- Welcome to a river cruise on the Rhine.

I'm Lynn Elmhirst, a travel journalist with a deep passion for sailing the high seas.

Navigating timeless routes on a world that's 70% water, cruising may be the most authentic way to travel, not to mention its spectacular scenery, fascinating ships, maritime traditions, and local people and cultures.

Join me on the "World's Greatest Cruises."

"World's Greatest Cruises" is made possible in part by the JERNE community of travel advisors: local business owners with experience cruising and planning cruises.

More information at JERNE.COM/CRUISE Today on "World's Greatest Cruises," we're discovering the year-round tastes and treats of the Rhine River, one of the most important rivers in Europe and one of the most popular river cruise routes through the heart of four countries.

We're sailing from Basel, Switzerland along the border between France and Germany, then north to the Netherlands.

We're aboard the Viking Sigyn among around 200 guests and 50 crew.

The cruise line calls its fleet of identical river cruise ships longships in honor of its Scandinavian family heritage.

No matter where they're sailing in Europe, these modern day Viking longships reflect Nordic style, sensibility and hospitality.

Sleek lines, pale woods, minimalist and mid-century filling decor that maximizes the use of space also includes touches of warmth through rustic materials and homey fabrics, traditional Scandinavian craftsmanship and references to the Norse seafarers whose voyages expanded the horizons of Europe and left a legacy of exploration by water.

Our Rhine River cruise allows us to expand our appreciation for local culture through famous regional food and beverage traditions served up aboard the Viking Sigyn.

From a spirited local Rudesheim coffee that will warm you up even on a chilly day to a classic German feast.

Prost.

- Prost.

- [Lynn] River cruising in Europe used to have a season from early spring to the end of the Christmas markets.

Now, you can cruise the Rhine River year round and while you do have to dress accordingly, the off season sailings mean you can enjoy its sights and experiences surrounded by fewer tourists and more locals.

We nearly get fondue wrist twirling melted cheese in Switzerland.

We go on cave tours with wine makers, carrying on viticultural traditions, including a tour of what's been nicknamed the Cathedral of Wine in the oldest Riesling winery in the world, and as the Viking Sigyn's cruise director explained, all of these iconic regional flavors are very connected to the history and geography of the Rhine River.

- It started quite rough with the Romans having it as a border of civilized world and the savages living across, but then through the Middle Ages, being one of the most important trade routes of Europe together with Moselle came to be home to more than 40 castles and castle ruins and a lot of myths and legends coming from.

- I find it very fascinating this is not just a historic river.

It's a living river, and, of course, actually, if you just look behind us, there's so many vineyards and are almost as impressive as the castles.

A river cruise really is the most authentic way to experience some of the richest culture and history.

- It's that cultural enrichment, the culinary experience, the many cultural or the region wise experience together with visit of beautiful places on our way, sailing the rivers of Europe.

(upbeat music) (horn blows) - The southernmost port on the Rhine River is in Switzerland near its origins in the Alps.

Rhine River cruises begin or end where France and Germany meet right at Basel, Switzerland.

And despite its location on that tri country border, Switzerland's all Swiss.

And we have time after boarding and before sail away to explore the town and indulgence in some of its culinary hits.

Switzerland's long been synonymous with two favorite comfort foods, chocolate and cheese.

And nothing warms you up and melts your heart for a destination like melted cheese and a gathering of friends, which is exactly what Swiss fondue is all about as we discovered in a historic restaurant in Basel's old town.

Anwar, you're going to show me the secrets of making perfect fondue?

- I am, yes indeed, because we do quite a lot here.

- And it seems pretty simple.

There's not many ingredients.

- So, we have Gruyere, Appenzeller and the Mont d'Or.

- All Swiss cheeses.

- On a medium heat, we heat up a pan, which is, we call it the caquelon, which is from the French, and we rub it with garlic.

- Oh, this isn't maybe really date night food.

- It's not unless you all eat it.

And then you add the cheese.

- White wine.

- Dry white wine.

- Dry white wine.

- We don't want to push it.

Now we take the starch.

It's important to get the cheese at the end to give it a creamy touch.

Kirsch goes in there, too.

- And how do you know if you've got a good fondue?

What should it make you feel?

- Me, as a Swiss, it makes me feel at home, so.

- There you go.

- [Anwar] You see, now we getting creamy here.

- [Lynn] Yes, it is.

- [Anwar] We should, we're ready.

- [Lynn] Okay.

(bright music) So, rule number one, do not lose your bread.

- Don't.

If you do lose your bread, you have to pay a bottle of wine if you lose it.

Or if you're with good friend, ah, that's the plate.

Fondue.

- Or as I like to say, fun-due.

- It is.

- You can't go wrong with the food you can play with.

- No, that's right.

It's fun-due.

- Right?

It's fun-due.

(upbeat music) Once the Viking Sigyn embarks northbound on the Rhine, our first port of call's at Breisach, Germany.

Nearby Stauffen's where the planes of the Rhine meet the foot of Germany's Black Forest and where our shore excursion introduces us to one of the country's famous drinks.

The Rhine is famous for its wines, but today here in Stauffen, we are tasting schnapps.

No, not that kind of schnapps common in North America, sweet fruit flavor added to spirits.

Our tour takes us to a family business that's been perfecting the local tradition of fermenting fresh fruit and distilling it into a clear unsweetened fruit brandy, and they've been doing it here for nearly 200 years.

This might not look like anyone's idea of an industrial operation.

It looks very historic.

- It is, it is.

I mean this is our main courtyard, and it's actually one of the most beautiful places of the distillery.

(upbeat music) First thing that would happen is that the farmers, local farmers, bring the cherries in our courtyard and that's where we then, you know, choose for the right quality.

So we want them to bring very fresh picked fruits.

They should have the right sugar content, so for us to generate enough alcohol during fermentation.

- So they have to be quite ripe to be maximum sugar.

- Absolutely.

That's what we look for.

And then the fermentation starts, and that happens in these tanks.

- Well, I know what happens in this room with these beautiful copper stills and the smell in here is quite nice already.

So you can already, that product is already happening at this point.

- [Philipp] They've been distilling today, so this, probably- - [Lynn] Oh, that's why we can smell.

That's why it's the good smell.

- [Philipp] So, we have the first distillation, the second distillation, and if we need to a third or fourth distillation at the same time.

- [Lynn] Do you know, are these oak wine barrels?

Is that what these are?

- Some of them are barrels, but traditionally, fruit brandies are aged in ash wood barrels.

- Ash wood.

And is that because of the neutral flavor?

You don't want the oak?

- Very nice.

- Good guess.

- Very good one.

Very good one.

That's actually true.

- [Lynn] The tastings where we get to see if the pure flavors of local cherries, plums, apples or pears really shines.

- [Philipp] We start with the Williams pear.

- The Williams pear.

- You know, when you taste a fruit brandy, it should not be out of the fridge or the freezer.

Not good as you would like.

What you want to do is you want to taste it at room temperature.

- And so you taste the flavor.

(bright music) You can really taste the pear.

It's not like a pear flavor.

- No.

- It's pear.

For people who think that there's a schnapps thing about it, which people think of being so sickly sweet and so strong and so dangerous because there's so much sugar and it goes to your head so fast, there is no similarity between that kind of thing that we associate in North America and what I'm drinking right now.

These are delicious.

Thank you so much.

You've really opened our eyes to breaking all the myths of schnapps.

Cheers.

(upbeat music) For more than a hundred miles cruising along the Rhine, we're sailing on an actual borderline.

The riverbank on one side of the ship is Germany and the other side is France.

It's an experience pretty unique to cruising, being right on a border and a shared transportation route between two countries.

This is our only French port of call on our Rhine River cruise, and it's in the noted Alsace wine region.

So of course, we couldn't miss the opportunity to taste some French wine.

Valerie, it's so nice to speak with a French female wine maker.

And so, this is your family winery for, you say, only 16 generations.

- Only, yes.

Yes, exactly.

- I really enjoy Alsace wines, and so I want to know why I like them so much.

- So, Alsace is very unique because maybe you know that we are between the Vosges Mountains one side and the Black Forest, other side.

And long time ago, it was on one mountain that collapsed.

So, that's why nowadays, we have completely different types of soils here along the wine road, so we have 170 kilometers wine road.

- Of the wine road of Alsace.

- [Valerie] Yes, exactly, and 15 different types of soils.

And that's why it's very unique because even if we grow exactly the same varieties here, the taste will be different in each part of Alsace.

- Right.

Then we can go visit the cellar.

- Yes, of course.

- And see where there's some action going on.

Excellent.

Valerie, it looks beautiful down here and it smells beautiful down here.

- Oh yes, of course.

The wines are still in maturation.

Some are still in fermentation now.

- I see.

- So that's why you can- - We can smell that lovely scent.

It's so beautiful, these giant wooden casks, and each of them seems to have its own decoration.

- [Valerie] Yes.

- [Lynn] There must be a story behind these casks.

- Each barrel is unique.

It's different because it's handmade.

You can see a lot of cliches from Alsace.

You see the stork.

You see the costume and so on, so- - [Lynn] Right.

- This is more a decoration one, but the ones with the fishes and the mermaids, this is more.

- [Lynn] That's more like a we want lots of wine.

- [Valerie] Yes, exactly.

- I have to ask you, how large are these casks?

How much wine does each one hold?

- Alors, it's written on the top of each one.

You see a nice- - [Lynn] Oh, I see.

Oh, so this one is 50- - 50 hectoliters or 5,000 liters.

- Wow.

Wow.

- Should be enough for the wine tasting.

- It should be.

Well, I might not be here long enough.

(Lynn laughs) - [Valerie] The oldest barrel- - [Lynn] Okay.

- [Valerie] We own, so this is- - [Lynn] Yes.

- The most famous barrel.

It was built in 1725.

This is Bacchus.

You know?

- [Lynn] Bacchus, the god of wine.

- [Valerie] Exactly.

- He looks happy enough.

- Of course.

- He should be.

As he should.

- Yes.

He has plenty of wine.

- Yes.

- So he can be happy.

- [Lynn] It was our turn to be happy next with our next stop in the tasting room.

- [Valerie] So we'll start first with Riesling.

- [Lynn] This is the main wine that you produce?

- Yes, yes.

- Which is so much different, which we will say again from German Riesling.

- Yes.

- Okay.

- And it's a Riesling coming from old vines, old stock that produce less and the roots go deep, deep down in the soil and extract more minerality from the ground.

- Very interesting.

- So, you will get more concentration, more flavors.

Feel the freshness, the citrusy flavors, and in the mouth, in the mouth, you will see.

You feel the fruity, a little bit residual sugar at first.

- Mm hmm.

- With a lot of flavors with white flowers, with the citrusy and the minerality.

- And the minerals, yes.

- And at the end, you have a nice acidity washing your mouth so it's not sweet in your mouth.

- I was just going to say- - It's fruity.

- It's still very dry, and which I like 'cause sometimes Rieslings can be rather sweet.

- Sweet, yes.

- And this is not like any of those.

- No.

- I really like this.

- [Valerie] The next wine we will taste is a Gewurztraminer.

- Also generally associated with Germany.

- Yes, yes.

Gewurz in German, it means spicy.

- [Lynn] Right.

- [Valerie] And we will pair this wine with kugelhupf.

- And when was the last time you thought, oh, a nice sweet yeast bread?

I'd better pour a glass of Gewurztraminer, right?

Forget coffee.

- It's not tea time.

It's wine time.

- I like the way you think.

(bright music) That's a lovely combination.

It's so surprising.

That's a brioche bread, almonds and raisins and just a hint of sweetness.

But with the wine together, there's something really very special.

- [Valerie] Yes.

- Oh, that's delicious.

(upbeat music) Further north, on the opposite bank of the Rhine River in Germany, we arrive in Rudesheim, a famous wine making town in the Rhine Gorge that's also home to a very different drink, an essential experience when you visit.

The Viking Sigyn's bartender even stocks the special cups just to give guests a very warm welcome to Rudesheim.

Joe, we've been enjoying your drinks all during this cruise, but you have something special for us today that's very special to the Rhine and to this region.

It looks very dramatic.

Tell us what we're making today.

- All right, the Rudesheimer coffee.

- And tell us about this.

This is a type of brandy, and is it local to Rudesheim?

- Yes, it's a very local.

In Rudesheim, it's 84 volume of alcohol, taste like a floral bouquet, so it's very, very good combination with the coffee.

- My mother always told me never to look at the bottom of people's China, but I did anyway.

And I see that this says Rudesheimer coffee, and the recipe is right there.

- Exactly, so this is the original Rudesheim coffee cups that we're using also, so it's kind of hot, very rich with drink with the liquor.

- So it's perfect for this time of year when you want a warming drink and to warm you up on a chilly day.

Joe, how do you make Rudesheimer coffee?

It's clearly not just, oh, take coffee and throw in a shot.

- Yes, exactly.

- It is a little bit more complicated.

- There's more.

Can you help me out?

- [Lynn] You're gonna let me do it- - Yes.

- So that I can go home and I can do it again for my friends.

- Exactly.

- Perfect.

Okay, first step.

- So first thing, we are gonna fire it up.

I got a small flame.

- Fire it up.

- And I put a shot of brandy, so the equivalent on it is like two ounce of the brandy on it.

- [Lynn] Okay, so two ounces of brandy.

- [Joe] So just hit the fire.

- [Lynn] Oh, I see, so we are just warming the bowl.

- The fire will coming up to the brandy.

- There it is.

Okay.

- After that you're gonna put a brown sugar to caramelize it.

- [Lynn] There we go.

Till the sugar all melts?

- [Joe] Yeah.

- Perfect.

There we go.

Very dramatic.

- Yes.

- [Lynn] And into the cup.

- [Joe] Yeah, exactly.

- And this is ordinary coffee?

Americano?

- This is ordinary coffee.

Americano, yeah.

- Okay.

- It's a broad coffee.

So we're gonna have like three ounce of that.

Now, we need to put the whipped cream after you put your coffee.

There we go.

- Okay.

- You can set it by yourself.

- Sure.

- Look at that.

Oh yes.

- Is that with love?

Is there enough love in that coffee?

- It is more than enough love in that.

- And more than enough cream.

- And now, the last touches will be the chocolate sprinkles.

- Oh, some chocolate sprinkles.

- [Joe] Yeah.

Just put it in the top.

- The piece de resistance.

And is the our presentation.

That's our Rudesheimer coffee.

- [Joe] That is our Rudesheimer coffee.

- [Lynn] Can I share a secret with you?

- Yeah, sure.

I don't like coffee, but with this much alcohol and whipped cream, I think I'll like this.

- Oh my god.

There we go.

- Let's test it.

- [Joe] Yes.

Careful, it's hot.

- Mm hmm.

Mm.

Oh, that's delicious.

And you're right.

So the brandy is a different flavor.

I've had coffees with different alcohols in them.

- Yeah.

- But this is a very nice flavor, a uniquely Rudesheim, Rhine flavor.

I'm going to have one more sip.

(upbeat music) They call it the romantic Rhine, and why not when it's most renowned for picturesque castles and famous wine.

And our next shore excursion brought us to a winery where we could experience both.

Schloss Johannisberg translates to the castle on John's rock, named after John the Baptist by the monks who identified this hillside as the ideal spot to grow grapevines, developing what's now the oldest winery of its kind in the world.

Most of what you see above ground's from the 1700s.

What's nearly 30 feet underground, they call the Cathedral of Wine, and it's easy to see why.

I love a wine tour that starts with wine.

- So do I.

- Well, cheers.

- Cheers, Lynn.

- So nice to meet you.

- Likewise.

- Thank you.

- It's a pleasure having you here, Lynn.

- Thank you so much.

So that is a lovely wine.

And I know that Schloss Johannisberg has quite a story of history and terroir, the land where this wine is grown, the type of grapes grown here.

And in fact, we saw the hills outside and all of that comes together to create this glass of wine.

- You're quite right, Lynn.

The history of this place goes back more than 900 years in time.

This estate is a hundred percent Riesling winery, and it has been since 1720.

One grape variety, only Riesling, some of the very finest and best Rieslings worldwide.

- [Lynn] Does the proximity of the Rhine River also affect the wine here?

- The Rhine brings a noticeable, measurable warmth into this region.

Sort of from May until October, something like this, you are acting a little bit like a furnace.

- Right.

- And heating up the region, helping the grapes to arrive and to mature.

For one thing, without the river, we would not have a wine growing region here.

- So people who are taking a Rhine River cruise, it's almost essential for them to try Rhine wine because the river, the relationship between the river- - [Walter] It's a must.

- It's a must.

- [Walter] Yeah, yeah.

- [Lynn] Walter, I think it looks even more cathedral like down here.

- [Walter] This cellar is a working cellar.

It's not a show cellar, yeah?

This is our historical cellar for the barrels.

As you can see, we have approximately 200 oak barrels.

This estate is the oldest Riesling winery in the world.

- In the world, and you can taste it in the wine.

I think you can.

- No doubt about it.

- I think that's our cue.

- [Walter] Johannisberg is the birthplace of- - [Lynn] Of late harvest wine.

- The late harvest, generally speaking.

We take pride in that because late harvest is an official term in the international wine world.

And you will find late harvest today all over where they cultivate grape vines.

We are standing now in front of our treasure chamber, and behind those iron bars, we have more than 20,000 bottles of wine.

- So you tell me that you can show me from here the oldest wine in this cellar.

- This is a Riesling, of course, winter cheer, 1748, older than the United States of America, obviously.

- Do you think it would taste good at this point?

- It has been opened the last time in 1985.

I have no doubt about that it's still good to drink.

Every so often a wine out of the cellar goes to an auction.

- What kinds of prices will very aged bottles of Riesling like this?

- It achieved at an auction 18,000 euro.

- That's nearly $20,000, really.

- Yes.

- Yes.

- And considering we have more than 20,000 bottles behind those bars- - This really is the treasure chest.

And so Walter, now we have tasting by candlelight.

- What could be more romantic than being in a more than 300 years old wine cellar, you know?

- So this is the newest vintage, and that's what we're tasting.

Much drier than you might think a Riesling would be.

So Walter, thank you so much for introducing me and sharing to the history of Riesling in the oldest Riesling vineyard in the world.

The original.

- Yes.

- And to the Rhine River, which I think is really wonderful.

It ties it in with our trip so nicely that the river and the wine go hand in hand.

- There have been for hundreds and hundreds of years, you know?

You just can't separate the river and the wine.

- And I hope for hundreds of years more.

To you.

- To you.

(upbeat music) - One evening, the Viking Sigyn's dining room is transformed for a celebration of German cuisine.

You always know you're going to get a great German spread when you see the blue and white checks of the Bavarian flag.

So this is going to be all our favorite German things.

I see wurst.

I see sauerkraut.

I see the really good mustard.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm going to try a piece.

So this is kasewurst?

Oh, the bratwurst and then the kasewurst, the cheese.

Okay.

I'm gonna skip the sauerkraut, sorry, but I'm gonna go for lots of nice gooey mustard.

Yum.

This is a country where no pig is safe, so there's gonna be a lot of pork in this meal.

Okay, here we go.

Pork knuckle.

Yum.

So far, all we have on the plate is pork.

Pretzels, have to have a pretzel, some carbs to go with my pork.

Lovely German cheeses, Weinkase.

So this, I'm not familiar with it, but it's obviously a sharp, quite a strong cheese.

Gonna try some of that.

Oh, and, of course, more pork in the cured meats.

Gotta give it a try, right?

Are you sensing a theme yet?

Token vegetable.

And look at this, spaetzle.

You might be my favorite person tonight.

I love spaetzle, German mac and cheese.

There we go.

So here we have our classic hearty German themed meal.

So we have the spaetzle, German mac and cheese, one of my favorites.

We have pork any number of ways, and of course, a German beer.

Prost.

(upbeat music) Ivan, this was the section of the river I was most excited about, and probably all guests are most excited about on a Rhine River cruise.

- Because out of all the other regions and all the rivers of Europe, it offers, I would say, the richest history and the myths and legends coming from it.

- And so much, right?

Almost 30 castles in under 40 miles.

It's like literally sailing through a fairytale.

And one particular cliff has a very special story and there is a statue, as well.

The legend of Loreley.

- [Ivan] A legend of young girl that's lured sailors to the tomb came to be as sitting on top of that 400 foot cliff- - [Lynn] Right.

- [Ivan] And singing her songs, combing her hair.

It gives creativity to people to talk about the legend their own way or their own version of it.

(upbeat music) (relaxed jazzy music) - All too soon, our river odyssey approaches Amsterdam and the end of our Rhine River cruise.

A farewell reception gives us the opportunity to thank the captain and crew of the Viking Sigyn for introducing us to the romance, tastes and unique experiences of the Rhine River and toast our new memories one last time with fellow guests.

Until next time, on "World's Greatest Cruises," wishing you fair winds and following seas.

More information about "World's Greatest Cruises" and the ship and ports of call featured in today's program on our website at www.WorldsGreatestCruises.com.

"World's Greatest Cruises" is made possible in part by the JERNE community of travel advisors: local business owners with experience cruising and planning cruises.

More information at JERNE.COM/CRUISE Next time on "World's Greatest Cruises," we're sailing on the so-called White Continent, but on our expedition cruise with our excursions via shipboard helicopter and submarine, Zodiacs and kayaks, we quickly discovered that Antarctica is full of color, textures, sounds and even tastes that put a whole new perspective on the seventh continent.