When my husband K and I got up at 7:30, he said he was feeling better, which was excellent news. Showering also helped.
We joined our daughter J for breakfast at 8:10. She got her usual bread and pastries and picked up a cute jar of fruit for me, when she went to the serving table. Fruit and rolls were already on our table. I ordered Eggs Florentine, which were delicious. K decided to take it easy and have toast and some scrambled eggs. He got some yogurt to start building back up his gut.
We went back to our cabins to wash up and get what we needed for today's outing. When we went to the lounge to wait at 9:20, the temperature was 49°, but felt like 47°. That was not great news for today's outing. Soon, we were sent outside to meet our guide.
By 9:28, our group of pink easy "Rüdesheim Gondola Ride and Wine Tasting" had all activated our Whispers by holding them up to a symbol on his sign, which tuned us to his station. The three of us boarded the little train at 9:30. We sat there getting quite cold until it departed at 9:47.
We were let off not far from last night's destination and I was able to point it out to K. We then walked to the gondola entrance, passing the local version of my favorite Christmas store, whose home is Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
We lined up and received our tickets, which were very important, as without them, we would have no ride down.
J directed K and me to take one gondola and she'd take another. We were on our way at about 9:55 and soon found ourselves sailing above the vineyards. They were all so orderly, but we were surprised to see poppies growing amongst the grapevines.
Of course, on this gorgeous day, we had a great view to the Rhein. I suddenly realized we were right behind Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett. Near it was a tower we hadn't seen last night.
We got a good view of how they built embankments to terrace the land. We also saw that the vineyards didn't all run downhill. It made for a pretty quilt of green and brown.
The view to the Rhein just got better and better. When we remembered to look toward the hillside, the view was interesting, too. For instance, there was this fairly new-looking watchtower. Wonder what one watches.
When we got off the gondola at 10:05, we gathered in a group to await the rest of the group. I noticed this lion nearby and figured he was much like the bears in Berlin and the lions in München that got painted and placed all over the place.
There was a nearby sign that explained the significance of the Niederwalddenkmal, our destination farther up the hill. I was impressed, because, contrary to what Rolf had said in the port talk, this monument is not a commemoration of the unification of the various German kingdoms, principalities, dukedoms, etc. into the Deutsches Reich (the German Empire) in the 1800's, but of the victory of the Germans over the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Basically, as I always taught my students, it was an in-your-face to France when Germany finally beat them. In fact, France never defeated Germany on its own again. It's huge and, I suppose, on a good day, it might be visible in France way on the other side of the Rhein now. I will admit that the sign said it also commemorated the founding of the Reich in 1871. That's the 2nd Reich, by the way. The first was the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations, founded by Karl der Große, aka Charlemagne, who was King of the Franks, a Germanic-speaking people.
Since we were the easy group, we took our time walking up the rest of the hill to the monument. We came up on it from the back left. On the side closest to us, we could see a list of French cities. Below it was a relief obviously showing the joyous reunion of soldiers and family after the war. On the back, was the date of the peace accord. That peace accord gave Germany Alsace and Lorraine, but also very high reparations. Now you know why France was so keen on reparations at the end of WWI.
Below her is a relief with 130 German officers from the north and south. They are life size (!) and actually depict their real faces. Wilhelm I is the only one on a horse and Otto von Bismarck is there somewhere with integrations papers for forming the Reich in his hand. Ludwig of Bayern is there with his long hair to the back left of the Kaiser. Below the relief are the words to Die Wacht am Rhein (The Watch on the Rhine), but not the verse about France.
Between Germania and the relief is the inscription: Zum Andenken An Die Einmuethige Siegreiche
Erhebung Des Deutschen Volkes Und An Die Wiederaufrichtung Des Deutschen Reiches (In memory of the unanimous victorious uprising of the German People and the reinstitution of the German Empire 1870-1871).
Below the relief figures representing Father Rhein handing the horn of plenty to daughter Mosel.
As you face the monument, there are two large angels. To the left is War and to the right, Peace.
We were given some time to take photos and I took all these detail photos of the front. I went down a level to get a good full photo. We took selfies. I took photos of the Rhein and of signs talking about the Upper Middle Rhein Valley being a UNESCO World Heritage site. What didn't I take? The far side of the monument. It turns out there's a relief on that side of soldiers going to war. To be fair, the guide didn't point out the one of them coming home, either.
While the iPhone can take a great panoramic, I was impressed with how well my camera could zoom down to the boat and the camping area near it.
We were back on the gondola by 10:55 and down in town at 11:04. When all were gathered together, we walked to the nearby Weinbau Adolf Störzel. Once there at 11:10, we were led down into the wine cellar, which was carved into the hillside. Other groups from the boat were there. I really appreciated the effort put into decorating the outside of the place.
We found seats at the back of the cave and found the acoustics to be pretty good to hear the presenter. We were served samples of their Rieslings: 2021 Kabinett; 2019 Spätlese; and an Auslese. They were nice wines. We even got to keep the sample glasses. It made sense, since it kept them from having to sterilize them.
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We were finished at 11:55 and decided, once again, to stay in town. We wanted K to see the Drosselgaße and we wanted to see it in the light. On the way, we passed this pretty door and could look up the hill to the gondolas.
We looked in Käthe Wohlfahrt, but found nothing that said, "Take me home." We did find some postcards along the way. We saw that the Drosselgaße is really nice in the daylight.
When we reached the river, we took a slightly different path back to the boat. This let us see some new things in the park, like the wine stand and the UNESCO World Heritage sign for the Upper Middle Rhein. There was a very interesting compass with pointers to different cities. The chairs put out for relaxing were quite colorful.
We got to see the rear of the boat, which we hadn't up until now. We also noted how clear the Rhein was near the banks. The work on cleaning it up has been working.
It was 1:02, when we reached the boat. We hurriedly got rid of our outer clothes, put down things we'd bought, etc. and got to lunch at 1:15. Our usual tables (yes, plural) were all full. So, we had to sit in the side room nearby. This had a large oval table in it, as well as the surfaces that the waitstaff used to deal with food. Some of the folks from the large Wisconsin contingent were there. They told us that the group formed due to frequenting the same restaurant in their small town. Special activities were designated as for them on the Daily Cruiser.
The appetizers were definitely German, with the highlight being Weißwurst to J's delight. There was also delicious Black Forest ham, eggplant salad, and tempura shrimp. K ordered the lentil soup with herb biscuit croutons. J and I split two entrees. One was the beer brewer lye baguette, dry cured ham, cheese, gherkins, and sweet mustard, along with fries. The other was the same entree K got, which was Käsespätzle, egg drop noodles, ap cheese, and crispy onions. J and I each got a Bavarian crème with blueberries, but I didn't eat the hazelnut biscuit.
After lunch, we went to our cabins to bundle up for the afternoon event. "All aboard" was at 1:45 and that is about when we were on the top deck. There were others there who had staked their positions as we went to find seats in the front section of the boat. We were to cruise the "Rhine Gorge" to the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz. This is the Upper Middle Rhein that UNESCO had recognized. It is called "the prettiest part"of the river, probably due to all the castles and cute towns along it. It is the highlight of any Rhein cruise. I've done part of it before, but never caught the names of all the castles. Now, you can dump a photo in Google and get an identification. So awesome!
It was windy and cold up there. By the time we were done, J and I each had 3 of the blankets that were in a chest on that deck and K and most other people had bailed. I was determined to see every mile. I've sailed part of it twice before on tours. They offered Rüdesheimer Kaffee, which appealed to neither J nor I and K felt it best to not indulge.
Our first views, of course, were of Rüdesheim am Rhein. We got the sense of vineyards just running along the hillside behind the town and all the way to where the Rhein turns the corner. We also saw Germania and the Niederwalddenkmal, of course.
On the other side of the river, Rolf pointed out over the intercom system, was the infamous Mäuseturm, where Bishop Hatto met his deserved end. On the right side were the ruins of Burg Ehrenfels (Castle/Fortress Honor Rock or Cliff).
Around the bend was the town of Assmannshausen. Like many towns in the gorge, the town was stretched along the river, hemmed in by it and the hillside behind it. Vineyards, of course, covered the hillside. Here, the castle was on the left side of the river in Trechtingshausen and was called Burg Rheinstein (Rhine Stone). At 83 m above the river, it was a great location to put a customs house, which is what it basically was. The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph von Hapsburg lived here from 1282-1286.
Next up at marker 534 km was Burg Reichenstein (Rich Stone), which was built in the 12th century by a family of robber knights, but refurbed in the interior in the 1800's in a gothic style. There's hotel there. Below it, along the river, were lots of campers. As I used to tell my students, some people will set up camp all the river somewhere early in the summer. They then go back to work and come out to their often fancy camper every chance they can get.
When Rolf wasn't directing our attention to yet another castle, we could take time to appreciate the general scenery of the hillsides and the river ahead.
At 538 km stands Burg Sooneck, for whose name I could find no translation. The original castle was built in 1271 and destroyed in battle in 1282. Rebuilt in 1346, it was destroyed, like all the castles on the left bank, by King Louis IV of France's troops during the War of the Palatine Succession. The crown prince of Prussia and his brothers rebuilt it as a hunting castle in 1834. A lot of history on that plot of land.
Sometimes there are seriously cute towns like Niederheimbach, with its houses all seemingly in a row along the riverbank, to admire. And sometimes, they have a castle above, like Heimbach here. Heimbach means " home stream" and Niederheimbach would mean the "base of Heimbach" or "lower Heimbach".
The next two castles, Fürstenberg (Prince's Mountain) and Burg Nollig are both ruins now. Yes, they are on the left side of the river.
Sometimes the Rhenish Slate Mountains (Rheinische Schiefergebirge), through which the Rhein cut the gorge, seem to bend and fold forming side valleys. Sometimes, houses are even built on the high ridges.
I spent so much time being fascinated by the church near the river and the chapel beyond, that I thought I missed the next castle here. But, I did not. The church is St. Bonifatius, which is Catholic, and the chapel above Lorchhausen in Hessen on the right side of the river is Clemenskapelle. The castle is Burg Stahleck, which literally means "steel corner" but is more fancily translated as "impregnable castle on a crag". Whatever. It is at marker 543 km on the left side near Bacharach and actually has the rather rare-for-Germany water-filled partial moat. It is a 20th century reconstruction and is a youth hostel.
We were opposite the town of Bacharach in Rheinland-Pfalz just before 3 pm. Here, we saw the Gothic ruin Wernerkapelle and the Lutheran (evangelisch) Kirch St Peter and Münzturm (Coin Tower) and Stadtmauer (City Wall). The German textbook I used to use noted that Bacharach had 16 defensive towers along its wall, which is mostly intact.
It wasn't long before we were getting our first view of perhaps the most famous Rhein castle, Pfalzgrafenstein, at 546 km. It sits in the Rhein, as it was intended for collecting tolls. It looks like a ship sitting in the waters just off of the town of Kaub. Its name is usually shortened to "Die Pfalz, which is actually "Palatinate" in English. (Its state, Rheinland Pfalz is translated into Rhineland Palatinate.) The full name of the castle then is "Palatinate Count's Stone". I had a paper model of the castle in my classroom, which let you see the space inside the wall. I love the shape and the baroque paint job. High above Kaub at 110m is Burg Gutenfels (Good Rock or Cliff).
Above Oberwesel sits Schloß Schönburg (Pretty Fortress). The original dated to 911, but this is a left bank area. A German-American family bought the ruins in the 1800s and slowly rebuilt it. The town got the castle back and since 1957, it has been a hotel and restaurant. I bet they have great views.
Speaking of Oberwesel, this beautiful red church is the Catholic Liebfrauenkirche (Dear Lady Church or Church of Our Lady). The white church with the weird stone tower is Martinskirche. To its left is Michelfeld Turm I (yes, there's more than one), which was part of the old defensive wall.
For whatever reason, we were now close enough to the shore to get a decent look at the railway tunnels at times. This one was Alter Roßsteintunnel (Old Roßstein Tunnel), which was built in 1860 in what the Germans call "rheinischen Burgenstil" (Rhenish, i.e., Rhinecastle style). The new one next to it was built in 1960/1961,
When we rounded the bend, we could see the north portal of the Alter Roßsteintunnel.
Every once in a while, there was a stretch with not much of great interest. You could just enjoy the river.
At times, you thought you were coming up on a small church only to find out it was actually a train tunnel. Hitler did not want his vital train tunnels hit by Allied bombers. So, he had the entrances disguised as churches, castles, etc. Only from a certain angle, could you see the entrance. Here are the Kammerecktunnel north of Oberwesel and the north portal of Bettunnel, which is near the Loreley.
As mentioned, we'd now reached the famous Loreleyfelsen (Lorelei Rock or Cliff). Of course, they played the Loreley song from the Heine poem. Navigation here is a bit tricky and sailors in the past made up the maiden to excuse their lousy sailing. I'd seen it from a train on the opposite side of the river a long time ago. Up close, it is seriously tall.
Burg Katz (Castle Cat) is at 556 km at the town of St. Goarshausen. St. Goar is on the other side of the river. The castle's real name is Neukatzenelnbogen - New Cat's Elbow! What a name! First constructed in 1371, Napoleon blew it up in 1806. In 1896, they rebuilt it as close to the original design as possible. It was a boarding school in the late 1940's, but is now under Japanese ownership and is a hotel.
Of course, St. Goar has its own castle, Burg Rheinfels (Rhein Rock). Although much of it is a ruin. some outer buildings have been turned into a hotel, a restaurant, and more.
You knew, didn't you, that if there's a Burg Katz, there had to be a Burg Maus? It is at 554 km and sits above a village called Wellmich. It is on the right side of the river opposite Rheinfels. It was actually started in 1356 by the Archbishop-Elector who lived way over in Trier. He was trying to enforce Trier's rights to tolls on the Rhein against the guy who owned Katz and Rheinfels. It was never destroyed, but fell into disrepair in the 16th century. Restored between 1900 and 1906, it now has an aviary of raptors.
The next big sight was a fun one- the closed pub and Lutheran church Zur Klosterschenke. It is in Sankt Goarshausen and is really a pub attached to a church. When it was most recently open, tourists had to enter the church through the pub.
I thought that the town of Hirzenach with its Catholic church St. Bartolomäus was really quite charming looking.
In less than ten minutes at 567km, we could see Die Feindlichen Brüder (The Feuding Brothers)- Burg Sterrenberg and Burg Liebenstein. The legend of the brothers dates to 1587, but Liebenstein was built in the 13th century, which was after Sterrenberg. While Sterrenberg now has a restaurant, Liebenstein is mostly in disrepair. It was declared uninhabitable in the 16th century.
Before we reached Boppard at 570 km, we were treated to sheep grazing on the mountainside. In Boppard, we could see the twin towers of the 12th/13th century romanesque Catholic Minor Basilica of St. Severus. (No, not Snape.) Evidently, it was built over Roman baths. Along the river was the Alte Burg (Old Castle), which was an Electoral Castle built by the Archbishop and Elector of Trier. Him again.
Near another bend in the river, we saw Campingplatz Sonneneck, or Campground Sun Corner. Looked like a pretty busy spot.
Marksburg, high above the river at 580 km, was not built as a residence, but for protection in the 13th century. This knight's castle is considered one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another site called it "the Rhine's best original Knight Castle". There is a chapel on the first floor called Markuskapelle and from that came the name of the castle. Looked pretty good up there.
The next castle, which was near Koblenz, is the only one I couldn't identify.
The one after that, though, was seriously easily, not least because its name is on a sign on a building: Schloß Stolzenfels (Castle Proud Rock or Cliff). It has been rebuilt, of course, because it is on the left bank. It has a Koblenz address.
We were now out of the gorge. However, since we'd gotten this far, we agreed to stay on the upper deck until we sailed into the Mosel. We got to see a bit of Koblenz as we floated along. We were rather surprised to pass a water park. Maybe it was because we were so cold. Across the river, was Koblenz-Pfaffendorf, which probably started as a village (note the Dorf in the name) and eventually became a suburb.
Since Koblenz is a fair-sized city, it was not surprising to see the Schloß Koblenz and have Schloß translate this time as palace. I was surprised by the Preußisches Regierungsgebäude, which was the Prussian Government Building. I didn't realize the Prussian reach extended this far.
On the right side of the river, we saw the huge Festung Ehrenbreitstein (Fortress Honor Broad Stone). We could also make out the line for the Sesselbahn (gondola) that hung over the river for a ride from the city to the fortress. Back on the left was the Deutsches Eck, the pointed corner where the Mosel flowed into the Rhein. Here was a huge equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I. Next to him is a winged female handing him a laurel and a crown. The statue is rather dark and hard to make out in the photos. The statue was badly damaged in WWII, when American artillery used it for target practice. Before reunification the park was a symbol of the desire for it, with coats of arms of all states, East and West, and a German flag. After reunification, the reconstruction of the statue was hotly debated. Finally, Werner and Anneliese Theisen of Koblenz said they would pay for it. Düsseldorf sculptor, Raymond Kittl, was commissioned to produce a replica. It was installed in 1993.
The boat gracefully navigated around the point and we had a good view of it all the way around and then up the Mosel. So cool.
At 5:34, finally finished with our cold cruise, we had hot chocolate in the cabin.
When the three of us went to dinner at 7, I was still not warm. As an appetizer, J and I each ordered a creamy Kiwi Cocktail, that was very refreshing. K had the Herb Marinated Tiger Prawn with humus, golden beet, chioggia beet, cress, and avocado. He liked it.
I wasn't in the mood for either of the soups, even though I was cold. J had the Parmesan Cream Soup with herbs croutons, and foam ( again with the foam!), while K had the Beef Consommé with vegetables and sesame egg royal.
Since we felt it would be wrong to order anything else, J and I both had "Traditional Rheinischer Sauerbraten" with braised beef, red cabbage, Williams potato, and raisin sauce. It was nothing like the sour beef I had growing up, but there are different recipes in different parts of Germany. That said, it was good. K decided to try to baby his stomach with Pan Fried Nile Perch Fillet that came with choron sauce, broccoli, young vegetables and herb rice.
For dessert, J and I each had the recommended "Salty Caramel", which consisted of caramel cake, chocolate sauce, and amarena ice cream. Delicious! K had the cinnamon ice cream with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. The taste I had was good.
We finished dinner at 8:30. After setting our morning meeting time, we said good night and went to our cabins.
The phone said I'd walked 5,321 steps for 1.5 miles and climbed 4 floors. When did I do that?
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