Viking Modi: 70 departures towards Nuremberg, a city carrying two histories
Measured on 25 August 2026: 27 departures from Basel to Nuremberg, 25 from Nuremberg to Basel and 10 from Basel to Budapest, out of 70 in total.
Nuremberg, without evasion
The city is inseparable from the Nazi regime, which held its annual rallies there from 1933 to 1938 on grounds laid out for 200,000 people, and which passed there in 1935 the race laws that carry its name. It is equally inseparable from the trial of 1945-46, where twenty-four leaders of the regime were judged by an international tribunal — the first in history to establish that a head of state answers for his acts before a court.
Both places can be visited. The documentation centre, installed in the unfinished congress hall, seeks neither to excuse nor to sensationalise. Courtroom 600 of the courthouse, where the trial was held, is still in use.
There is no light way to approach this, and no reason to avoid it either. A city that confronts its past like that has something to teach everyone.
The other Nuremberg
The old town, rebuilt after the bombing of 1945, holds Germany's oldest Christmas market, documented from the middle of the sixteenth century. You eat grilled sausages the length of a finger and a spice bread, Lebkuchen, whose recipes belong to houses that have kept them for centuries.
Albrecht Dürer was born there in 1471 and lived there; his house is one of the few German Renaissance dwellings still standing.
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 Skirnir runs the same route with 70 departures, and Viking Hild also leaves from Basel, towards Trier, with 125.
Móði, courage
Móði is Thor's son, brother to Magni. His name means "courage" or "wrath". The two brothers are among the few gods who survive Ragnarök: they inherit their father's hammer and repopulate an emptied world.
Getting there from Montreal
Neither Basel nor Nuremberg receives a direct flight: a connection through Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich or Paris. Viking Atla also offers departures towards Basel from the Danube.
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.
