Day 6 – October 7– CASTLES & MORE CASTLES

We spent the rest of the day slowly sailing the Rhine.  The views were awesome.  Sloping hills full of vineyards, castles (some in ruins) perched on the hill sides or on top of the hills and quaint villages hugging the river.  The weather did get better in the afternoon.  We saw blue skies and the sun peeked out several times.  A nice relaxing day sailing the Rhine.

Katz Castle

 Rheinfels Castle

 Schonburg Castle

 Stahleck Castle

 Ehrenfels Castle

  

Late afternoon and before we left the Rhine River and turned onto the Main River the boat docked at Rudesheim to let off those of us who signed up for a wine tasting excursion.  That included us.  The boat continued on to Wiesbaden and we would meet it there after the wine tasting.

The wine tasting was at a family run winery called JOHANNES OHLIG.  Of course they made Rieslings.  We did sample what they called a “red” wine.  It was more of a Rose.  I don’t know if it was made with a Riesling grape or if they just bottled someone else’s wine.

We started out at a vineyard.  We stood out in the rain and sampled one kind of wine.  Despite the wet and cold, it was fun and magical.  Really felt like fall.

 

We then went into town to their winery and tasting room.  There we tried two more wines, one being the red wine.

   It must be fall!

  They call this "red" wine.

The last place we moved to was downstairs to the barrel room and tasted the last Riesling.  A sweet one.  Must have been late harvest.  It was a fun excursion.  Glad we spent the time and money on it.

 See why I like this wine.

 The town of Rudesheim is famous for it’s Christmas markets.  It has narrow cobble stone streets and lots of cute shops.  Unfortunately it was late after the wine tasting.  It was getting dark and all the shops were closed.  We had to get back on the bus and head to Wiesbaden to get back onto the boat and sail onto the Main River, overnight to our next destination; Aschaffenburg. 

NOTE:  I am five days behind on this blog.  We have sailed the Main River, ending the river cruise in Bamberg.  We were bused to Nuremberg for a city tour then continued into Czech Republic for two nights in Prague.  It was a constant on the go five days; walking tours, eating and sleeping.  This is our last evening; tomorrow we are on a 13 hour flight for home, arriving in the afternoon.  I will get the BLOG up to date.  I have lots more pictures to share.  So stay tuned.  The BLOG will be completed soon.

  

Part III – RHINE RIVER, GERMANY

On the sixth day we sailed the Rhine River to view the many castles on the hill sides lining the river.  Unfortunately it was a cloudy day with lots of rain in the morning.  The sun did come out in the afternoon, so we had some clear viewings.

MARKSBURG CASTLE

There was a morning excursion to visit the Marksburg Castle.  It was a steep, slippery trek through the castle grounds.  Since I was having some problems with my left leg (pinched nerve, very painful) I decided to stay behind.  Dave went and got some great pictures.

Many of the castles along the Rhine are rebuilt versions of the originals.  Marksburg Castle stands today as the best preserved castle on the river.  This castle has seen 800 years of change and turmoil without being significantly blemished is its location.  It sits atop a steep, isolated hill on a bend in the river.  In the past, the steep terrain discouraged enemies that the castle was never attacked during the countless wars that raged around it over the many centuries that it sat on top of that hill.

 View of Rhine River from the castle.

Next:  Castles, castles and more castles.

Day 5 – October 6 - COCHEM

This is another charming village along the Mosel River with hillsides covered with vineyards overlooking the town.  It’s history goes back to 886 and maybe even further than that. 

We visited our first castle; Reichsburg Castle overlooks the village of Cochem and the Mosel River.  In 1151, King Konrad III occupied this castle and declared it an Imperial Castle.  In 1688 it was overrun by French King Louis XIV during the Nine Years’ War.   The following year they destroyed it.  The castle complex lay in ruins until 1868 when it was bought by a Berlin businessman who reconstructed it.  It is now owned by the town of Cochem who took over it in 1978.  We toured several rooms.  A very impressive complex with a fantastic view!

       Awsome views of Mosel River and Cochem from the hilltop at 
     Reichsburg Castle.

A walking tour of historic Cochem brought us along cobblestone streets to the town square.  Once again, a charming town with colorful, picturesque buildings with window boxes full of flowers.  All around the square and side streets are quaint shops and lots of outdoor cafes.  We had some free time to stroll around and shop.  We slowly strolled through the streets, did some window shopping and stopped at a café where I enjoyed some potato pancakes with smoked salmon.

 Town Square

 ??? Try walking the floors in that apartment!

      Unique and interesting wall mosaic on the side of a bridge tower.

We hurried back to the Viking Odin, only to be met by some angry staff and the ships captain with a very unhappy look.  We were about 20 minutes late (@#!! We had the wrong return time), and the ship was about to leave without us.  They actually held it back...waiting for us.   Whew....  Later on that night at dinner, some people were talking about the people who where almost left behind, how irresponsible they were, and what it must be like to stand on the dock seeing their boat sail away.  What would they do, where would the go....  We are so grateful that we did not have to worry about that!  We also kept our mouth shut.  Decided not to identify ourselves as “those people”.

Great view of Reichsburg Castle from the river as we sail past Cochem.

Tomorrow we leave Mosel River and sail onto the Rhine River.  

Day 4 – October 5 – TRIER & BERNKASTEL

TRIER

We arrived at Trier late afternoon on Day 3.  We boarded the Viking Odin, settled onto the boat and relaxed for the rest of the day.  The next morning on Day 4 we had a guided walking tour through historic Trier.  Trier is Germany’s oldest city; 2000 years old.  It was founded during the reign of the Emperor Augustus probably in 17 BC and was part of the Roman Empire.  There are lots of Roman ruins and Trier is a very fascinating city to explore.

 Could not find any city signs, so took a pic of the next best thing.

     Great view of the old city from a hill top vineyard.

 Mostly white grapes in this region – Riesling

 Porta Nigra (black gate) - One of the city gates to Roman Trier and a     UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was built at the end of the 2nd century AD and is the largest and best preserved city gate of the ancient world.

This is a view behind the gate.  The front is rounded.  This ancient city was once surrounded by a wall (as you can see in the model below). Today you can still see sections of this wall all over the city.

The Basilika was once a entrance hall of Roman Emperors from 286 to the end of the 4th century.  For centuries the Basilika functioned as residence of the Trier Archbishops.  Today it is a Protestant Church.  In 1599 the Electoral Palace was added as an extension to the Basilika and became the home of the Archbishops.  Your tax monies at work. Originally there were 4 wings of this palace.  Today only two wings remain.

The Cathedral and Church of Our Lady are both a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The Cathedral is Germany’s oldest bishop’s church (begun in the 4^th century).  The church (from the 13^th century) is one of the first churches in Germany built in the Gothic style.  Both structures are attached to each other.

The Main Market is the center of the Old City.  St. Peter’s Fountain (1595) depicts Trier’s patron saint and the four cardinal virtues (shown as women).  The St. Gangolf Church towers (built up to 2 stories in 1507) is in the background.

More of the Main Market.  

These people were out hoping to make some money.  Do not know how they do the balancing.  But there must be some steel framing under all those garments.  Just like the first picture I showed you of this in Luxembourg, the figure on top is fake.

After the tour we had less than an hour to explore on our own.  Sadly, we visited here on a Sunday.  All the cute shops (that I would have loved to check out) were closed.  Only the cafe's opened (after church).  Also we could not enter any of the churches or cathedrals because services were going on. We returned to the city center and took more pictures and had just enough time to buy some postcards.  Then we were bused to another port; Schweich where the ODIN was waiting for us.  We boarded her and had a nice lunch while ODIN sailed to yet another port; Bernkastel.

BERNKASTEL

We arrived at Bernkastel around 5:30, still on Day 4.  As soon as we docked we departed for another city tour with an extra excursion of some wine tasting at a local winery.  We started out at Dr. Pauly Bergweiler wine tasting room which is in a beautiful stone building that looks like a home.  We tasted 4 different Rieslings. 

Doctor’s Wine Fountain:  Following a serious illness, the only thing that was still able to help the Archbishop Boemund II of Trier was wine from Bernkastel’s best south facing slopes.  He called the healing drops his “Bernkasteler Doctor”. The Doctorweinbrunnen is a memorial to this legend.

We walked down the cobblestone streets to the town center.  This is another charming village with colorful buildings with window boxes full of flowers.  The vineyard covered hills overlook the town.  The town takes the doctor wine legend seriously.  The few vineyards we saw had “Dr” in the name. None of the shops were open being Sunday and after hours.  We found some charming shops with cats in the window.  Darn!  We saved a lot of money today.  

 

 St. Michael Fountain:  The heart of the market place dates back to 1606, and is dedicated to the archangel Michael, who, standing with one foot on a dragon, holds a sward and scales in his hands.  St. Michael is the patron saint of the town.

Crooked, skinny cafe

  

 I guess you could call this a selfie.

 Kitty puppets?

It was a very busy day with lots of walking.  I figured I burned a lot of calories today so I will enjoy a big dinner with dessert and lots of wine.  

Tomorrow we continue to our last port on the Mosel River; Cochem.