#487 Day 21 Rudesheim & Rhine Castles

July 4th found us traveling to Rudesheim. Like the trips to Rothenburg and Heidelberg, we had a great time finding our hotel. Each day presented another travel challenge. We did have MapQuest maps which were extremely helpful. That is, until we got to the town, then we had to search for our hotel. It was great fun.

We had plans to take the river tour to see the vineyards and castles along the Rhine. Rudesheim is noted for the Rheingau vinyards and the Reisling wines produced there. The boat dock was right across the street from our hotel. We weren't in town more than an hour and we were sailing down the river. The boat traveled to Boppard and then returned. The trip took a few hours on the river. It was very restful and the lunch aboard was good, too.

In Rudesheim we spent the night at the Parkhotel Deutscher Hof. We also visited the Drosselgasse. It is a narrow, picturesque street with a number of wine bars. It took us some time to find it. We had a nice walk around the town as we looked for it. I was surprised to find the house with Carl Jung's name on it. We did have dinner at the Rudesheimer Schloss. They had a band that played a lot of familiar tunes. Many of the tunes were by the Beatles. The photo of us was taken by kind gentleman who had just finished dancing with his wife. I agreed to take a photo of them and their friends. It was quite a friendly place. The food was delicious and the wine was quite drinkable.

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#486 Days 19 & 20 Heidelberg

We toured the Konigstuhl castle. That was the first thing we did after checking into our hotel. To get to the castle we had to walk several blocks to get to the tram which took us up to the Schloss (castle). We could have walked up the steps, but we had enough of such walking at Mont Saint Michel. We opted to take the audio tour which was very helpful.

The view of Old Heidelberg from the castle. As you look down on the town of Old Heidelberg you can see the Church of the Holy Spirit. It is located on the West side of the market place. We bought some fruit from one of the vendors. It was a nice addition to our sandwiches for lunch. You can almost see the Philosopher's Way from the castle. It is across the Neckar River. You can also see the Old Bridge. It is undergoing some renovation, hence the scaffolding.

On the second day we walked the Philosopher's Way. We crossed the Old Bridge to get to it. We began quite early in the morning. I believe we were out of the hotel by 6 AM. It was a good thing we did it then. While walking it began to rain. It was a light rain until we were almost back to the hotel. (In the photo of us, you can see the Schloss in the background.)

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#484 Day 18 Rothenburg-Day Two

It's time to get back to the tour in Germany. So here we go.

Our second day in Rothenburg we were able to see more wonderful sights of the city. In the morning we just walked around on our own. The following slides came from the walk. The Plonlein is the most photographed corner, probably in the world. Or, at least in Rothenburg.

The next slides depict some of the sights we saw during the day tour. Daniel our guide didn't dress in costume, but he was very knowledgeable.

The next set of slides depicts St. Jakob's Luthern Church. The architectural features of the church are amazing considering how long ago the church was built. One of the most interesting parts of the church are the wood carvings on the alter. They were carved by a very famous wood carver of the time, Tilman Riemenschneider. He was a very talented sculptor from Wurzburg.

All in all, our time in Rothenburg were absolutely fabulous. It was all that we expected it to be. We would recommend spending time there for anyone.

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#479 Day 17 On to Germany

We were a little more than two weeks into our vacation. It was time for the next stage of our adventure. Rent a car and drive through Germany. This is the first time we would be driving. I mean literally, we would be driving. I had never driven in Europe before. My friends told me that when on the autobahn watch your rear view mirror and stay right except to pass. It was excellent advice. It is amazing how quickly a vehicle that looks like a mere speck in the mirror becomes a flash of color, usually black, as it speeeeeeds by. There was a yellow, late model Corvette that zipped by. About 5km further down the road it pulled into a gas station. btw, the gas prices were exorbitant there too.

We got an upgrade on our rental car. I had never driven an Audi before. This one had a stick shift and diesel engine. Great gas economy, I think. I only stalled it about a half dozen times. That was amazing to me since I have been driving a stick shift for most of my life.

Our first stop was Rothenburg. We had been there for a few hours many years ago. Maryann wanted to stay longer then, but I was to timid to leave our bus tour and take the train back to Munich. So, after all this time, she finally got her wish. We spent two nights at the Pension Becker.

We did have a fun time finding our way into the old town and then discovering where the hotel was located. It only took about 35 minutes. We were also lucky to get a parking place inside the walls. It was a short walk from there back to the hotel.

After we got established in our room we were of to sight see and take some photos. I couldn't resist taking that photo of the Pension's sign from our window. Although the street was quite narrow, there was a lot of traffic for a good portion of the evening.

The one thing we did that is unforgettable was to take the Night Watchman's tour of the town. The tour takes about an hour. The cost is 6∈ per adult. It is well worth. The guide has been conducting the tours for 15+ years. His use of the language, voice intonation, body language and his eyes made it the highlight of the visit for me. I was remiss and did not take my camera with me that evening. Fortunately, I was able to get the photo seen here the next night. There must have been 50+ people on the tour the evening we took it. The following evening there were easily 75 to 100. He makes a lot of money and earns every penny. It was well worth the trip just for that.

That was a fine way to end our day. We retired to our room and were only awakened a couple of times during the night. Because of the warmth, we left the window open. Most of the noise was passing traffic. Narrow streets do allow the sounds to reverberate of the buildings.

More, and I do mean more, photos tomorrow.

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