Rudesheim Thursday 4 September

This morning we are passing through the Rhine Valley. Absolutely stunning scenery from both sides. After breakfast I'm happy to sit up on the top deck for a couple of hours and simply watch the world go by.

There were incredible floods in the 1980s and the water level was midway between the hotel and Montag signs. Hard to believe. Many of the battles have been converted to hotels or left as ruins.They are all amazing feats of architecture and workmanship. can't imagine any of our homes still standing in 200 plus years.

Apparently after WW II, as part reparation for all the damage done to neighbouring villages, Germany had to build quarries to mine the materials necessary to rebuild many of those buildings, roads, etc. that they bombed. We passed one such quarry which was hard at it, still operating.

The scenery kept delivering all the way to Rudesheim.

We arrive there at lunch time, so after our lunch we board the Winzerexpress mini train which takes us to Siegfried's Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum which is the first of its kind in Germany. It's an eccentric and unique museum that showcases one of the largest collections of automated musical instruments in the world.

As I've been to Rudesheim before, I tell Julie about the cable car ride so that's where we head to next. The cable car was built in 1954 and takes us to the top of the mountain to the Niederwald monument with its statue of Germania which was built in memory of the Franco-German war. There are lovely views over the Rhine Valley from the Goethe-Tempel but it is starting to drizzle and as e have both left umbrellas on the boat we are keen to get back on the cable car and head back down the hill side.

Once back down the hill we stop at a cafe that serves Rudesheim coffee. We are treated to having it made for us at the table. I took a copy off the recipe so will be able to give it a try at home. Just have to remember to heat the brandy first and then be prepared to set it alight before pouring in the coffee!

The drizzle had set in now so we aren't interested in wandering around in the open through the different alleyways to get back to the boat. There certainly are lots of delightful little shops that would be tempting on a nicer day when we had more time, so maybe next time... I have gone into a music box shop and bought myself a little carousel music box so that will be my lovely reminder of this visit. Time to get back on the mini train to get us back to the boat shortly before departure time. Now time for a couple of hours in the cabin to read, catch up on the blog and look out of the window before dinner. Even have time for a shower to freshen up. Dinner is a very pleasant affair, shared with a lovely couple from Golden Grove. We Soithh Aussies need to stick together. After dinner, I'm happy for an early night so head back to the cabin whilst Julie heads to the lounge where they are playing Beatles music. Another lovely day on the Rhine River, and now into the Main River where we have a lot of locks to go through that will definitely impact on timings as there is so much boat craft on the river, all needing to go through the locks. Just as well I'm in no hurry to be anywhere!