Cruising the RHINE

You can take a river cruise along the Rhine River, picking where you want to get on and off. We had time for the 1 hour cruise portion recommended by our guide guru - we got on at St. Goer and off at Bacharach. You might remember that I said it is a 10 minute drive or train ride from one city to the other - going upstream on the cruise boat takes an hour :) If you ride the entire cruise from Koblenz to Mainz, it takes 5.5 hours downstream or 8 hours upstream. We liked our little cruise so much that we agreed we would like to take the entire cruise the next time we are here. It was simply relaxing and very pleasant.


While waiting for our cruise liner, I watched one of the ferries run back and forth across the river. There are very few bridges across the Rhine, but there are ferry crossings now and then. It is only 1.5 Euro to take the ferry across the river. And it only took 10 minutes for the ferry to go across.



















This is the river cruiser that we rode. We sat on that top front deck. (Not the very top - the top of the second level.)










Here's Don getting ready to enjoy our cruise.












There is traffic on the Rhine.












Thus, a river traffic sign.













Burg Katz











Clicking on this picture will allow you to see the Loreley Statue. Legend tells of a river siren who caused many a ship to wreck upon this stretch of the river. It was really due to the reefs. But that's how legends go.








The Loreley is actually this steep cliff at the narrowest and
deepest point of the Rhine.











The Loreley












Along side the Loreley.
















Rocky reefs called the Seven Maidens - another legend.











The Loreley on the left, Oberwesel on the right.












Oberwesel was a Celtic town in 400 BC. It has amazing remains of the Roman wall and medieval towers.










Oberwesel's old church and Schonburg Castle. We never actually stopped in Oberwesel, so I would like to do that next time.











Gutenfels Castle is now a hotel.

















I found the hillside terracing fascinating.















Pfalz Castle is one of two castles in the middle of the river. It is shaped like a ship. It survived a 6 week siege in 1504.
























That is Gutenfels in the background.





























A tent city along the bank. A lot of Germans love to camp or RV.











Every train tunnel along the river - and there are a lot of them - had a different tower. I loved it.














As I said, we got off in Bacharach and then left the Rhine Valley for Rothenburg ob der Tauber via Heidelberg. I loved the Rhine Valley. Only 5 days into our trip and it turns out that we have seen what will prove to be the best preserved castle and the best castle ruin.