Here is our little cruise ship. Once again, we were lucky that there was a cruise running today as during the winter, you need to call ahead to reserve spots or else they may not be running a cruise up the Rhein at all.
Tangi, Luc and Anaëlle waiting for coffee and hot chocolate
During a 1 hour 15 minute cruise up the Rhein, you see dozens of castles, many built as early as the 11th century. Some are just ruins today, but many are furnished and can be toured.
The Mouse Tower
Click on this castle and you can see the stained glass windows of the chapel to the left.
It rained just a bit during the cruise, but not too hard.
Close-up of the castle
The only other passengers on the boat were about 25 Japanese tourists. We owed them a big thank you for booking the cruise.
Die Pfaltz, built at the beginning of the 14th century, is the only castle built in the middle of the river (for the purpose of levying tolls).
We passed many barges transporting materials. We waved hello to the family who lived on this one.
The Lorelei is a rock which soars some 120 meters above the water line. It is one of the narrowest parts of the river and a very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there. Lorelei is also the name of one of the beautiful Rhine Maidens who lured navigators of this river to their dooms with their alluring singing, much as the ancient Greek Sirens did.
On the train ride home, we spied a statue of the Lorelei herself perched on a rock in the river.
At St. Goarshausen, we disembarked and caught the train to take us back to Rüdesheim. There was a downpour during our train ride, but the skies miraculously cleared when we exited the train to walk a bit more about Rüdesheim.
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