Ahh. Sunday on the Rhine. It was a simple day.
A guided tour of the town of Kaub (pop. 1,100) kicked it off. Kaub has two churches (one Catholic & one Lutheran) sharing a common wall, an open bakery and two castles.
The first of the castles, Gutenfels, is perched high above with vineyards filling the hillside between it and the town below. Rob walked up to it. (He took the picture!)
The second, at ground level, is Burg Pfalzgrafenstein. Situated on a rock in the middle of the river channel, it stands at the ready to exact tolls from passing traffic. Our group was ferried to the island for a walk-through of the castle’s three levels and a demonstration of medieval bagpipe and flute music.
Inside (on the left); outside (on the right). Look out below!
After lunch, Rob, Carol and I joined a busload of fellow passengers on an excursion to the top of the Loreley for a spectacular view of the Rhine river as it flows around the base of the giant rock.
‘Twas here, MDR, that yours truly stumbled and fell (down, not off) in his impatient haste to reach a newly-spied photo op by going off the cobblestone path. I scraped my knee and bruised my ego.
While I tried to stem the bleeding, we were bused to another castle–the Rheinfels–on the opposite bank for a tour of the ruins and a wine tasting in the great hall.
We toured the decrepit part. (There’s a modern hotel in another section of the complex.)
Suffice it to say, I trod carefully over the stones, slanted dirt paths and uneven steps. However, it was Carol’s turn to tumble: she mis-gauged the rise from the dungeon floor to the ground level and fell as well. Fortunately, she neither bruised nor scraped herself and was right as rain once she was standing again.
After a wine-tasting of five varietals from a local vineyard, we boarded the bus and set out to meet up with our ship. During our afternoon excursion, the M/S River Adagio had left Kaub and sailed on to Bingen, the southern terminus of the Rhine Gorge area. Here, the ship was docked along a beautiful riverfront completely given over to recreational uses including playgrounds, parks, promenades and restaurants.
Shortly after our return, all 140 0f us set out en masse and on foot for a local restaurant where we were served a typical German beef dish. The dish was OK. The company, however, was great fun.
Dutch to Deutsch: The Great Rivers of Europe 