You only see what you know (Goethe)
With the MS Händel II, a ship named after composer Georg Frederik Handel (Georg Friedrich Händel), one can take relaxing tours on the river Saale around Halle. A highlight of these trips is passing Giebichenstein Castle. If you are interested in the works of the composer, the Handel House is worth a visit.
The steamboat ‘Fröhliche Dörte’ from 1888 brings us along the Unstrut river from Freyburg to Naumburg. The cruise leads partly through a landscape conservation area. A few months later, I learn that these rides are no longer available. What a pity!
While cruising the river Warnow from Rostock to Warnemünde I came across a police boat of the same name. The Warnow is a patrol vessel (Type FPB 25) built by the company Fassmer.
The Gorch Fock was built in 1933 as school ship for the German Reichsmarine. Today it is a museum ship in Stralsund. The name origins form the author Johann Wilhelm Kinau, who used the pseudonym Gorch Fock for his works.
The ‘Hohentwiel’ is a paddle-wheel steamer built in 1913 and still in use on Lake Constance.
In the afternoon I had the chance to walk through the decks of a very special ship: The ‘Kristallkönigin’. This was a river cruise ship decorated with a lot of Swarovski elements.
On the ship Regentag lived and worked the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser for several years. The name Regentag is identical to the second name of Hundertwasser, who called himself Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser. Since 2004, the ship anchored in the harbour of Tulln. [German]
The maiden voyage of the paddle steamer ‘Gisela’ was in 1872. Operated by the Traunsee Schifffahrt, it still runs for cruises, weddings and having meals on Traun Lake (Traunsee). In the photo above, one can see the steamer in front of Gmunden.
The steam tugboat was built in 1922/23 at the shipyard Ruthof in Regensburg. Originally named Ruthof, it was renamed as Érsekcsanád after World War II. Today it is part of the Regensburg Museum of Danube Shipping (Donau-Schiffahrts-Museum Regensburg) and can be visited not far away from the famous stone bridge of Regensburg.