European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                S m 1 i no the cruise ship deutschland arrives in Cologne Germany after a trip up the Rhine River. Cruising the Rhine get a room with a View to Check out business As usual on the River by Craig r. Whitney the new York times a cruise on the Rhine is literally a Power trip past the German and French Industrial might evident along the River Banks the commercial and trading Power of the scores of huge barges Many of them dutch that throb ceaselessly through the immense current and powerful landscapes like the. 440-foot Rock Cliffs of the Lorelei on the most Scenic stretch of the Rhine Between Mainz and Koblenz. Dutch German and Swiss companies All operate comfortable cruise ships that ply the Waters on various itineraries Between Amsterdam and Basel but we took the deutschland a 22-year-old, 3g1-foot-Long cruise ship of the German Kiln Dussel Dorfer line which has been running the Rhine since 1826. The trip we chose was a two night journey Between Strasbourg France and. Cologne Germany Over what promised to be a Beautiful May weekend. Strasbourg the capital of French Alsace is a splendid City to begin or end a cruise with its Pink Sandstone Cathedral an old town that is among the Best preserved on the River and numerous Fine restaurants. On the afternoon of our departure dark Clouds rolled up ominously As the warm afternoon. Wore on and by the time we arrived at the River passenger station on the Eastern outskirts of the City rain had been pouring Down for More than an hour. At the Quay at embarkation time 7 p.m., we found several ships bearing cd s distinctive red and Blue insignia but none of them was the deutschland. After boarding one of the ships the Britannia to inquire into the whereabouts of our ship we Learned that a lock on the canal used by All River traffic through Alsace had jammed and that the deutschland was waiting for us on the German Side of the River in Karlsruhe where we had changed trains on the Way to Strasbourg from Bonn that morning. A bus ride of an hour and a half seemed an Odd beginning to a River cruise but the passengers cheerfully took it in stride. The cruise liners All tie up ashore every night but Karlsruhe is not one of the regularly scheduled stops so our ship was waiting for us there at a Gri Rny Industrial pier. It hardly mattered embarkation night was mainly for getting settled and enjoying a huge Buffet dinner. Stewards brought our bags to our Cabin on the ship s upper or Lorelei deck. The comfortable Cabin was spotlessly clean spare but spacious with two separate Beds. During the Day one bed became a Couch while the other folded neatly out of sight into a wooden stand against the Forward Bulkhead. There were two bookshelves a radio with three channels a table and a chair next to the huge picture window looking out on the River. The Cabin was 7 feet wide hardly Claustrophobic and about twice As Long with  separating the berths from an additional space off the main passageway that contained a closet and sink and a separate toilet and Shower. There was no television in the Cabin and the radio really worked Only when we were tied up ashore. The ship s Crew was As cosmopolitan As the passengers who came from Germany France the Netherlands America Britain Sweden and even South Africa. Our maitre d hotel Mustafa Abu Zead from Egypt spoke fluent German As Well As English and French and gave us our table assignment next to an elderly pair of germans who had come from Karlsruhe and were greatly amused at finding themselves Back there the same night and an american couple from Charlotte n.c., who had booked the cruise through their travel Agency. The Cost of. What cd Calls a three Day cruise with two evening meals two breakfasts two luncheons and Coffee and cakes booked locally was 890 Marks $523 at the rate of 1.70 Marks to the Dollar a person based on double occupancy on the Lorelei deck. On the Rheinland deck below rooms Are slightly smaller with two windows instead of one and practically right at water continued on Page 4 August 12f 1993 stripes Magazine