Alarm or no we were up at the normal time and up to the sun deck to stake out our seats for this mornings cruise thru the Rhine Gorge – 14 miles with over 20 castles. We managed to save the table and send people down for breakfast in shifts and we were off at 9:00 sharp.

The cruise was magnificent – definitely the high point of the trip. I won’t bore you with pictures (here).

About lunch time we cruised into Koblenz and docked within yards of the famous Deutsch Eck (with it’s massive statue of Kaiser Wilhelm).

After lunch we wandered about a bit – took pics of the statue and the sections of the Berlin Wall in an adjacent display

and browsed the massive flea market in the park. Then it was back to the boat for naps.

Rested, we were up and ready for our 3:30 expedition.

We met our guide and hiked to the bus which carried us on a brief tour/lecture on the Mosel River and wine production in the area.

The tour ended at a family winery where we were treated to a wine tasting of some excellent white wines.

Back on the bus we returned to the boat, stopping to see an couple of sites along the way

We were back on the boat in time for the nightly port talk and dinner.

At the port talk (describing our day tomorrow in Cologne) our cruise director informed us that 1) our boat will be docked right down town; B) Tomorrow in Cologne is a festival commemorating the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969. There will be as many as 800,000 revelers in the area were we will dock. Should be interesting.

Dinner was delicious (as always) and (as always) lasted until almost 9:00. Then it was time for bed (for those of us who didn’t have a nap) and retreat to the lounge (for those of us who have had a nap) to type up this summary.

So that’s the day. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Nite all,
R