Koln to Heidelberg to Rudesheim - Rüdesheim, Germany
Rüdesheim, Germany
On the Rhine River one can see more barges in one hour than in a whole week on the Danube River. So we watched them as they swiftly passed us by on both sides. The Captain explained the signaling system to us, how he knows where oncoming boats are traveling and where he needs to be in the channel. This man is very personable and makes himself available to all of us river rookies. We enjoy his frequent contact. The Rhine is lower than usual due to severe lack of rain. The rivers of Europe are the water interstate of Europe; always heavy traffic, often with trains and cars on both sides of the river. Wonderful pedestrian and bike trails follow the river, often also on both sides of the waterway. Runners weave in and through the walkers and cyclists. Views are unsurpassable, though I can use that description for most scenic areas we see as the river boat continues. We traveled the Romantic Route this day, and as the tour director said, it is like watching a tennis match. First we looked at one side at a castle and then quickly to the other side for another castle, or exquisite vineyards, or a village, or a museum, or people watching. Along the Rhine one sees the vast wine growing industry in this country, and we passed through the largest wine producing areas of Germany, with many vineyards growing up the sides of the mountains in meticulous rows perpendicular to the river. One cannot help but wonder how people working in their vineyards can actually stand in those steep vineyards without rolling downhill into the river. Well, I had to ask the same question about the goats and sheep grazing on those same steep mountainsides.The Rhine flows out of Lake Constance in Switzerland and on to Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe. We could tell our location away from Lake Constance by big white kilometer markers along the river. While eating our breakfast this morning, we passed the place in Koblenz where the Mosel River entered the Rhine. And when we got to Frankfurt, we began our journey on the Main River. (Main rhymes with Rhine, by the way).We did pass through at least one lock during the night. I heard a bump but Peter looked out of our window and we were tied up to a wall of the lock. We learned that the locks on the Rhine are free - on the Main, the locks cost a fee, but the Danube is also free of charge for the locks. Locks protect against flooding, and assist with navigation to help assure the correct depths of water for safe maneuvering of the water craft. Back to the Romantic Rhine Gorge and all the castles!There are three main questions to consider:Why so many castles?
Why so well known?
How did they survive WWII?Most castles were built in the 1200-1400s and most of them were destroyed in the 1600s by the French. The majority of them were built as toll stations for collecting fees from those using the river for trade. In Medieval times going from point A to B took a long time and was very dangerous. Lucky ones survived attacks and robbery. The safest way to move goods was along the river bank or along the river itself, and often extra man and horsepower were needed to actually tow the boats against the current from alongside the river. People built castles and the owners were ripping off people who were traders; they charged traders to pass by their castle. So most castles were owned by robber barons - greedy people who attacked and overcharged travelers who tried to get by without paying the tax imposed on them. From the castles, the robber barons had a good view of river and could shoot arrows to stop the boats to ensure getting the traders to pay their fees. Actual visiting of castles along this Rhine Valley became popular in the 1800s when steam engines came into existence and people began to travel more. The first passengers came on trains between Koln and Dusseldorf. Now travel in this river gorge is extremely popular, and the booming of the river cruising began at the beginning of 2000. Before that time the canal was for the passing of freight, but now the towns along the canal are happy with all the tourists that stop in their little towns to sight see!Many writers (including Mark Twain) traveled down the river, so the impetus became greater to restore many of the castles. Various associations were formed to take on renovations, but some were also done by the emperors and private businesses. Some castles became hotels; many became UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I cannot begin to note all the castles we saw on both sides of the Rhine River. Some castles have good and happy stories and others are not. They tell of love won and lost, enemies who sought to destroy each other, and stories filled with animosity. Two such castles were called “The Enemy Brothers” castles, Sterrenberg and Liebenstein from the 1100s.A couple of the notable castles: Burg Rheinfels is the biggest castle on the Rhine, which is open to the public.
It is part of St. Goar town, named after a hermit that lived in the 16th century and who became the patron saint of the village. Big Burg Sooneck (537 marker) was built about the year 1000, is one of oldest castles on the Rhine, built in Neogothic style. It was owned by a robber baron who killed people for fun at parties. In the end, he provoked someone to a dual and was killed by an archer who had earlier become blinded by the owner.We passed many more historic sites, including a church that is connected to a pub. Yes. This kind of arrangement was made to encourage people to come to church early for a drink, and then stop for another drink as they left the church. The only way in or out of church is through this pub. Wonder how a church council in our town would think of this as an evangelism tool? Maybe it was coincidental, but we passengers were served rum punch at 11am - “to celebrate this journey”, as it was explained.The famous story of Lorelei was related to us. We passed her statue at the river's edge, at the most narrow and shallow part of the Rhine. The rock where she sat and distracted the sailors, as the legend goes, is 100 meters above the channel. Here follows the legend of Lorelei taken from the internet:“Lorelei was said to be a strikingly beautiful distressed maiden with locks of gold who sat upon the rock awaiting the return of her lover. Her unfaithful lover never returned, so she threw herself off of a cliff headfirst into the water, leading her to death. According to the legend, Lorelei’s spirit remains sitting on the rock to this day combing her beautiful long hair and singing a soft melody. Apparently, her looks are so charming that sailors passing though are distracted and before they know it, shipwrecked. They say that Lorelei lingers there seeking revenge against her lover.From time to time, a murmuring sound can be heard in the vicinity of the rock which is said to be her hypnotizing melody. The murmur is a sound that is caused by the echo of a nearby waterfall and strong currents that bounce off of the rocky shore.”While hearing the story, the song of Lorelei was played for us as we went through the channel. I learned this song in my German class, so I could sing along.
We arrived in Rudesheim (there is supposed to be two dots above the "u" in Rudesheim but I don't know how to find it in my computer). After our buffet lunch on the boat we hopped a mini-train that took us up the hill to the city center and to Siegfried's Mechanical Musikkabinett. It is a collection of many musical instruments that have been made to play mechanically, without a person playing. Very interesting place, and at the end, Peter was "elected" by the guide to play an organ grinder for us. Cute.
Because it has been raining much of our time we weren't sure what we would do next, but the rain stopped so we took a gondola ride up the mountain to Niederwald-Denkmal, an enormous stone statue of Germania, the female symbol of the unification of the German empire in 1871. The monument was built 1000 feet above Rudesheim and the views were made more spectacular as the sun appeared for a short time. We were so grateful for that opportunity to see that commanding view over miles of beautiful vineyards. We could see the grape clusters from our perches in the low riding gondolas.
Program in the lounge this evening was called "Vegas Showgirls" - hmmm. There were four dancers that included a singer. They had glitzy, showy costumes and did Vegas type dancing. Without a stage it was a little difficult to see sometimes, but they were high energy dancers and kept all of "older" people awake!
Our ship, the ms River Splendor, departed at 11:30pm from Rudesheim for Frankfurt.