{"id":190974,"date":"2022-07-28T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/?p=190974"},"modified":"2022-07-28T10:10:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T15:10:51","slug":"drifting-from-paris-to-prague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/featured-home-page\/drifting-from-paris-to-prague\/","title":{"rendered":"Drifting From Paris To Prague"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If my legs are shorter than when I boarded the plane two weeks ago, blame it on Paris. It was the first stop of a Viking cruise that continued through Luxembourg, following the Moselle River into the Rhine and Main as we floated our way to Prague, another of my Top Ten European haunts. Hey, after endless months of lockdown living thanks to covid, I\u2019d have signed on to visit\u2014oh, say, Anoka.  Instead, we\u2019re strolling our way through Paris!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything the gushing guidebooks promise comes true. It\u2019s still home of starving artists, militant foodies and DIY philosophers scribbling away at their theses in sidewalk cafes (berets optional).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Martha Waldemar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After the city tour which Viking provides at every stop (hello, Arc de Triomphe, bonjour, Eiffel Tower), my companion and I strolled past Notre Dame, still under repair from the tragic fire, on to the trendy boutiques of The Marais District, then the pricier ones lining Ste. Germaine, climaxing with a swing through boho Montmartre for dinner at Ernie\u2019s (think: Hemingway) of foie gras pate and onion soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up next: motoring to Reims, to explore its magnificent 15th<\/sup>-century cathedral ablaze with sunlight sparkling through jewel-toned stained glass. It\u2019s here where young Joan of Arc followed God\u2019s nudge and lobbied to become the coronation site of future kings of France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a reverential stop at the American cemetery in Luxembourg, resting place of WWII\u2019s fallen forces, we barrel on to Trier , in Germany, to board the charming riverboat Idi, where armadas of swans float by our cabin\u2019s balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Martha Waldemar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

 It\u2019s tempting to linger there in the comfort of our cozy cabin\u2014our private heaven, where the bathroom blooms with luxe products and the floor is warmed to protect our tender toes. But no! Not with a spacious, window-walled lounge (home of nightly live music) beckoning\u2014not to mention a sprawling sundeck lined with chaises to watch the fields and forests of Germany slide by.  Wear off the sumptuous dinners to come on its jogging track or practice your golf swing, then cheer on the captain as he steers us through the first of many locks, like concrete fish tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Idi\u2019s meals are another reason never to return to reality. Start the day with an order of Eggs Bennie and cappuccino off the breakfast menu, and end it with dinners a Michelin inspector would covet: Norwegian salmon or Chateaubriand? Goat cheese souffle or Caesar salad? Cheese tray or Black Forest torte?  Just say yes. Endless pours of wine and beer are complimentary at mealtime, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trier\u2014Germany\u2019s oldest city, as we learn on our walking tour, was home to Celtic tribes  before Emperor Augustus\u2019 troops marched in to create a \u201csecond Rome.\u201d Diocletian\u2014the Donald of his day\u2014erected bigger-is-beautiful  buildings in his own honor, including the Porta Nigra, a formidable gate in the city\u2019s wall, as well as a vast amphitheater where gladiators  wrestled with wild beasts, or each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Romans left, the church took over. The stone-lace Liebfraukirch of 1275 holds, they say, Jesus\u2019 bloody tunic and the nails that pierced his flesh. But the town\u2019s favorite son would have none of that. Karl Marx holed up and wrote his Communist Manifesto. He\u2019d turn over in his grave if he knew that his former house has become the euro version of a dollar store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Martha Waldemar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sailing on, we next docked at photo-ready Bernkastel, a tiny town dressed in medieval half-timbered houses strung along cobblestone lanes. Back on board, the Idi made its way to Cochem, where we sighted a hulking castle fortress awaiting our inspection. Clearing its heavy, fortified gates, we made our way through seven of its 50 rooms, admiring fireplaces paved in precious Delft tiles, a secret passage to milady\u2019s bedroom, and knightly armor clanking in the halls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the crew hauled anchor, we lunched on\u2026. oh, maybe the Monte Cristo. Or the behemoth  burger. Or pasta puttanesca. Maybe the schnitzel ? Red wine or white? Hey, nobody said the choices would be easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koblenz swam into view. It\u2019s here the Moselle flows into the mighty Rhine at a point called Deutsches Eck, the \u201cGerman Corner,\u201d anchored by a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm perfecting his posture on a horse. Graceful riverside promenades lead to the 12th<\/sup>-century Basilica of St. Kastor, whose lofty white ceiling showcases its Gothic stone ribs parading in pink. The same feminine theme decorates Our Lady\u2019s Church, aside a pretty square anchoring a network of shopping streets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casting off, we snagged chaises on the sundeck as front-row seats in the parade of castles dotting the muscular Rhine in the hours to come. These are not pretty, Disneylike abodes for Cinderella\u2014rather where Hamlet would brood if only he were German\u2014each perched atop an overlook to better forestall attackers or extract bribes from passing ships\u2014and, for many on Idi, the highlight of the voyage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, it\u2019s off to Heidelberg, a town straight out of operetta-land with a cast of students populating the oldest university in Germany (1386). The main street is one long shopping arcade, overseen by the romantic ruins of a castle crumbling on the hilltop. Below it, the town hall of 1701 is the scene of couples entering to be married, then exiting amid pops of champagne corks. Gundel, the town\u2019s oldest bakery, sells the local specialty, the grapefruit-size sneeball (snowball) composed of pastry glued by chocolate. On a somber note, golden squares on the cobblestones commemorate homes from which Jewish families were ripped in 1938.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Martha Waldemar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, an optional tour we\u2019d ordered delivered us to Rotenberg, Germany\u2019s best-preserved medieval village\u2014fulfilling every tourist\u2019s vision of a medieval fairyland. It\u2019s protected by four miles of encircling walls, atop which the hardy may patrol, to glimpse the town\u2019s red-tiled roofs and Gothic spires. It also boasts a macabre Museum of Crime and Torture, should you wish to view an iron maiden, shaming mask, chastity belt, and more. Instead, we gathered for lunch at Glock for a proto-German feast of potato soup, bratwurst and apple strudel, Beer, too, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day\u2019s tour continued to Wurzburg to explore the uber-opulent Prince-Bishop\u2019s Residenz. Not one to hold back, the cleric ordered a ceiling mirage to be painted by Tiepolo, the bold-name Italian artist. For art of a less rarified nature, stroll through the Baroque garden in the rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bamberg, our next expedition, flaunts 2,000 historic buildings occupying their original medieval layout. Thanks to flowing rivers, it dubs itself \u201cLittle Venice,\u201d complete with gondoliers. But Bamberg\u2019s burghers are equally proud of its beers (15 breweries) that go well beyond pils. The local brewski is called rauch, or \u201csmoked,\u201d beer, which tastes as unusual as it sounds. Some equate it to liquid bacon, while others find it like \u201ckissing an ashtray.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climb (as usual) to the town\u2019s cathedral, where Henry II and his wife are buried and the famed Bamberg Rider statue presides. (They allow horses in church?) The nearby cleric\u2019s Residenz could pass for Versailles. Below, murals decorate the mid-river town hall, serving as medieval billboards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Martha Waldemar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nurnberg\u2019s up next, starting with the site of the Nazi Party rally grounds and the pulpit from which Hitler ranted. But the lively Old Town presents a happier picture. Market stalls fill the main square fronting the Church of Our Lady. It\u2019s topped by a wondrous glockenspiel featuring a parade of miniature figures honoring a tiny king when the clock strikes the hour. In the far corner of the square rises a mini-steeple called the Beautiful Fountain, a frilly carving that lives up to its name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our journey ends in Prague, a vivacious flirt of a city. And feisty! After the Nazis came 40 years under Russian rule, which collapsed with the brave Velvet Revolution. The yellow and blue flag of Ukraine flutters in solidarity all over town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We began our exploration at Prague\u2019s cathedral-cum-castle complex (\u201cthe largest in Europe\u201d) on one side of the iconic Charles Bridge, festooned with vendors, tourists and heroic statues. Crossing into the Jewish ghetto, which, ironically, Hitler left intact to serve as \u201ca museum of an extinct race,\u201d synagogues cluster around an tiny, emotionally moving cemetery, where tombstones rise vertically from multiple-use graves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crowds gather on the sprawling Town Square to gaze at its famed astronomical clock as the hour strikes. Then, down a cobbled side street, we relish a farewell dinner for two (foie gras, roast duck, red wine) at the romantic Blue Duck as we toasted the trip of a lifetime and plotted of our next Viking voyage. Check out www.vikingrivercruises.com<\/a> and start packing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If my legs are shorter than when I boarded the plane two weeks ago, blame it on Paris. It was the first stop of a Viking cruise that continued through Luxembourg, following the Moselle River into the Rhine and Main as we floated our way to Prague, another of my Top Ten European haunts. Hey,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":192762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":278},"categories":[278,141,151],"tags":[17591],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190974"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190974"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192763,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190974\/revisions\/192763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}