It has now been 11 months since we took our trip to Germany. It turned out to be an ideal time. The weather was not too hot nor did we have too much rain. Our German contacts in Boehringen were very gracious with their time and knowledge. The Viking Rhine River cruise was at about 50% capacity which made all the tours more personal.

The last day was supposed to be a stop in Kinderdijk, The Netherlands. The unexpected change in our Viking tour turned out to be so much better then what we were expecting due to the timing. We stopped at Emmerich where we took a walk about town prior to a bus trip to Arnhem. September was the anniversary of the start of the Allied battle which freed the town of Arnhem from the Germans during World War II. The town along with the local military cemetery had lots of visitors in remembrance of Operation Market Garden. The town was so appreciative that it is a tradition for local school children to adopt a grave and during the year they maintain and decorate their soldiers grave for special occasions. It was very moving and emotional as we walked through the cemetery to see how much care each young person takes in their assigned duty. 1,754 allied soldiers lost there life here, most were Canadians and British forces that were part of Operation Market Garden near Arnhem.

From the war cemetery to old town Arnhem for the afternoon and a walk along the river and a visit to a little war museum near the John Frost Bridge named for British Major General John Frost who led the British Forces in the Battle of Arnhem to capture and defend the river in 1944. While in Arnhem there were WWII reenactment allied forces driving the classic jeeps. Unfortunately we failed to photograph them.

The last night on our Viking long boat was a picturesque evening. Thanks to a great crew and staff that made this trip a wonderful holiday for all those traveling in our group.

As always thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my photos of Arnhem. Leave a comment or a like so I know you were here. Hope to see you next time.