Take Me To The River (Rüdesheim, Germany)

Well dear reader, here we are in Rüdesheim. Quite expectedly. The river level rose just enough to allow us to continue on from Frankfurt where we were expecting to disembark. Today's schedule went as planned, albeit a day later than anticipated.

Today's title, Take Me To The River, can be be interpreted in numerous ways. Simply, the township of Rüdesheim is carved into the side of a hill and all roads heading downhill, lead to the river. Talking Heads, from 1978, is the band I will attribute the song to, although it is an Al Green original.

Aside from the low water level, not a bad view to wake up to.

We made excellent time last evening and arrived in Rüdesheim around dawn after passing through the lock from the Main to the Rhine River around 3am. Neither event made for a good sleep event. Engines on and then off and then on and people thumping around on the roof as we came into dock, rearranging the deck furniture. Anyway, the morning vista was far more pleasant than the industrial perspective of recent ports.

After breakfast the Choo-choo train - I kid you not, that is its name - arrived to drive us the 10 minutes into town. It was complete with an American voice over on the journey and contained pearls of wisdom about wine tasting and how to swirl your wine and hold your glass. First class information for philistines that had never drunk wine before or were just completely ignorant. Upon reflection, my interpretation of said information may be a little harsh. We once shared a bottle of champagne with a couple who served it in plastic wine tumblers. I still shiver at the thought.

All aboard.

Our destination was the gondola ride up the mountain side to the Niederwald Monument that dominates the skyline above the vineyards. It was a beautiful day, a blue cloudless sky, although a little hazy from the mountain top. The view on the way up the mountain and from the top was spectacular. As our exercise regime has been somewhat impaired by our changing schedule, we opted to return to Rüdesheim on foot through the vineyards.

Talk about a bad hair day.

The view from the gondola

Once back in the village we located the café that lays claim to making the first genuine Rüdesheimer coffee. Believe me, it is an art and a performance and also way too much trouble to be making on a daily basis at home. At €7,90 a cup it is also not cheap.

Into a large cup are placed three sugar cubes. That scared me immediately, I don't remember the last time I felt the need to add sugar to coffee or tea. To the cubes is added a (mini bar sized) bottle of warmed Asbach - a local brandy. This is lit to caramelise the sugar and then you add the black coffee. But wait, there's more. On top is placed an industrial sized amount of whipped cream, topped with shavings of dark chocolate. Voilà, there it is. It is only made in Rüdesheim for reasons that are probably obvious and we won't be attempting to replicate this masterpiece of performance art any time soon.

Protecting the grapes from the birds

Rüdesheim is another picturesque, olde worlde charm village with most of the commercial area focused around the entrance to the gondola and another in the town square. It is a wine production area although there was the obligatory brewery and in this case, the Asbach distillery.

After loading up with the local coffee, we made our way to the river and back to the ship for the next briefing. It is a day-by-day existence at present. The good news today is that the water level has risen enough for us to sail the Rhine Gorge and photograph the 26 castles. This part of the trip will take about 4 hours.

Sadly, or happily, depending on your perspective, my camera battery died part of the way through the gorge and I had to resort to the phone while the battery was given a quick charge. I won't inflict every castle upon you dear reader, just a couple.

Legend has it that an agreement was reached during the second world war not to bomb cultural sites. The result was the Germans built castle like structures on the entrances and exit points of their train tunnels. Clever.

It looks like a castle, but ...

After the unexpected excitement of the Rhine Gorge, it was time to again farewell the crew and staff and have another four course meal.

Tomorrow we will wake in Koblenz to disembark and board buses for Amsterdam. The other good news? Getting that little bit closer to Amsterdam means only 5 and a half hour bus trip, not the original 9 hours.

Until tomorrow.