Rudesheim and the Rhine Cruise

We arrived in Rudesheim along the Rhine river in the evening after a very busy day in Eisenach. The hotel was unanimously voted our least favorite. Cramped, hot, and somewhat surly service on our arrival were no doubt brought into sharper relief by exhaustion. And then there were the trains. Yes, a train every 15 minutes all night. Oh yeah, we had a HUGE rainstorm complete with with lighting, thunder, and 40 MPH wind. A restful night to be sure...

Tired, but determined, we headed to our guides favorite watering hole, "The Rudesheim Schloss" It was a true highlight of the trip. A fun band played while we sipped beer and wine in open beer garden. We were early so we had our pick of tables. With 30 minutes the crowds rambled in, the dancing began, and shots of schnapps began to flow.

Our group heads to dinner


OK. Six shot glasses glued to a board, filled with schnapps, 1..2..3..Prost! Everybody drinks. You do the math.


Here is what happens, people get happy and start to talk to one another. Peggy was WONDERFUL this evening. She made friends from Canada and everywhere else. What a blessing.



Yes, Line dancing in Germany


Everybody gets in the fun. The guy lifting his drink to his mouth seems to be saying "Americans, the misbehave EVERYWHERE!" I was persuaded to join the dancing No, I don't have pictures and you don't want to see them anyway.

The next morning we boarded our board for a morning cruise down the Rhine. I don't have a picture of our boat because we had a little trouble getting everyone to the dock on time. Actually, the ones we were waiting for ended up beating us to the boat because we waited for them on the wrong side of the train tracks!
Here is what we saw on our incredible journey down the Rhine.










A pair of swans with their chicks plied the waters off one of our stops along the river.


Yep, they build right in the middle of the river. If I remember correctly, this was a tax house.

Here is the famous Loreley, a 120 meter rock situated at the narrowest and deepest part of the river. Many boats met their end here. The legend goes that a beautiful woman would sit upon the rock singing her alluring songs. The mariners would be drawn into the rocks hoping for a glimpse of her beautiful form.

After the cruise, we ate some of the only bad food we had on the trip.