It was a bit overcast today but minimal rain, so we had pretty decent views throughout the day.
Vineyards. The scenery in this area is full of lush
green vineyards. They produce a number
of wines the primary one is Riesling.
Cruising.
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| Entrance to a train tunnel |
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| Entrance to a train tunnel |
This entire length of the river is castle after castle and town after town. Often you could see more than one castle at a time. Some of the castles are in good repair and privately owned. Some are hotels and some are in ruins. The following is only a sampling of the towns and castles that we saw along the river.
Boppard
Sterrenberg Castle
Sterrenberg Castle above Boppard and with Leibenstein Castle in the background.
Bornheofen Cloisters in Boppard
Leibenstein Castle
Bad Sallzig
Hirzenach
Maus Castle
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| Wellmich in foreground |
Wellmich
Rheinfels Castle
St. Goarshausen
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| St. Goarshausen with Katz Castle above |
Katz Castle
St. Goar
Loreley Rock - There are many myths and legends about this rock but they seem to boil down to - beautiful woman, faithless lover, woman throws herself over the cliff into the raging Rhine River and becomes a siren, luring men to their death.
Oberwesel
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| Oberwesel with Schonburg Castle on the hill |
Schonburg Castle
Kaub
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| Kaub with Gutenfels Castle above |
Gutenfels Castle
Pfalzgafenstein (a small castle on an island in the middle of the river)
Stahleck Castle
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| Stahleck Castle above Bacharach |
Bacharach
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| Stahleck Castle above Bacharach |
Rheindiebach
Furstenberg Castle
Lorch
Nollig Castle
Sooneck Castle
Reichenstein Castle
Trechtingshausen
Rheinstein Castle
Erhenfels Castle
We passed many campgrounds along the river. And they all seemed to be full.
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More Rhine Cruise
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In early afternoon we arrived in the town of Rüdesheim. After docking they brought in little trains to take us into town. Our excursion today is a ride up the gondola to the Neiderwald Monument. An interesting gondola. I think it was advertising for something as we saw other gondolas with advertising.
It commemorates the founding of the German Empire after the Franco‑Prussian Ware of 1870 / 71.
The views were amazing with the town and river below.
When we came down we did a bit of window shopping at a nearby store that specialized in Christmas decorations. Christmas ornaments in Europe are very interesting and unlike the typical decorations we find in the US.
We headed down Drosselgasse (a very narrow lane) to explore it...
only to be stopped abruptly when we found a chimney cake shop. We discovered these yummy treats when touring Christmas markets in Europe. They wrap long strips of dough around a rolling pin like tool, bake them in special ovens, then top them with the toppings of your choice. So we stopped and had them again.
Some photos around Rüdesheim.
That evening we
had dinner at the Chef’s Table on board ship.
Ama has a separate dining room at the back of the ship that serves a
selected menu to a small number of guests.
Reservations required but no additional charge. We met a couple from South Carolina that
weren’t part of the large tour group (some of the few people that we have met
that aren’t on the tour). Entree and dessert courses.
The food was delicious,
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