Bike and Boat Koblenz to Amsterdam

Day 1: Koblenz

At the corner where the Rhine and Mosel Rivers meet, we welcome you onboard at noon in Koblenz. You settle into your room and we head to the old center for a guided tour.

You have the rest of the afternoon to sightsee this 2,000 year-old beautiful town. The exciting cable car crossing the Rhine to the 11th century Ehrenbreitstein Fortress is a must see!

Day 2: Bonn and Cologne (24 miles)

In the morning we will take our bikes by train for the short ride to Bonn. The capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990, beautiful Bonn has history dating back to the 1st century B.C. when Roman soldiers built the largest known Roman fort here. The city's most famous son, Ludwig van Beethoven was born here in 1770 and we will visit his house, beautiful Poppelsdorf Castle and lovely town square on a town walk.

From Bonn we head to the countryside of the North Rhine - narrow lanes through farmland and small German towns. In Porz, we stop for lunch overlooking the river. It's only a few miles with an exciting bridge crossing to the west side of the Rhine and into Cologne.

Cologne is one of Germany's oldest cities. We'll visit the city's Gothic Cathedral - a Unesco Heritage site and Germany's most visited landmark. Afterwards we'll enjoy Cologne's famous Kolsch beer in a 100- year old brewery.

Day 3: Dusseldorf (27 miles)

As the Rhine travels downstream we follow its meander and dip into the surrounding gentle rolling countryside- green fields and forests as far as the eye can see. We stop in Zons, a fairy tale walled town from the 13th century.

A few miles away we tour amazing Benrath Estate, the former Baroque pleasure palace of Prince Charles Theodore. Enjoying the Rhine views, we enter Dusseldorf.

Known for fashion and international business, Dusseldorf has a unique old town full of beautiful historic buildings such as the Rathaus and Schloss Kaiserwerth– original home to Emperor Barbarossa from 1174.

Our local guide, Martin, will take us on a fascinating tour and we celebrate with German Flammkuchen at a waterfront beergarden.

Day 4: Rees (22 miles)

We sail this morning to the town of Duisburg where we start our cycling. We follow the shoreline and cut inland through forest to Xanten. A beautiful city rich with Roman history dating back to 15 BC, Xanten offers amazing sightseeing including the famous archeological park housing the remains of the former Roman settlement of Colonia Ulpia Traiana.

Our boat waits for us on the promenade in Rees. Founded in 1228, Rees is the oldest town of the lower Rhine whose medieval city walls greet you at the shores of the Rhine.

Day 5: Nijmegen (30 miles)

We cross the Rhine and head to the town of Kleve. On the way we stop at Schloss Moylen, a beautiful moated castle with photo-worthy castle park.

Sitting on a hilltop, Schwanenburg Castle dominates Kleve town and offers a look-out over the Netherlands to the west. Our town guide, Martin, will explore with us Kleve's quaint castle and city center.

Cycling through the beautiful nature reserve called Ooij Polder, we have entered Netherlands. We'll enjoy miles of untouched dunes, grassy plains and ponds passing only a thatched farmhouse or two as we approach Nijmegen.

Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, the first to be recognized as such in Roman times. The ruined palace begun by Roman emperor Charlemagne in the 8th still perches over the Waal River in Nijmegen's Valkhof park. Nijmegen's sweeping market square of medieval buildings is a favorite of locals and the city itself bursts with unique historical sights.

Day 6: Wijk Bij Duurstede (28-30 miles)

This morning we cross the mighty Waal River into beautiful Betuwe Region known as the Orchard of Holland. We'll behold turning fall colors of hundreds of acres of fruit trees and stop to taste the apples and pears from the latest picking at a family farm. Our route also Suzie's treat to popular Dutch Apple Tart and coffee at a family-run Tea House.

We end our day in charming Wijk Bij Duurstede- at the crossing of the River Lek and Amsterdam Rhine. Fairytale charming, Wijk Bij Duurstede at one time was the northern border of the Roman Empire and became an important trading site in North-West Europe.

Today we can see the preserved castle from 1300, beautiful town buildings and windmill set on a town gate during our town walk. We hope to catch a performance at the popular Calypso town theatre after dinner.

Day 7: Vianen (20 miles)

Our short and amazingly picturesque cycle today follows the dikes of the River Lek and into typical old Dutch villages. We will stop at impressive Fort Everdingen originally part of the Dutch Waterline from 1700 which formed a protection to the country by flooding the land in time of invasion. After we visit the Van Rossum organic cheese farm to learn how Gouda cheese is made.

Day 8: Amsterdam (25 miles)

Our boat sails down the Amsterdam Rhine Canal to the town of Breukelen (from where our N.Y. borough gets its name!) where we depart to start our cycling. Cycling the Province of Utrecht – we behold centuries-old villages, beautiful pastureland dotted by windmills, castles and mansions built on the River Vecht during the Dutch Golden Age.

We stop for a tour of a working windmill, and as we near Amsterdam, lunch will be Suzie's treat- typical Dutch pancakes (Pannekoek)at the Spiegelhuis Restaurant.We celebrate the end of a great trip with a farewell dinner.

Day 9: Goodbye to a great trip!

We enjoy breakfast, say goodbye to friends and depart ship at 9:30 a.m.