Rudesheim

Very busy on the waters overnight as we leave the Main and enter the Rhine River. Overcast and high of only 9 forecast but I'm sure I can see some blue skies. Now that we are on the Rhine it is a very busy waterway and there are a lot more buildings, probably industrial, along the river's edge. There is always plenty to see from our cabin. Heaps of barges going past, carrying mainly building materials such as sand, gravel, etc but have also seen one carrying coal.

We arrive at Rudesheim which looks like it will be another pretty town. The is a small ferry that is conveying cars from one side of the river to the other.

After breakfast we head off on a miniature 'train' to visit Seigried's Mechanical Musical Instrument museum which is near the top of the village. We have a brief tour through the museum (built in the 13th century) which houses one of the largest collections (some 350) of self-playing music instruments. At first Siegfried Wendel collected and restored mechanical instruments for fun, but very soon his hobby developed into the first museum of its kind in Germany, opening in 1969. He still finds these items, his son helps restore them and his grand daughter Lena, hosts tour groups. B and I then decide to go on the cable car which takes us to the Niederwald Monument memorial. The 12 minute ride offers us fabulous views of the surrounding hillside covered in vineyards, and the Rhine River. Just a pity that it is very hazy as the photos won't do it justice. The monument is pretty spectacular with a 12.5 metre high statue of 'Germania' on top, commemorating the creation of the German Empire in 1871. In 1884 a rack railway was built to transport visitors through the vineyards to the monument. It was replaced by the cable car in 1954. The new cable car replaced that in 2005. Once at the top we head to the cafe where I indulge in a Rudesheimer Kaffe which is coffe flambé with Asbach Uralt brandy, whipped cream and chocolate flakes which had to be prepared at the table. It was fabulous!!! It was served in a special porcelain mug called a Biedermeier cup. Duly warmed ad replenished after my lovely hot drink, we head back down the hillside via the cable car again and decide to wander back to the ship under oour own steam in lieu of taking the miniature train back. Wandering down Drosselgasse alley which is very narrow, there are colourful restaurants, bars and shops all the way along. The alley is 144.5 metres long and is often joked that it is so narrow that no matter how much you drink you will never fall over in Drosselgasse. It was built in the 15th century and is simply charming. Along the way I find a couple of police memorabilia figurines in different stores so they will be added to the collection when I get home, plus I end up buying a nice top which B did nothing to dissuade me from buying!!!

Back on the ship and time for lunch. We both have the fried Camembert and agree that even though all of our meals are really good, this was the best lunch to date... Absolutely yummy! We then leave Rudesheim and cruise through the Rhine Gorge which is dotted with historic castles at every turn. Once again, the cloud cover means that the photos are not going to do these wonderful spectacles true justice. As it is so cold up on the sun deck we are rugged up as best we can, but eventually the cold has gotten through the layers so B and I head to the lounge where we sit by the starboard window and attempt to get a few more happy snaps from that vantage point. we pas the famous 'Loreley Rock' where the Rhine has its narrowest and deepest stretch. Anja has been doing a great job of a running commentary of each castle, village or point of interest we pass. It seemed surprising to me that there are so many different style castles relatively close by each other. Anja explained that the castles were built to work in conjunction with toll collection stations which was the greatest source of income for the nobles and archbishops fir hundreds of years. They were mostly destroyed by Rudolf of Habsburg and the League of Rhenish Cities in the 13th century, destroyed during the 30 years war 1618-1648, destroyed by Louis XIV's troops in 1689, and destroyed by Napolean's troops in the late 18th century. Many castles were restored by the Prussians in the 1800s, so now you know as much as me! Well only on this topic, ofcourse..

I finally however get to a point where I am 'castled out' so head back to the cabin to start the lengthy photo download process. When B comes back I determine that it must be wine o'clock so we share my little bottle of wine previously purchased on our coach tour and enjoy watching the changing coastline as we continue on towards Andernach where we are due to berth later tonight. We then head up to the lounge for our briefing by Anja about tomorrow's plans. News flash!!! As the river is soooooooo low, we are not stopping at Andernach but instead are going on to Remagen where we will berth overnight. We are unable to berth at Bonn which was the plan for tomorrow, but instead will stay put at Remagen and via coach will do our visit to Bonn tomorrow morning. We then head for Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon. We are so darn lucky with Travelmarvel and our fabulous captain who has performed brilliantly to ensure that we haven't had to get off the ship to be coached anywhere due to the low water levels as a number of other cruise lines have had to do. So, after the briefing it is time for dinner. I am now feeling like a battery hen where I am feeling force fed with so much lovely food. Ofcourse if I had any will power at all I would not have the four courses offered, but I suppose I can always kid myself that I will diet when I get home.... lovely dinner, lovely company, lovely day but also time for bed.