We started off this gray, damp day by taking the provided transport into the town of Rudesheim and then walking around on our own. It is a charming, cobblestoned town filled with weinstubes (wine restaurants or gardens), grapevines strung over the lanes, and vineyards on the hills behind the town.
It was very quiet as things weren't open yet. We bumped into a few tour groups walking through town, but other than them it felt like a very sleepy town. We were told, however, that Rudesheim gets 3 million visitors each year. Not many in evidence this day, which is okay.
After lunch, we sailed once more. This was to be one of the true highlights of the cruise--our trip through what's known as the Romantic Rhine. All those TV commercials of river cruises plying a narrow, winding river, steep hills of vineyards and castles on either side. Our weather timing was off, and for the key couple of hours as we passed this beautiful area, we had solid rain and even fog at times. It was still beautiful, but not the clear-skied vision we had in our heads. Most of us were huddled indoors, peering out, with occasional bursts of eager photographers running outside to take pictures, getting a little damper each time.
Shortly after we passed the famous Lorelei area, the sun broke out for awhile. We moved to the sky deck of the boat and enjoyed the views. The rain came back, and most of us settled for watching the remainder of the day's cruise from the warmth (and dryness) of the lounge.
We sailed on to Bonn for the night. This was the only night of our cruise when we were docked overnight rather than cruising.
We ended our day with a great concert by a trio called La Strada, who had driven from Ghent to share their music with us. Two very talented violinists and an equally good guitarist. At first, we thought it seemed an odd combination, but the guitar added some nice depth and rhythm to the nimble-fingered violin playing.
No comments:
Post a Comment