This is the second of a series of articles about the ports visited on the Viking Mississippi river cruise in October 2023. This cruise is new for Viking and has been adjusted based on their initial experiences on the river. In addition, I think the very low water levels in 2022 and 2023 has given them further operational issues and so it might change again!
Originally, the cruise was 15 days in length, boarding in St Paul, Minnesota and disembarking in New Orleans and flying out that day. Last December, we were notified that the cruise was being extended, and that we would stay in a hotel in St Paul, join the boat in Red Wing, disembark in Baton Rouge and have a hotel in New Orleans before departing. That last bit changed during the voyage, as you will later learn!
St Paul is one of the twin cities with Minneapolis and after a very dry fall, we arrived in a downpour. Transport from the airport was well organized with Viking branded coaches and the hotel, the Drury Plaza, was fine, if a little basic in the food area. Shuttles were provided to the main shopping/downtown area, but with pouring rain, not many took that opportunity! The fellow passengers are often quite old on Viking Cruises, but this particular cruise attracts an even older crowd. I’m no spring chicken, but most were at least as old and older than me. They were probably more leaning to US residents and fewer from Australia and the UK this time, which probably makes sense.
Dinner that evening was a buffet, with free wine and beer (as usual with Viking), but gluten-free options were very few and far between. Salad, anyone?
I anxiously watched the weather forecast and a clear sunrise was forecast with gathering clouds by around 8am and so I took an Uber to the waterfront in time for the sunrise and kept my fingers crossed! Success – a bit chilly, but some nice light on the skyline of St Paul!
I continued my walk along the riverfront and past the very impressive Comcast building nicely set against the rising sun:
The weather forecast turned out to be wrong (in a good way) as the clouds continued to clear as the sun rose, so I had another view of the skyline with the railway tracks leading the eye.
I had seen an intriguing photo from underneath the Wasbash Street bridge and so on the way back, I attempted my own version of it:
I decided to walk back to the hotel (perhaps 20 minutes or so) and after a short break for breakfast, the day was still bright and sunny and so I decided to walk to the State Capitol building (another 20 minutes). Lovely clouds this time to add a bit of interest behind the imposing building:
This was a Saturday morning and so it was very quiet – in fact I think I was the only person around the entire site! I tried for a more artistic view of the statue “Promise of Youth” with the hand either pleading with the State legislature or offering help?
There is also a lovely view of the Cathedral of St Paul from the steps of the Capitol – very quiet for a Saturday morning!
Our main luggage was taken earlier that morning and we had to check out before 11am. Coaches were available to take us to a lovely old building in St Paul that used to be a gentleman’s club (I think) and now is an event center known as 317 on Rice Park and also housing Herbies on the Park. Here we had to wait for coaches to Red Wing – around 3 to 4 hours in total. Great food was provided for lunch, drinks were free and there was enough room for all the guests to spread out. Coaches were called in order and we finally took the 40 mile drive to Red Wing to see the boat for the first time.
We arrived around 4pm and the itinerary called for an overnight here with departure later on the following day. Red Wing is a lovely little town and happened to have a great Art Fair covering four of the main streets that weekend. Very impressive work from all manner of artists including four professional photographers, so I was well pleased with my walk around the town!
This next image shows a broader view of the town with the red wing symbol on the grain silos to the right.
The included tour for the following day was a visit to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. The main street was being completely resurfaced and so perhaps the town didn’t look its best, but it is still a great location by the Mississippi. These were the gardens of the center with fall colors appearing on some trees. Overall, the fall colors were not that great – it had been a strange season and so was later than normal.
And a gorgeous view in the opposite direction with a statue to the local Native American chief, Wapasha the First, overlooking the scene.
The National Eagle center itself was interesting and educational about the Bald Eagle population in the area. They rescue and try to rehabilitate the eagles and have a number in the center that you can learn more about:
The return journey included a tour of Red Wing – there is certainly more about the city than I was aware. I could have done more walking given time!
Finally, it was time to depart the waterfront – all signs of rain had now vanished and, in fact, we never saw the rain again on the cruise.
The next port of call is La Crosse, Wisconsin.
