Fruhschoppen at eleven am in the Lounge.

Toast in the room this morning  with a cup of tea. Woke at 0630 but had fallen asleep in my clothes the previous evening at 2130. Very tired today after huge day walking yesterday. In for an easy day today. We do not need to be in Bamberg till between four and six o'clock.Intend to rest and upload our photos and catch up on the writing. In the meantime-Fruhschoppen in the lounge. Roughly translated beer and sausages at eleven. Thank goodness they served some vegetarian sausages as I am a vegetarian. I washed it down with a beer .[also not a fan]To accompany the sausage we had rousing German music, potato salad and pickled cabbage. Plenty of condiments like mustard, tomato sauce, sweet sauce and horse radish. Delicious but we still had lunch to come in an hour. It never ends. Of course you can always say No. 

Trip to Bamberg.

Bamberg or as our tour guide pronounced it Bumbag which sent us into fits of giggles. We thought it was where bumbags were made but sadly no. The bus took us to the city centre where we had a guided tour. The highlight of Bamberg was the Rathaus or town hall. We walked under its majestic archway with the murals on the sides of the building.

The best vantage point was from the wooden bridge that had to be reached by going round the corner. There the view of the Rathaus was excellent with the water rushing beneath at a fast pace. We took photos from all angles and then set off back for the bus. On the way we saw a crater made by a bomb in the war that had been refashioned into a fountain.

 Back on board for our hot toddy and then to dinner. Caesar salad with salmon and apple torte to follow. After dinner we were lucky enough to have Lindsay Hamilton on board. A broadway entertainer who sang for us from the many shows she has performed in. She was funny and bright and now lives locally in Germany as she married a German. Her dress was pink and glittery and she sang so beautifully. It was a nice treat to a great day. Tomorrow Nuremberg and the World War two tour of the rally grounds. Then some free time. Meanwhile to bed to watch Bruce Almighty then off to sleep for an early start in the morning. 

Rothenburg

This is the town where Beauty and the Beast was filmed. The bus took an hour to get there. Very scenic green countryside. Amazing medieval town with a wall surrounding it. Walked in with the guide and through to the city centre. Buildings just gorgeous-very fairy tale like. The shops are beautiful. Took photos of the  fountain where Beauty and the Beast was filmed and Belle's house. 

The cobbled streets are hard to walk on. 

Visited the torture museum from medieval times and saw all sorts of torture devices and shame makers. Very depressing. So onward for some light relief. Looked in the window of the Dirndl shop and what did I see but edelweiss jewellery. The very thing I was after. So in we went. 

Bought earrings and a single flower on a chain. Also purchased a pretzel necklace on a navy cord. Was thrilled with my buys and we talked to the owner of the store who was also called  Heidi. Next we came across a medieval store where Heidi did a lot of present shopping for friends. The shop was fascinating with suits of armour, and medieval clothing of dresses and cloaks. Huge carp swam in a large indoor pond. We took lots of photos.

Saw some Steiff animals but way too expensive to buy. Had my eye on the small mouse in the window but he turned out to cost one hundred dollars. 

Waited in the city market place for return journey. As soon as we returned we were greeted with a hot toddy by the gorgeous staff on board. We then left the dock to travel on to Bamberg for more sights. It had been a huge day. 

Wurzburg

Taken to Bishop's Palace And walked around the Baroque gardens at the back.

We met the guide out the front at the statue in the square. He took us into the town showing us the sights and the churches. Finished on the old bridge with the statues. [Saints Bridge]. We then had self time. Wandered into town and bought a pretzel. Looked in souvenir shop, kitchen shop and book store. Caught the bus back to the boat. Had lunch- mushroom soup, salad, chocolate eclair, and fresh fruit. Cup of grunner tee to finish.

 

Rudesheim to Miltenburg

Outside our boat a small train [not unlike Thomas the Tank Engine.] awaits us to board for Rudesheim and the mechanical musical museum.

 Inside is a plethora of old musical cabinets, self playing violins, music boxes, gramophones and carnival musical instrument machines. All make wonderful sounds and are great for our enjoyment.

 Heidi played a wind up musical machine on wheels cranking away on the grinder to produce the sound. From the museum we walked into town, very small . Bought two postcards and a silver bear key chain with movable limbs and a German flag on his tummy. I called him Rude after Rudesheim. Caught the train back to the boat . Lay down with tea and cake in bed and watched the Illusionist. Port talk with Gunther who says we are leaving the Rhine behind and going onto the Maine with its thirty four lochs. Weisbaden is on the left and has the highest number of bachelor millionaires. Unfortunately we are not stopping . [Thinking of swimming ashore.] For the next four days we are unable to go up on the sundeck as there are low bridges ahead. Gunther has decided to give us a German lesson and begins with the words fahren, Rathaus, kindergarten, and Ausfahrt. Abba show on tonight! Sailing the whole night. Loch, loch, loch, loch. 

Sailing all the next morning. Glass blowing demonstration in the lounge am.  Overnight cruising to Miltenburg.  Then it is time for dinner. Lovely shrimps on skewers with couscous and for dessert white and dark chocolate mousse. Entree was slices of mozzarella with thinly sliced tomatoes and pesto sauce on the top. All very delicious. Into the lounge for a cocktail -baileys Irish cream with banana and more cream. While we drink our cocktail an Abba come Elvis come rock concert commenced and we all got up and twisted the night away. So much fun. We retired to our room for Angels and Demons but fell asleep about twenty minutes into it. During the night I was aware of the mild bumping of the boat into the sides of the many lochs that we passed through. It was gentle and subtle and hardly disturbed our sleep. The following morning we slept in and then had pastries in the lounge for a late breakfast While I ate them there was the glass blowing demonstration on from the local area around Miltenburg. The glass blower was a real character being bright and cheerful. He was the sixth generation of his family to run the business. Interesting  aspects of the industry unfolded and his products were beautiful. Heidi chose a lovely glass bracelet with pink and blue hues, from him and in the process was cajoled into working packing the products that were bought by everyone. She had fun as they sold like hot cakes. People went mad for the glass. An hour later they wrapped it up and Hans kindly gave her the bracelet for helping him.

She was absolutely thrilled as it was fifty euros . We then pulled into dock but decided to stay on the boat for the afternoon. We  did not want cakes in the home excursion as Heidi was unwell with her cold. We got room service for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed paella in the room. Watched the villages and lochs slide by as we ate. What a treat. Went to bed early. Missed Neil Diamond concert in the lounge as not a fan. Cruising on to Wurzburg.

Castle Day

Quick shower at seven am and down to breakfast. Then back up to lounge to settle in for the morning of castles. Sitting in the lounge the scenery sails by. Vineyards and towns with old style German houses. So pretty and picturesque. 

Heidi runs up to the roof for a bird's eye view. 

It is only two degrees out there but she is determined to get better shots of the towns as they pass by. Me , not so keen and stay in the lounge. The half timbered houses are everywhere. Villages go by and every opportunity is a photo one. 

We sit and drink a mug of green tea and soak in the scenery that surrounds us. We travel past the town where Engelbert Humperdink was born. Castles were tax buildings. The owner took the taxes from the ships on the river becoming very rich in the process. The lords put chains across the river until the taxes were collected. Horses would pull the boats along if there was no wind. The boats were a lot smaller than and did not of course have engines. Just passed the Lorelei. The sun was in the way so it was extremely difficult to get a good photo of her. We clicked away in the hope that we would get a good shot bit won't know until we check later. The Lorelei is a small statue of a woman on a rock situated on a small island in the river. She is taken from a poem of the same name which is so lovely in German.

Die Lorelei poem

Onwards and upwards. Enjoyed a hot chocolate in the lounge as the scenery passed by. Plenty of photo opportunities on the upper deck. Crisp up there but not cold. Hard to take everything in. One castle we saw was unique "Ship of stone eternally floating in the Rhine."

We glided past vineyards where the wine was grown for Charles and Diana's wedding. So many historic places along the way. The oldest remains from human bones were found in this area. They were thirty thousand years old and Neanderthal. The oldest Germans lived along the banks of the Maine due to the water, fish and game. Three hundred and sixty thousand ape men lived here. They had no chins and flat foreheads. Neanderthals were found in a cave near Bonn. 

Neanderthal man

Cro magnon man was found in a cave near Cologne. AAll Rhinelanders , the hunters and gatherers collected honey, hunted bison and mammoth.