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.