Germany: Back Down to the Rhine, August 6-7

On Monday, with the week of soccer camp over for Thomas, the three of us left Simmern and drove with the rental car back down to Boppard, the little town on the Rhine that Kerstin and Cliff had biked to while Thomas was at camp. We stayed at the same place as before -- the "Shinderhannes and Julchen" B&B. In fact, we got the same room -- with the view of the river.

Our BB was right behind these buildings.


On the afternoon of our arrival we rented bikes and biked along the river. We found this rowing club. (So next time Benjamin can come along and and row on the river.) Not exactly sure how anyone can actually row on this part of the Rhine, though. The current on the river is VERY strong. Rowing upstream must be like on a treadmill. Downstream -- well, you'd soon end up in Rotterdam....

Here's an innovative use of an old single scull:

Our bike tour took us on the "Sesselbahn" (chair lift), which takes you up the mountain right outside Boppard. The view is spectaular when you get up.

At the top, we walked to the Vier Seen Blick -- a restaurant with a view that because of the twists and turns makes the Rhine look like four lakes.



I think Thomas saw a fly in his coke....... or his mother killing a wasp....



The next day the weather was awful. Biking or hiking just was not possible. So we decided to take the car on a ferry over to the other side of the Rhine and go to Marksburg, one of the most impressive castles on the Rhine.

The river was quite rough -- looks like being on the high seas. But high water on the Rhine is no joke. The river has flooded down here on many occasions over the centuries, pushing up to the second story of buildings a couple of streets away from the embankment.

Marksburg is one of the oldest castles on the Rhine and it is impressive mostly because it has never been conquered or destroyed.

Here we are waiting in the rain to go on a guided tour.



The rain just continued, so a tour with the car down the Rhine to Koblenz seemed to be the right thing to do. Koblenz is where the Rhine and the Mosel rivers flow together. At their intersection there is a monument to Kaiser Wilhelm I and the unity of Germany in the 1800s. This is a view from the monument towards the river intersection -- the Deutsches Eck [the German Corner].



Always time for a good German Bratwurst....