Sunday 19th December – Rüdesheim

Up at 8am to watch our progress up-stream before breakfast at 9. When we first looked out the scenery was already a lot more interesting than yesterday, with quaint villages along the river, sometimes crammed one house deep between steep cliffs and the railway line that runs along the river's western bank.

There was a bit of a build-up of expectation about the Lorelei rock before we got there in late morning, but in all honesty it was a bit of a let-down. The legend is that the Lorelei, a beautiful flaxen-haired temptress, lured unwary sailors on to the rocks on which she sat combing her hair. In the event it was hard to imagine where she might have sat as the cliffs fall steeply straight into the Rhine. Because of the narrowness of the river at this point the waters run fast and deep, so it's certainly not a place for careless navigators.

At midday we were served several mugs of Glühwein each, which kept us going until lunch. By now we're getting the hang of meals on this ship, and the trick is not to take every course offered! Yet again, each dish looked absolutely wonderful, and I've decided to take my camera to dinner tonight so that I can prove this when we get home!

By the time we arrived at Rüdesheim snow was falling really heavily. We were due to be taken into town on a sort of motorised train, but because the snow was too deep this part of the excursion was cancelled. Instead we trudged into town to the Museum of Mechanised Musical Instruments, which was much more interesting than you might think.

Afterwards, we walked around Rüdesheim, exploring its Christmas markets, with the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen falling thick and fast. Rüdesheim is attractive enough in its own right, with its traditional half-timbered architecture, but at dusk and covered in snow it looks truly magical.

In the end we broke away for the long trudge back to the ship through still-heavy snowfall, arriving with an hour in hand to warm up and get ready for tonight's meal, a 'Chef's Special Dinner' – how he could possibly top his performances so far isn't clear.

Well, it's now 11pm and dinner has been served and consumed. 'Special' it certainly was. First of all all of the chefs, kitchen staff and waiters were introduced by name to the guests – believe it or not there are 85 passengers but still 56 staff to serve them and run the ship. Then we we given the menu. We gaped – EIGHT courses tonight! All of them were small and exquisitely presented, and I took photographs of most of them. As we left the restaurant all the women were given a highly perfumed red rose and all the men a decorated marzipan figure – very nice.

We've travelled together on cruise ships, large and small, run by several different nationalities, but find it really surprising that the finest food by far has been provided by a German company. We can joke as much as we like about Germans having little spontaneity or sense of humour, but on this cruise their attention to detail and their flair for preparing subtle, original and delightful dishes has been undeniable.

So to bed. Tomorrow it's back down the Rhine, calling at Bonn in the morning and Cologne in the afternoon.

Monday 20th December – Bonn and Cologne

Two fairly quick stops today. The ship moored near the Bonn Opera House at around dawn, having sailed down from Rüdesheim during the night. After breakfast we joined a guided tour that took in the University, Cathedral, Christmas markets and, best of all, Beethoven's birthplace. The snow lay very thick on the ground and the going was treacherous – it'll be even worse when the slush freezes. Back to the ship for yet another many-course meal that we didn't really need but simply couldn't resist. We set sail for Cologne during lunch and the ship raced along on the very strong sea-bound current. Less than two hours after lunch, before our guided tour, we had tea and cake which, frankly, we just didn't need and we did at least feel a little embarrassed about!

Tonight's dinner was just as good as all the others we've had. We've been asked to complete a questionnaire on all aspects of the cruise, and we agreed that 'the cuisine and the service in the restaurant is the best we've ever experienced – anywhere!'

So, it's back to the cabin to pack and get ready for our return. The snow has made travel difficult here in Germany for all modes of transport except river traffic, so it hasn't bothered us too much. As far as we know, Düsseldorf airport is open and operational, so it's a case of hoping that Heathrow is able to receive us. Our flight leaves at 11.20am (10.20am UK time) and we should land at about 11.45am if all's well. We rather luckily left the UK just ahead of the worst of the snow and we're hoping that we'll get back without too much trouble.

Tuesday 21st December – The long slog home

Even before we had breakfast we knew that our plane had been cancelled due to problems at Heathrow, so when we got to Düsseldorf airport just before 10am we were ready for alternatives.

Most important of all, we had decided early on that we were determined to get home today, one way or another. All Lufthansa flights but one to Heathrow had already been cancelled and that one was already in severe doubt. There were no flights to Stansted and the one flight heading for Gatwick had already closed. We asked the Lufthansa ticket people to look around other UK airports, and soon realised that the only airport worth considering was Birmingham. We'd originally been due to fly at 11.20am to Heathrow, but in the end we settled for 6.20pm to Birmingham.

To kill time we had tea and cake in the reception of a rather nice new hotel nearby and then set off into Düsseldorf by train. Wandering through the city centre we came upon the department store where we'd killed time on Friday waiting to board the ship, so we did the same again. We were back at the airport by 4pm. Following some excellent research and cost/benefit analysis by Gill we'd agreed that the best option that'd get us home tonight at least cost and most quickly was to get a cab from Birmingham airport to Heathrow. We called a cab company that specialises in this sort of transfer and arranged it all while sitting in the departures lounge. The plane that we boarded must have been one of the smallest we've ever travelled on – probably no more than 80 seats. Walking down the central aisle my head was brushing the ceiling! However, it was a very new aircraft and the seats were comfy, with good legroom, so the 80 minute flight passed pleasantly.

At Birmingham we opted to go through the automatic passport control rather than queue – we both have the new passports that allow this. This was a smart move, as we must have saved a good 15-20 minutes of queuing. Going into baggage reclaim was a complete shock - it was full of hundreds and hundreds of people who must have just arrived from all over the Indian sub-continent. It felt as if we'd been diverted without knowing about it, but I'll bet that the majority would have been Brummies with perfect local accents :o)

The cabbie was waiting for us, having just driven up from Croydon, of all places! He got us down to Heathrow in an hour and three quarters, which we thought was excellent. We picked up the car and were home before 11pm, which, frankly, was a result!

In spite of today's uncertainties, delays and extra costs we've had a fabulous and memorable trip, with simply stunning meals, fabulous service, excellent guided tours, beautiful towns to visit and nice company. It'd be nice to do it again one day ... in summer!