Rhein River Cruise

Joe's brother Bert, his wife Adreann, and their kids came to stay with us for a bit.  We suggested several things that we could do while they were here, and they chose a Rhein River cruise.  This was definitely on our bucket list (especially our kids!), so we were very excited :)

We left out of Rudesheim, and followed this route.

This section of the upper Middle Rhein Valley is evidence of how important this river has been throughout history, and the prosperity it brought is shown in the many towns, terraced vineyards, and the many ruined castles that once defended it's trade.  Because of this, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 - we seem to be ticking a lot of those off our list lately ;)

And we're off!

Burg Ehrenfels (1212)

 

 Assmannshausen (yes, that is the actual name of the town)

 

 Burg Rheinstein (1316)

 

Burg Reichenstein, or Falkenburg (first mentioned in 1213).  Joe was REALLY excited by the campground down by the river here.  He misses his RV terribly ;)

A lone church by the banks of the river

Burg Sooneck (first mentioned in 1271)

The day was bi-polar - rainy, grey, and cold one minute (when we would bundle up in our jackets, huddle under umbrellas, and even escape to the lower decks where it was indoors), and warm sunshine with beautiful blue skies the next (when we would take off our jackets and wonder if we should have put on sunscreen).  It kept switching back and forth the whole day.

Heimburg (900's)

Furstenberg Castle (1219), above the town of Rheindiebach

 

Bacharach, one of my favorite towns that I've never been to before. Must. Go. There.

 On top of the hill is Burg Stahleck (around 1135)

The town of Kaub, with Burg Gutenfels (1220) in the background on the hill, and Pfalzgrafenstein up front on the left (1326) - this is actually on a small island, and was a toll castle.

The town of Oberwesel - also a REALLY cool town that I MUST come back to visit!

 Schonburg (around 1130) up on the hill.

 

And at the end of our trip was St. Goar with Burg Rheinfels

And across the river is the sister city of St. Goarshausen with Burg Katz (1317)

(Somewhere near here there is also a Burg Maus, which we didn't see -

and yes, they are the cat and mouse castles)

 They were having a fun little market here that day.

In this same are is the famous Loreley Rock (or Lorelei)

This is the narrowest part 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 a feminine water spirit associated with this rock in popular folklore and in works of music, art and literature (said to have knowingly or unknowingly lured sailors to their deaths.)

This was a LONG cruise (4 1/2 hours), and all the kids were troopers, all the way down to the 2 year old.

Sure, there was some complaining, and crying, and running around, and laying/rolling around on the floor, and otherwise disturbing the other passengers....but other than that they were great ;)  They even made friends with two other girls who were on the cruise, and the mother and grandmother who were with them were very kind.

When we finally arrived back in Rudesheim, we quickly got gelato for the kiddos who were STARVING to DEATH ;)  And can I just say again how much I love Rudesheim.  Lovely town.  Lovely day.

 

It's times like this that I have to pinch myself, because I can't believe where I live.  I've always heard about the Rhein River - I never thought I'd actually get to see it myself.

Trier

Yay for long weekends!  On Labor day we went to Trier, which may be the oldest city in Germany, and we saw a bunch of really, really old stuff, and it was awesome ;) Trier played a major role in the Roman Empire, being one of the 5 largest cities in the known world at the time, so lots of Roman stuff.  Old. Roman. Stuff.  Cora was especially excited about this, because she loves history, and she loves anything to do with the Roman Empire.

This is the Porta Nigra (186 AD)

Porta Nigra is Latin for black gate.

In Roman times there would have been 4 gates around the city, but only this one is still standing, and is on the North side of the city.

Hi, I'm here too.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site (which are what most of the pictures in this post are of)

This is the view from the other side.

 

Here is Kaiserthermen (Imperial Baths)

 It was under re-construction, but we were still able to wander around.

 In the Middle Ages a noble family took up residence in the main building and expanded it into Aldeburg Castle.

 It was quite the labyrinth underground, which was Cora's favorite part.  She wanted to be down there longer and explore more. 

 

The Trier Cathedral, Dom St. Peter

 This is the oldest cathedral in Germany

 

Right next door - literally, right next to the cathedral, and I thought they were the same building at first - is Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) - 1209 AD

The Constantine Basilica was the throne hall of the Roman Emperor Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century

 It's used as a Protestant church now.

 the ceiling (below)

 

In the 17ty century the archbishop built his palace right next to the basilica, incorporating it into the building.

There are beautiful gardens running from the palace, all the way to the Imperial Baths.

statue of Constantine

 

Everything is within walking distance of each other.  Most cities are like that, and most city tourist information centers have maps with self-walking tours.  I love it.  We get a little complaining from the kids, but mostly they're pretty good.

 

2nd century Roman bridge (oldest bridge north of the Alps that's still in use for traffic)

 

Last, but not least, was the St. Matthias Abbey (we did have to drive to this one)

I'm not certain when it was built, but monks have been living there since before the Middle Ages.

 

This abbey is a renowned place of pilgrimage because of the supposed tomb of the apostle Matthias (the apostle that was called to replace Judas Iscariot).

 

The apostle's remains were said to have been brought here in the 12th century, supposedly by Constantine's mother, Helena.

 

There is a beautiful cemetery on the grounds, immaculately kept.

 

 

 

One more picture I have to show you.

Potato wedges/French fries with mayonnaise.  This is VERY German.  Like, as German as bratwurst, it seems like.  Madelyn has been dipping her French fries in mayo for years, and we all thought she was gross.  Then we move here, and apparently she's ahead of the game ;) Anyway, on this day I decided I was going to give it a go, and guess what? I liked it!  You can't knock it 'till you've tried it, right? ;)

 

Anyway, it was a really fun day, and the only thing we skipped, which I regret, was the Roman amphitheater.  Oh well, you know what they say - Once you've seen the ruins of one amphitheater, you've seen them all ;)