Morning: Rudesheim Afternoon: Cruising Loreley Passage Evening: Koblenz
RUDESHEIM
We woke this morning to see a castle at sunrise
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| When we docked at Rudsheim and tied up next to another ship. Keep those curtains closed! |
After breakfast we had a short walk into town. Rudesheim is a very quaint and charming little
German town. It has so much character that it looks like it should be the set for a Disney movie.
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| Rudesheim is also known for Rudsheim Coffee made with a local brandy. |
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| Rudesheim is in the middle of Riesling wine country, so the town is known for its wine gardens. |
This looks like a nice place for a coffee or a glass of wine.
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| Edelweiss |
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| A lovely walk back to the ship in the warm spring weather |
CRUISING THE LORELEY PASSAGE
The upper middle Rhine is a UNESCO world heritage site. The 65km stretch of the Rhine is dotted with 40 castles (or ruins), vineyards and historic towns. We had a beautiful summer day to sit on the top deck of the ship and watch the beauty and history go by.
The castles were built between 1000 and 1300, but the majority were 13th century - and we saw one every few minutes.
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| Yes, those are vineyards growing on the steep hills |
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| Castles and Caravans |
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| Medieval Toll Booth Castle on a little island. Apparently there is a medieval prison in there as well. |
The castles just kept coming - fast and furious around every bend
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| Loreley Rock |
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| UNESCO will not allow any bridges to be built across the river in this historic area, so there are lots of car ferries to cross the Rhine. |
KOBLENZ
After docking we walked around town with the YMT tour director, Walter
We had a very pleasant time just wandering around the downtown/riverside of Koblenz. A beautiful city and the weather was perfect!
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| Sections of the Berlin Wall on display in the park |
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| Ehrenbreitstein Fortress overlooking the town - built in the 10th century |
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| Cable cars go up to the Fortress |
We had a very pleasant time just wandering around the downtown/riverside of Koblenz. A beautiful city and the weather was perfect!
Cologne Cathedral:
We Arrived in Cologne on Sunday morning, and our one objective today was to go into the city to see the Cathedral. We docked a couple of km from the cathedral so a shuttle bus into downtown was provided for us. |
| Docked upstream from the Cathedral |
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| We were docked upstream from the city centre beside these very modern L-shaped buildings. You can see the cathedral in the background dominating the landscape |
The Cathedral was very impressive and large. The foundation stone was laid and construction started in 1248 and took over 600 years to complete. It wasn't completed until 1880 and in 1880 it was the tallest building in the world. It is now a UNESCO heritage site and the most popular tourist attraction in Germany. We visited during mass, so we heard the choir and organ - What a treat! Absolutely beautiful.
Cologne was heavily damaged during the war, but the cathedral managed to survive with only some damage. The stained glass windows on the lower level were saved and put into storage, but the upper windows were destroyed and have been replaced with plain glass, or more modern designs.
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| Difficult to get the whole Cathedral in the photo |
Cologne was heavily damaged during the war, but the cathedral managed to survive with only some damage. The stained glass windows on the lower level were saved and put into storage, but the upper windows were destroyed and have been replaced with plain glass, or more modern designs.
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| Original Medieval Windows |
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| The medieval section of the cathedral with it's spires and flying buttresses. |
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| An insteresting display at the cathedral that shows Cologne after the WW II bombing. The cathedral was mostly spared |
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| The skyline of Cologne on our bus |
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| returning to our ship |
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| All the love locks can be seen on the railing of the bridge. |
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| Our sister ship the aRosa Brava docked close to downtown. |
Mother's Day - Cruising the Rhine
Dusseldorf
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| The exclusive shopping street, the Konigsallee in Dusseldorf |
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| Soccer fans line the river park after a big win. |
Bonn
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| Exploring the central pedestrian streets of Bonn |
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| At the Market. White asparagus was in season and on every menu |
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| Beethoven Statue |
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| Norm at Beethoven House |
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| Beethoven's House |
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| Bonn University |
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| Walking around the university gardens and campus |
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| 740 taking over the large dining table. |
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| Going for an evening stroll along the Rhine on a warm string evening Link for Rhine pt 4- The Netherlands https://maryandnormtravel.blogspot.com/search/label/Rhine%20Cruise%20Netherlands |
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