My party of seven went on the Illuminights on the Rhine cruise for my husband's 55th birthday last night. We met at the boat house at 8:45 and were assigned to the green boat (Barbarossa II). Shortly thereafter we boarded, along with nine other people. They were running the red boat also and there were a similar number of people aboard it. We happened to see Bobby from BGW tours there and mentioned it was Paul's b-day and shortly thereafter the whole boat struck up a rousing rendition of the birthday song. My husband was thrilled...he loves BGW and was delighted. I thought it was very considerate of Bobby to have told the boat captains of his occasion.
Before long we were underway and headed straight out to the dam at the end of the man-made lake. We were asked to keep seated until we passed under the bridge by Verbolten since people sometimes throw things off said bridge but after that we were free to move around. It was just a lovely night and we stood near the bow and enjoyed the view and the breeze. Our tour-guide, Ashley, provided us with unexpected snacks. We had our choice of 2 7/8 oz. Lays, Cool Ranch Doritos, Regular Doritos or Cheetos. Also offered were 20 oz. bottles of Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero or Sprite.
Another unexpected pleasure was the attendance of Ashley from BGW tours. She availed herself to answer any and all questions we had about the park. She was very knowledgeable and satisfied our curiosity on many, many (ok, we talked to her a lot!) queries. Our boat circled the lake for a bit and then was put in position facing the railroad bridge close to 9:30.
The fireworks began and, while the same as last year's, they were spectacular. The viewing spot from the lake is amazing. And we could see why we kept a safe distance when one of the large fireworks misfired and ended up in the Rhine with a huge attendance of smoke. The children (22 y.o., 22, 19 and 19) heard the music well from our viewing distance. I could hear it but it was more strained for me due to way too many rock concerts in my youth. The fireworks finally concluded and we again began circling the end of the lake until we got the 'all-clear' from the fireworks crew. We were not in a hurry because we were in good company, in a great birthday mood, and had Ashley and the boat crew to talk to.
We finally received the signal to head back and kept our bow position until close to the Italy-Rhinefeld bridge so to enjoy the view longer. The kids shouted up greetings and thanks to the workers still on the railroad trestle as we passed and they shouted greetings and wishes of good dreams back to them. It was about 10:15 as we pulled back into the dock and then made our way up the long series of stairs to Scotland and then to the exit, a very satisfied group.
Price: $15 for non-passholders, $13.50 for passholders
Suggestions: Bring a sweater; the breeze can be cool on the water. Visit the restroom before you depart.