Day 2 - Cruising the Rhine and Cologne

Sunday we boarded the bus at 8:15 to set off for the Rhine River. It did not take long before we were out of Frankfurt and along the Rhine River. 

We made a photo stop in the town of Rudesheim to take in a view of the Rhine and Drosselgasse, a tourist magnet street from the 15th century. 

After our brief stop we continued along the Rhine on a very nice new highway.  Much to our surprise we saw many campgrounds along the Rhine, maybe we need to ship the Serenity Falcon over next time!

On the banks of the Rhine are over 40 castles, today they are mostly hotels and restaurants but are still very impressive. 

We boarded the Loreley Star, for a one hour cruise of the Rhine. It had rained while we were on the bus, but we were lucky and it stopped just as we pulled in to board our boat. 

The cruise was very relaxing and scenic.  We passed many castles and quite a bit of other river activity. There were cargo ships, cruises and private boats. It is a busy river. 

We saw some interesting villages and towns. In this town, you must pass through the tavern to get into the church. In this town your priest is also the bartender!

After the cruise our destination was Castle Libenstein, the highest castle in the middle Rhine region for our 'Be My Guest' Trafalgar experience; drinks and lunch in the Castle Libenstein. The climb up to the castle is so steep our tour bus can only go part way, and our driver, Atilla, demonstrated some impressive skills getting us where he did. From where the tour bus stopped, we were shuttled by van up the switch backs to the castle.  We were met at the castle entrance by the couple that have been running it as a hotel and restaurant for 30 years. They were very welcoming. 

We toured the castle and took in the spectacular views. 

Castle Libenstein is very close to Castle Sterrenberg, in fact closer than any two castles on the Rhine. 

While in the garden having drinks, we were told a fable about the family that built the castles, two brothers and their sister, and it required volunteers from our group. It was all in good fun.

After touring the castle we were treated to a very nice lunch, with more drinks. Even the rest rooms had spectacular views. 

Most of us chose to walk part way back down the hill since we were all well fed. 

We boarded the bus and set off for Cologne. Once we were on our way it started raining again, apparently the odds are in our favor. 

We were dropped a few blocks from the center of Cologne. As we made our way there we passed a memorial for Edith Stein. She was a German Catholic nun (Teresia Benedicta a Cruce), however she had a Jewish mother, thus a Jewish blood line. For this offense she was sentenced and died in Auschwitz-Birkenau on 9 August 1942. This is a part of history that the Germans are not proud of but are insistent that it be told such that it is never repeated.

 After a quick introduction we were turned loose on our own for a few hours in downtown Cologne. 

In Cologne is Kolner Dom a Roman Catholic church, one of the largest in Gothic style. It was started in 1248 and took over 200 years to do most of the construction and was never completed until 1880. It is spectacular. 

Inside it is even more impressive.

We walked the boardwalk along the Rhine, it was  bustling with activity.

On the way back to our group, June and I stopped in one of the Kolsch brew houses. Fruh Kolsch has been around for over 100 years. 

If you sit down there is a beer put in front of you. If you drink your beer, another one will show up until you put your coaster on the top of your glass. They are small beers and go down quickly. 

We loaded up and were taken to our hotel, arriving around 7PM. 

Since we had not eaten, we set off on foot to find a traditional German establishment to have dinner. We found another beer house, Brauhaus Em Kölsche Boor. 

We had sausages, potatoes and beer....it doesn't get much better.

The German cuisine works for me! 

Right outside the brew house in the middle of the street is an impressive Eigelstein Gate, still there from medieval times...impressive.  

We got back to our hotel around 9PM, it was another full day. 

I have to comment on the German practice of 'Pay to Pee'. The Germans have taken paying to pee to a new level, it is a business. When we were in Italy it was expected that you purchase something at an establishment to use the restroom, in Germany it is enforced and the public restrooms have a turnstile that requires a Euro to enter. To an American, it is bizarre. 

Tomorrow is mostly a driving day as we make our way to Hamburg.