Viking Alsvin: 157 departures, and a river that takes 545 kilometres to cover 200
Measured on 25 August 2026: 77 departures from Bamberg to Trier and 69 from Trier to Bamberg, out of 157 in total.
The Moselle goes nowhere in a straight line
Between its source in the Vosges and its meeting with the Rhine at Koblenz, the Moselle runs about 545 kilometres. As the crow flies, the distance is barely more than 200. The river therefore takes two and a half times the necessary path.
At Cochem, at Zell, at Bremm, it loops so tightly that a village can find itself nearly encircled by its own river. From the ship's deck you watch the same hillside pass to port and then, an hour later, to starboard, from another angle.
What that changes in practice: on the Moselle there is never a long empty stretch. On the Rhine or the Danube, between two calls, the landscape can stay flat for half a day. Here the bank turns constantly, and the sun deck never loses its interest.
Germany's steepest slope
At Bremm, the Calmont vineyard climbs a pitch of about sixty-five degrees. It is worked entirely by hand, with winches, and it produces a riesling few people outside the region have tasted, because the volumes are tiny.
The hull: a Longship, 190 berths
135 metres, 190 guests, 53 crew, 95 staterooms: 25 Standard, 22 French Balcony, 39 Veranda, 7 Veranda Suites and 2 Explorer Suites. One crew member for every 3.58 guests, a ratio belonging to the Longship class — it does not hold across the rest of Viking's river fleet, where it falls to 1.71 on the Nile.
Viking Idi runs the same route with 159 departures, and Viking Hild reaches Trier from Basel with 125.
Alsviðr, the evening horse
Two horses draw the sun's chariot across the sky: Árvakr, the early-waking, and Alsviðr, the very swift. The texts specify that iron bellows were placed under their withers to cool them, because what they pull is on fire.
Getting there from Montreal
One connection through Frankfurt, Munich, Paris or Amsterdam, then the road to the embarkation point. Viking Herja offers another way onto the Moselle, from Basel, with 125 departures.
What happens when you book with us
First a fact you can verify in 30 seconds: from a Quebec address, Viking's reservations site does not answer and sends you to a page inviting you to contact an agent. The agency is not an added intermediary, it is the only route open.
Then a method. A Viking River Cruises advisor confirms in writing the exact fare, what the package covers and what it does not, before any deposit. That is what Quebec consumer protection rules require, and we participate in the compensation fund for travel agency customers.
