There was seating inside but we headed up the stairs and found some seats in the lovely sunshine.
The town of Bacharach from the boat as we pulled away from the boat dock. So darling.
Rick Steves included a handy-dandy guided tour of sights on the river so we followed along as the boat headed towards our final stop of St. Goar.
This is a classic Rhine view with Gutenfels castle up on the hill and the shipshape Pfalz castle built in the middle of the river in the 1300s. Together, these two castles worked very effectively to tax medieval traffic. The nearby town of Kaub grew rich as Pfalz castle raised its chains when boats came and lowered them only when the merchants had paid their duty. Those who didn't pay spent time touring its prison on a raft at the bottom of its well. Harsh. In 1504 a pope called for the destruction of Pfalz, but the locals withstood a six-week siege and the castle still stands. Notice the over-hanging outhouse (the tiny white room between the two wooden ones).
In Kaub, the town on the riverfront directly below Gutenfels castle, a German general named Gebhard von Blücher built the first major pontoon bridge in 1813 and was able to outflank Napoleon helping to eventually defeat the French. The town has a statue in his honor.This is a classic Rhine view with Gutenfels castle up on the hill and the shipshape Pfalz castle built in the middle of the river in the 1300s. Together, these two castles worked very effectively to tax medieval traffic. The nearby town of Kaub grew rich as Pfalz castle raised its chains when boats came and lowered them only when the merchants had paid their duty. Those who didn't pay spent time touring its prison on a raft at the bottom of its well. Harsh. In 1504 a pope called for the destruction of Pfalz, but the locals withstood a six-week siege and the castle still stands. Notice the over-hanging outhouse (the tiny white room between the two wooden ones).
The roaring Rhine.
Cuteness.
Looking back at Oberwesel.
Fox and Jane being Fox and Jane on the boat.
Then we passed the legendary Loreley and all the sightseers jumped to their feet to get good photos.
Steep a big slate rock in centuries of legend and it becomes a tourist attraction - the ultimate Rhinestone, if you will. The Loreley rises 450 feet over the narrowest and deepest point of the Rhine and has long been important. It was a holy site in pre-Roman days and has been the scene of legends ever since. Because of the reefs just upstream many ships never made it past this rock and many sailors blamed their misfortune on a wunderbares Fräulein whose long blond hair almost covered her body. A beautiful, but deadly, nymph.
Today the castle sits empty with derelict grape terraces tumbling down the hill below it. These vineyards had been worked since the eighth century but have been abandoned in the last generation.
This boat was awesome! It had a mini-playground complete with slide on top! The kids spent the whole cruise back sliding down and running around.
How cool is this!? Gives me hope that our upcoming Scandinavian cruise will be fun for the kids.
Our family on the Rhine River Cruise on Friday May 22nd 2015
I love boat trips!!! Beautiful photos!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for virtual tour! I took the same Rhine river cruise in the late 80s, but then there was no Rick Steve's guide...Now I don't travel without it! :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun activity! I'm so glad that second boat had that slide and playground. It was awesome!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This was a fun trip. I'm so glad that second boat had that awesome slide and playground, it really kept the kids entertained!
ReplyDeleteFun! The only boat tour I did was in England on River Thames from Big Ben to Greenwich.
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