Morning was an exciting rush of 6 women all getting ready in a room with one bathroom. Everyone handled it remarkably well and there was no bloodshed! Actually, it was rather fun in a summer camp kind of way. We breakfasted at the hostel dining room on cold cuts, cheese, bread, kiwi fruit, and cereal (well, I didn't actually have any of the cereal because you know my whole soggy food issues!) and hot tea. We loaded everyone and all the luggage (Dang, 18 people have a lot of luggage!) into the two vans and left Darmstadt. We were headed for Rudesheim on the Rhine River to take a river cruise. The drive took about an hour and a half, with a small detour when our GPS crashed and we missed an exit so had to 'recalculate'. Jens was our driver, and he attempted to teach us a German song. We we really pathetic - our German sucks! We liked the topic of the song: If the water in the Rhine were golden wine, and I were a fish I could be drunk all the time
! Even with our detour, we arrived in Rudesheim in plenty of time to get aboard for our cruise.The steep cliffs surrounding Rudesheim are covered in grape fields, row after row after row of grapes. It didn't seem like anyone could walk on those steep grades, but apparently they can and do. We could see tiny bright spots of color among the rows where workers were harvesting. We boarded a large boat - or ship - and the next two hours were like something out of a fairy tale! Picturesque towns clung to the banks on both sides of the river in a narrow stretch between the water and the cliffs. Sometimes there was only room for one street, with a few houses on either side.Cathedrals and churches and castles, oh my! Ehrenfels Castle, Rheinstein castle, Rheichenstein Castle, Heinburg Castle - it seems like at every turn of
the river there was another castle rising from the rocky cliffs! The castles were built during the Middle Ages as defensive structures by powerful rulers to protect their estates and their inhabitants. Each has its own story, but those stories will have to be told later when I have the time to do them justice. Words cannot begin to convey the sheer beauty of this stretch of the river! The centuries of history, imagining the lives of the people that lived here and created these magnificent structures, the natural beauty of the river gorge - all of it combined simply took my breath away!The river itself was fascinating to watch. Large ships, barges, small boats, ferries and kayaks were all going about their business on a river not much wider than the Rock River, but much deeper and swifter. The ships were ocean-going vessels, and could maneuver on that busy river more easily it seems than a small pleasure boat on the Mississippi. Rows of campers were lined up along the river in camping areas, usually just a row or two because that is all there is room for.
We got off the ship at St. Goar, and had a late lunch together at a lovely German restaurant. I had a really difficult time deciding between Saurbrauten and Goulash, but the Sauerbraten won out because it was served with red cabbage and spatzle and the goulash only had knodel. I have got to stop eating so much spatzle! I am going to pay dearly for these calories later, but its sooooo good! We had some time after lunch to shop a little. We saw the world's largest hanging cuckoo clock, and Deb looked enough like a German woman that a reporter tried to interview her! A short ferry ride to St. Goarhausen took us back to the vans, where Jens and Judy had driven them while we were cruising. Then it was on the road again to Heidelberg (giggle...remember hearing about Heidelberg on Hogan's Heroes?) and another youth hostel, a brisk walk to burn some of the spatzle calories, and a late dinner of salad at an Italian restaurant. How did it get to be so late so fast?! Shower, journal, bed! Guten abend!
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