Today was my favorite sailing day so far. After breakfast, I spent the morning on the sun deck taking pictures. The day started out hazy with a few raindrops, but the rain kept away from us for most of the morning, which was nice. Lots of my new friends were up on the sun deck as well. I’m really getting to know lots of people onboard, and I love that.
We passed 15 or 17 castles in the space of the morning, and it was incredible! I was delighted! They had a map handout, which indicated the castles and towns we were passing on our journey. Each village and town we passed had a church or two to take photos of as well. The rocky cliffs along the shoreline were spectacular. In addition, we spotted lots of vineyards on the steep hills. We cruised along the dramatic scenery of the Rhine Gorge, which is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km section of the River Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen in Germany. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in June 2002.
We passed beside the imposing Lorelei Cliff, where we heard the ancient Legend of the Lorelei. The Lorelei is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there. Lorelei is supposedly the name of a mermaid who lured unwary fisherman to their death by singing the most beautiful song they had ever heard. Today a sculpture marks the legendary spot!
Lunch was good, but I kept hopping up and running over to the window to take more shots of castles and the cathedrals on shore. I’m quickly gathering a reputation as an obsessed photographer!
The Niederwald Monument, which was built in 1877-1883 to commemorate the unification of Germany, offers superb views of the Rhine Gorge. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining on top of the mountain, and so we walked over to the gazebo for some photos and then on to the monument itself. I took lots of pictures of the valley floor below us. You could see for miles up there.
We walked around Rüdesheim, had some ice cream and visited a few shops. Rüdesheim is a charming town full of tight little alleys and enticing shops and beer gardens. I liked it. Soon we ran into Aunt Peggy and Susan Urben, who had finished their music tour as well. Dad opted to go back to the ship ahead of us, and Mom, Aunt Peggy and I stayed in town and did more shopping and then walked back to the ship.
Dinner was great as usual. After dinner, a husband and wife duo (Toni & Florrina) provided our evening entertainment. Florrina has an amazing voice and is able to sing in multiple music styles from opera to Patsy Cline, from rock to musicals.
Our boat departed from Rüdesheim later that evening around bed time.
Favorite Thing or Funny Moment
- Me: One shop in Rüdesheim intrigued me. They had a cardboard cutout poster of “James” from Twilight in their front window, and then in the back room, they had “Victoria” and “Laurant” as well as “Harry Potter”. It was pretty strange!
- FEELING: Delighted!
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