33 - The Beautiful and Relaxing Cruise Up the Rhine River
On Monday, June 26, 2023, our Hiestand-Haston Heritage Tour will enjoy a relaxing cruise up a portion of the beautiful Middle Rhine River and see many of the same sights that Henrich Hiestand saw in 1727 when he was on his journey to America. It’s the Grand Finale to a fantastic tour.
In 1727, our ancestor Henrich Hiestand left his family and home in Ibersheim on the Rhineland of what is now Germany and sailed down the Rhine River. He was headed to Rotterdam, Netherlands, then across the English Channel for a stop at the Isle of Cowes in England, in preparation to cross the Atlantic to Philadelphia and experience a whole new kind of life.
The Rhine River has been called the “River of Destiny.“[i] Hundreds of thousands of Swiss and Germans sought their dreamland destinies by floating down the Rhine on barges, from the mid-17th century until the mid-19th century
[i] Charles R. Haller, Across the Atlantic and Beyond: The Migration of German and Swiss Immigrants to America, 239.
Under good river conditions, the trip down the Rhine from Worms to Rotterdam, approximately 375 miles or 600 km, could have taken only six or seven days of actual floating time, at about 2 ½ miles per hour. But there were many toll stations (associated with princedom toll castles) along the way. Maybe as many two dozen or more toll stations were active in the early 1700s, from Worms to Rotterdam. [i] The toll castles belonged to territorial lords or to their authorized vassals.
[i] Haller.
Although we will see many of the same sights that Henrich Hiestand saw, our trip will be much more pleasant–and shorter, and we will be traveling up the river, not down. We can relax in comfortable chairs, enjoy a snack, and not worry about stopping at every castle to play a toll!
When Sharon and I were there on a similar tour in June 1018, we thought the cruise was the perfect ending to a fantastic tour!
Introduction: A River Cruise You Will Never Forget!
2:40 Video
Rhine River Cruise - Sit Back and Enjoy a Relaxing Preview of the Scenes
11:49 Video
Contact Renee Cue (renee@reneecue.com) to express your interest in joining the tour group, or asking for more information.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
