The ship's bell commemorating the year it was launched
If you are wondering about the name of the boat this plaque explains.
Apparently she was taking care of other business since we never made it to Valhalla.
Locks along the river allow boats to pass while maintaining the river level deep enough for heavy river traffic.
Here we have entered a lock, the gate behind us has been closed, and the water is being lowered so we can continue down river.
Most of the water has been drained. Now the water level in it nearly matches the river downstream.
The levels match so the downstream gate is opening for us to pass
.
Here is a look at the downstream side of another lock.
You can see the water cascading over the dam associated with it.
Viking Hervor (our boat) alongside another in Vikings fleet the Alruna.
The top deck as amenities including a walking track, sun deck, shuffleboard, bar, putting green and planters where fresh herbs were being grown for our food.
A lighthouse on the shore helps boats navigate the narrow channel.
We were treated to a rainbow one day.
More navigational aids at the entrance to a marina for smaller boats.
You can see that the river is above its normal level surrounding these trees and the current swirling past the buoy.
This is one of many tour boats we passed, This one in the Upper Middle Rhine valley.
A train emerging from a tunnel near the town of Oberwesel.
Not far from the town of Sankt Goarshausen we passed Das U-Boot S196 on its way to be a museum display in Speyer.
At the time of this writing Wikipedia still lists it as missing in action south of Java.
Our boat tied up in Cologne
This gage isn't indicating the depth of the river it is showing the clearance under the bridge
A tug pushing barges of bulk goods upstream.
It looked like coal.
Our boat moored at Kinderdijk.
Note the wheelhouse on the top deck
It's where the navigation aids and controls are located.
The green display is the radar
Entering another lock, this one below Kinderdjik.
In and going down.
Th gate is up but the wheelhouse won't clear so ...
They lower it until it is about the same height as the railings on top deck.
It was a great trip.
Check out the rest of the trip or other of our travels below.
