The main reason I booked this cruise was to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. This is held only every 10 years, and it was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. The stage is huge and over 1,000 performers (actors and even operatic singers) as well as live animals appear. Awesome! Also, I purchased a wood carving from a master artisan in this charming village.

I chose this itinerary because of the castles of the mid-Rhine (a full afternoon of seeing one castle after another from the deck of the Viking Alruna). I booked the 2-night pre-cruise in Amsterdam (highly recommend the Premium Amsterdam hotel) and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the art museums and taking a private canal cruise on my own. There are some really beautiful places to view along the Rhine (loved the windmills of Kinderdijk, the architecture of Strasbourg & Colmar, the cathedral of Cologne). Optional tours I especially liked include the Black Forest & Marksburg Castle & Heidelberg). After disembarking, we traveled to Innsbruck for a 2-night stay escorted by Viking (loved seeing the snow at the Top of Innsbruck). We booked a 2-night post-cruise extension in Munich, which is now one of my favorite cities!