I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the experience of the countless locks we went through during our cruise as well as passing over Europe’s Continental Divide. During our journey, we had to pass over the Continental Divide, the highest point on earth reachable by water crafts from the sea.  A Continental Divide is a drainage divide which separates major river basins, in this case the Main-Rhine which flows into the North Sea and the Danube which flows into the Black Sea.  This European Continental Divide is 1,332 feet above sea level.  On the entire trip, we went through a total of 68 locks.  Getting through Continental Divide ultimately required descending through 5 locks to get to the Danube.  And Locks are a strange experience.  Going up, you start off in a dark, dank chamber, the walls just inches from the sides of the ship, rising up towards the daylight.  Going the other way, there’s a certain sinking feeling as the water level drops and the sheer walls block out the light.  And it’s kind of creepy to look out your stateroom window and see a solid floor to ceiling wall of concrete passing by.  Watching the captain and crew at work, nudging the ship in and out of the locks, is mesmerizing.

We passed by the Continental Divide at night and Chuck was able to get this photo as we passed by. Actually the plaque marking the site is on the ground to the left of the right set of 3 white poles. The large granite wall is an art installation.

One of the locks we passed through.

A lock we passed through at night. The high concrete walls are visible as the water level is being lowered.

The view of the lock wall from our balcony. Actually the boat got much closer to the side than this, often just inches away.

And let’s end with the swans, my favorite river swimmers.  Chuck snapped these first 2  swimming under our balcony at sunrise looking for handouts.  The way they caught the sun, they just seem to glow.

Well, sadly our journey has come to an end.  We saw amazing sites, met lots of new friends and survived the 11 1/2 hour flight home.  We had a great time and we thank you again for joining us.  See you next time.