The statistics of the Main-Danube Canal are impressive --
- 171 kilometers long, 4 meters deep, and 55 meters wide
- the canal climbs over the 175 meters high continental divide
- 16 locks, 7 weirs, 3 steel channel bridges, 5 concrete channel bridges, 115 road, train, and pedestrian bridges
- 75 km of dams and 5 pumping stations
- a $5.8 billion price tag
We all enjoyed passing through the numerous locks on this voyage, and some of the passengers (mostly men) always wanted to be up on the top deck "supervising" the captain and the crew as they navigated the Viking Spirit through the locks. The lock gates had various mechanisms for opening--some swung on hinges like a door, some raised up like a gate, and a few even swung out like a table top.
As we traverse the Main-Danube Canal, this article is continued in
part 2--the voyage from Nuremberg to Amsterdam.
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with a complimentary cruise accommodation for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.
