Day 4, Saturday, April 28
It's 0630 and I am sitting at
an elegant, small table, linen covered, drinking wonderful coffee
brought to me by a white shirted steward. I am in the Aquavit Lounge
on the forward part of the ship, protected by glass walls while I
watch the shore slide by. The Rhine was a sewer when I lived here
50+ years ago with no life in it. Fish are back and the shores are
clean. One passenger wondered why his river in Alabama could not
look like this. People also remark how clean Germany is. This is so
luxurious, sitting here, being treated so well. I wish my kids could
be here with us. We got a 2 for 1 deal, half price. I think they
had some empty cabins in the cheap seats and I am glad we jumped on
it. Our cabin's window is near sea level so most of it is underwater
and near the crew quarters. The next deck up cost $3000 more than
ours and the cabin is slightly smaller due to having a very narrow
balcony which has not enough room to sit out on. We eat the same
food and have the same treatment. I heard that the top deck cabins
cost $10000. A castle is on the hillside right now.
It's 5pm and it's been quite a
day. Stared with a steep climb to Marksburg Castle in Braubach.
Makes me very glad I did not live in the Middle Ages. Try this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-imJ2ukNxnw
Back to the boat which cast
off at noon and we headed up the Rhine to Rudesheim. We are passing
thru the Romantic Rhine which has more castles than any other river
in the world. Lisa and I sat on the top deck and listened to the
program director tell passengers about the castles and villages we
were passing. Nostalgic for me since I have been on this portion of
the Rhine many times when I lived here 50 years ago. It was normal
weekend activity to head to Bingen and catch a steam boat to St Goar,
climb the Lorelei, and have a picnic or eat at a gasthaus and boat
back to Bingen. Lots of very good memories. Try this:
She is holding the key to the castle.
Marksburg Castle
The Lorelei
Thanks for sharing. Wish we were there. We picked up a new kitty today. She wants to know what the cats say in Germany.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so beautiful. How's the weather? Is it warm?
ReplyDelete