Castles & Lilian May 4

Greg, Kyung-Sook, Mary, Dieter

Lilian, Kyung-Sook, Dieter



Wednesday, May 4

Our trip is flying by!  This was the highlight day of our trip.  We spent time with Lilian and her parents and we cruised through the "Middle Rhine" the narrowest part of the Rhine River Valley with the steepest embankments.  Lots of small village, picturesque vineyards and lots of castles! 

I have been averaging around 30 photos a day up to this point.  Today I took 200 photos!

I'll give you the day in chronological order.

Before continuing my commentary, I want to report our weather has been so good we are kind of taking it for granted but it was another warm, sunny day.

We started out with a leisurely breakfast.  You can either do the buffet and/or order off the menu.  We discovered they have very good oatmeal.  They have lots of fresh fruit.  They have wonderful fresh blueberries we have been mixing in with our oatmeal.  Their French Toast is actual toast.  They have tomatoes sliced into thirds which taste like stewed tomatoes.  They have wonderful yogurt with lots of different nuts and fruits for toppings.

As we were eating breakfast we arrived in Koblenz, Germany.  Koblenz is at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers.  We did a shore excursion in Koblenz to a castle named Marksburg.  The Marksburg is a fortress above the town of Braubach just outside of Koblenz.  It is the only medieval castle of the Middle Rhine that has never been destroyed.  Almost all of the other castles and fortresses have been destroyed during one war or conflict and then rebuilt.  Tim, you would love this place!  This place still has some of its original furnishings.  They even have a room where they display their weapons and protective gear from the middle ages.

After our tour we reboarded the boat for our cruise through the Middle Rhine.  There were numerous and almost continuous castles and fortresses for the rest of the day until we arrived in Rudesheim around 4:30 PM.  Between and below the castles were charming little villages.  There are train tracks on both sides of the Rhine River in this stretch and 5 minutes didn't pass between trains on one side or the other.  There is also constant boat traffic.  We spent the entire afternoon on the sun deck listening to the commentary and watching the world float by.

For lunch, we had a choice of eating in the dining room or on the Sun Deck.  They made part of the Sun Deck like a street festival with different food booths.  We chose to eat on the Sun Deck so as not to miss any of the scenery.  The food was all German ethnic food.  We enjoyed the Black Forest cake for dessert the most.

The boat arrived in Rudesheim just after 4:30 PM and we saw Lilian and her parents on the shore waiting for us.  By 4:45 PM the boat was tied up and the gangway was cleared for disembarking.  It was fun seeing Lilian again and meeting her mother, Kyung-Sook, for the first time.  Her father, Dieter, had visited with us when Lilian lived with us.  They gave us a brief tour of Rudesheim and then Lilian, Mary & I toured a Mechanical Music Museum.  It was very interesting.  They have various "instruments" that were made to play at fairs, festivals and carnivals.  Our guide gave us a demonstration of one or two insturments in each of the rooms we went through.

Then we headed for Wiesbaden.  They grow a lot of grapes in this region and most of the grapes are used to make Reissling wine.  Dieter drove us through some of the vineyards and to a beautiful setting that was once an abbey.  It is now used for conferences, weddings and special events.  It was also the setting for a Sean Connery movie in which Sean Connery plays a detective monk.

In Weisbaden, Dieter took us to a park that overlooked the city.  It was a lovely park.  Very wooded.  It reminded us of Peninsula State Park.  Weisbaden is known for its thermal baths.  We stopped in the heart of downtown and put our hands in a couple of fountains to feel the warm water of the hot spring.  Then we walked around the lobby of their state theater.  It was very ornate.  Nicer than anything I've seen in the United States. 

Next we had a very memorable dinner at the Kafer'S at the Kurhaus in downtown Wiesbaden.  Karer'S is a fabulous restaurant in an impressive building.  The building was built in 1907.  Lots of wood and elegance with European charm and intimacy.  The food was outstanding.  It was truly a magical setting and is was fun getting caught up with Lilian and talking with her father and mother.  It was a very European 3 hour meal.  We had a wonderful time together and the time passed all too quickly.  We had to get back to the Viking Helvetia before we were left behind.  We were the last ones back on the boat, arriving at 12:15 AM! We are excited to know that Lilian is coming for Chelsea's wedding for sure...she wouldn't miss it!

Marksburg Castle