The afternoon excursion is a tour of the Black Forest. It’s really a little disappointing for me as it is on a bus for an hour and half to get to a tourist destination. However, for the people on the bus who have never been to this part of the world, they enjoyed it.

The location the tour takes us is to a family run showcase of the key items people think of when they come to Germany. There is a cuckoo clock demonstration (how they are made), a Black Forest cake recipe with assembly, glass blowing, and if you want to hike, there is even a short hike.

https://www.drubbablackforest.com/the-drubba-experience/

I think the photos will give you an idea of the experience. First the cuckoo clock demonstration.

Then the glass blowing and the glass store.

A sampling of the near by hike.

And finally the Black Forest cake assembly demonstration.

The drive back to the ship was scenic. We drove through Freiburg a lovely city.

We will pack our suitcases as this was our final evening. While at dinner, the ship sails a short distance and enters a lock!

As the sun sets on this cruise, everyone agrees it ended being pretty good even with the lack of water in the Rhine River, ship and itinerary change. Europe has started to receive some rain and we heard that some ships are making it all the way to Cologne now.

Docked in Basel, Switzerland this morning (25 Aug 2026) and it is pouring rain.

We depart early from Basel to Paris to Atlanta and back to Florida. Long travel day ahead and glad to be heading back to the USA. Thanks for following along on this adventure!