A warning note about the next couple of days. There are no photographs of Trier and only a few from the most photogenic town on the whole trip Bernkastel-Kues. With only one hour left in Bernkastle, my camera memory card died. I had half an hour to return to the boat, grab my phone and rush madly around town trying to snap some of the highlights. I also had to wait till be stopped in Koblenz to buy a new one and even then, only after a morning trip to the most photogenic castle on the Rhine … but that's for tomorrow. Ches did man the video camera however.

It was a pretty uneventful 5 hour trip from Paris to Trier. We passed through Champagne and Luxemburg without sampling either the wine or financial services and while the country side is pleasant, not exactly a better option than a good book. Finished mine.

In Trier, we had a brief guided tour by a very entertaining guide. This was the Romans European base, from where they administered their empire including Britain. The old basilica, built by Constantine is massive with a 30m high ceiling that makes the 9m square ceiling panels look small. With no decorations and heating only switched on twice a year, it is only used as a church in summer when they have to suspend sound clouds over the choir to stop the sound floating to the ceiling and becoming a discordant mess.

As we walked through town, we identified the one tourist in our party to avoid at all costs on future walks. We will usually have 3 to 5 groups on all day trips, so we will have to see which group he selects before joining another group. He needs to show off how much he knows and just as we are about to move from one site to another, he asks a question of the guide and we are then on for another 5-10 minute talk. Standing out in 30c heat for any longer than necessary is too much.

When he and his wife turned up for the walk in Bernkastel, wearing mini French umbrellas on their heads, they were thick skinned enough to be oblivious to everyone’s reaction.

Unfortunately we didn’t have any time to explore the town on our own as we had to board the boat and prepare to leave for the trip down the Moselle (which we now know is pronounced Moesel). What we didn’t know at the time was that this is the first cruise to begin since the floods of several weeks ago. Other lines have tried to bus people around flooded sections and apparently the whole experience has been a disaster with people complaining about poor hotels and food and a totally disjointed trip. Our company, Uniworld, opted to cancel, refund and pay a 500e and offer a future booking instead. They won more brownie points and I’d have to say our experience after three days on the river and coping with lock strikes, they are fantastic. The attention to detail is amazing. A couple of nights ago, a woman fell out of bed. The hotel manager took her to a hospital for a check-up, stayed with her and then caught a taxi to the next port to return to the boat. Under the terms of the contract, all they were obliged to do was to send her to a hospital.