 passengers on our cruise), the S.S. Victoria has plenty of extra facilities. She has a glass elevator, an indoor pool with swim jets, a fitness centre and a spa. There are light yoga classes every morning which we enjoyed beside the pool, taking advantage of the views from the back of the ship.
A bit of exercise on a cruise is a good thing, especially when the food is as good as it was on S.S. Victoria! Executive chef, Nikolay, and his team managed to produce delicious meals that changed constantly over fifteen days.
There were buffets for breakfast and lunch and à la carte four course dinners. Soups and carveries changed daily and there were always regional specialties. If you wanted a quiet meal, room service was available 24/7.
Some wine and beer changed according to regions also. A Uniworld benefit is unlimited drinks all day (not just with meals) including: fine wine, beer, spirits, specialty coffee and tea.
Evenings settled into a pattern of pre-dinner drink (a cocktail usually), port talk, sommelier talk, dinner and post-dinner entertainment. It was a lovely pattern!
Onboard celebrations
Every two to three nights, there was either a celebration like the very fun black and white party or excellent musicians and singers. Stand outs for us were a classical group called “La Strada” comprising two violins and a guitar and a singer named Angelique who performed a spine-tingling version of “Defying Gravity” from the musical Wicked.
One night, we enjoyed dinner at Chef’s Table - a magnificent five-course menu with paired wines. This was served in the private dining room, the Vintage Room, which accommodates a group of twelve. Windows provided rolling views of the river as each beautifully plated course was served by the onboard Butler and Head Waiter.
Although it’s not fair to single out any course, I will say that the sauce with the beef was good enough to bottle and the Valrhona chocolate dessert with fairy floss was visually incredible but also delicious.
Until next time
On our last night, the Sommelier said to us that this was not goodbye; rather we should toast with our new cruising friends to, “Until next time.”
He also said to us that there was no point saving that “good” bottle of wine; that the bottle should be opened and enjoyed. That we should keep travelling and keep enjoying moments of joy.
Wise words to live by I think.
The writer was a guest of Uniworld Cruises on the 15 day “Rhine, Moselle & Belgium Grand Discovery” cruise from Brussels to Basel.
Feature image: Uniworld
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