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Discovering Germany by Bike and Barge: My Journey as a Cycling Newbie

Emma Cruises
Emma Cruises
🥈Expert
👁️ 200K views📅 3 years ago⏱️ 26:36
What This Creator Said
Creator RecommendsFull Ship Review🥈Expert CreatorSponsored
Northern_europe · Summer · 7 nightsVeteran Cruiser

Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.

Creator's Key Takeaways

i've just disembarked a european river cruise on a 1930s barge that took everything i thought i knew about cruising and turned it on its head

the food definitely was a pleasant surprise and i was hoping at this point that the food would be as good for the rest of the cruise

i am planning on returning and cruising on the merlin again next year so if you do fancy it and trust me if i can do it anybody can do it

this is the first cruise i've ever been on in my life where i just didn't bother locking my cabin door

Creator's Tips & Advice

Send in leg measurements pre-cruise for bike fitting
Use a cool towel to stay cool in hot weather
Check the daily schedule on TV screens to avoid missing activities

🆕New to Cruising? This Creator Addresses:

Nervous about cycling ability and keeping upThe group stops frequently, giving legs and bum a break; e-bikes are available
Worried about physical ability to cycle long distancesThe cruise is flexible; you can stay on board and never go near a bike if needed

Questions This Creator Answers

QWhat is a bike and barge cruise like for a cycling newbie?
QHow does a small barge cruise compare to larger river or ocean cruises?
QWhat are the accommodations and food like on a 1930s barge converted for passengers?

Topics Covered

Cabin Interior4 Happy BaconService Crew4½ Happy BaconShip Condition4 Happy BaconValue Pricing3½ Happy BaconItinerary Route3½ Happy BaconExcursions4 Happy BaconPort Destination4 Happy Bacon

Port Highlights

Bonn4 Happy Bacon
Cockham4 Happy Bacon
Cologne4 Happy Bacon
How to read the Trip Bacon Score
Happy Bacon — creators loved this aspect
Sad Bacon — creators took issue with this
Meh — no strong opinion either way

Scale: 0–5 strips in half-step increments. 0 = “meh”, 5 = “bacon bliss”. Aggregated from creator-review sentiment, weighted by channel expertise.

About our Bacon Score methodology
YouTube Video Description

ad (invite) - I’ve just disembarked a European river cruise on a 1930s barge that took everything I thought I knew about cruising and turned it on its head. Our cruise was a week long and on the cruise schedule was 225km of cycling across the German countryside from Bonn to Saarburg. I am definitely not a cyclist, so I was very nervous, I didn’t want to let anybody down. To say it was eventful would be an understatement. We had injuries, a heatwave, I smashed my camera, and I saw and did things I never thought were possible on a cruise. Merlijns website: https://Merlijn.nu Before Coen and Cristina, the owners of the Merlijn invited me to join them on their ship I had no idea that this type of cruise existed. My first reaction was ‘cycling? I can’t cycle’. At this point it had been a good 5 or more years since I’d been on a bike but I thought either it’ll go well, or it’ll be a great story for me to tell you and here we are. I had visions of me being the person who was holding everybody else up, I didn’t know if I would be physically able to cycle that far? What would happen if I couldn’t? I had no idea what staying on a barge would be like, I didn’t know what would the food be like, what would the other guests be like? I had no idea. ** As mentioned in the video and on all my social posts (you may have noticed the ad (invite) disclosure) I was invited onboard by Merlijn which means that I didn't pay a cruise fare. All opinions and content are my own. ** Join this channel to get access to exclusive perks like a weekly podcast and early ad free access to videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu4C8c3h9SKdkxnOwIAiHeA/join ▶ Weekly Updates: http://EmmaCruises.com/News ▶ Book a Cruise: https://EmmaCruises.com/Book-a-Cruise/ Let’s Connect! ▶ https://EmmaCruises.com/SocialLinks *** ▶ Background World Map: https://emmacruises.com/recommends/wood-world-map/ (Affiliate link) emma@emmacruises.com