Cruise down the Rhine Gorge between Koblenz and Bingen. Steep slopes, many covered by vineyards and dotted with castles, are accompanied by picturesque villages like Boppard and St. Goarshausen. Pss by the famous "Loreley Rock," the narrowest and deepest point of the Rhine river. There are many stories about the Loreley, particularly about the "Lore," the daughter of Father Rhine. The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the upper middle Rhine valley, a 41 mile section of the River Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen in Germany. It was added to the UNESCO list of Wold Heritage sites in June 2002 for a unique combination of geological, historical, cultural, and industrial reasons. The river has been an important trade route into central Europe since prehistoric times and a string of small settlements has grown up along the banks. Constrained in size, many of the old towns retain a historic feel today. With increasing wealth, many castles appeared and the valley became a core region of the Holy Roman Empire. It was at the centre of the Thirty Years' War, which left many of the castles in ruins, a particular attraction for today's cruise ships which follow the river. At one time forming a border of France, in the 19th Century, the valley became part of Prussia and its landscape became the quintessential image of Germany.
We were docked in Koblez overnight. I'm glad that we didn't venture into town last night. We went on the walking tour this morning, and they did have their Christmas market open too, but the town was not very exciting at all. It just started to drizzle a few drops while we were walking back. I saw one German jacket that I was going to buy for $19 Euros, but I didn't because I thought I might find something in Heidelburg instead.
Welcome Drink
When we returned to the ship, we were welcomed with HOT Chocolate. It was so hot, you could not drink it or you would burn your throat (and I like my stuff hot). It was good once it cooled off.
Lunch
Lunch was awesome! They had real Bavarian pretzels with sweet, grainy mustard, white sausages with real horseradish, Horseradish soup (which was very good and even my mom ate it even though she had another Hamburger again), Spaetzel, and Cappuccino Chip ice cream. (This was probably my favorite lunch.) The two Travel Agent ladies ate lunch with us again, and it was very nice.
Rhine River
Now, we moved from the Mosel to the Rhine. There were a lot of castles along the way. I captured the pictures from our room. Mom napped for a long time and her snoring kept getting louder.
No comments:
Post a Comment