Travel With Me Tuesday: River Cruise pages 5 and 6

Sometimes, I just have to make it as simple as possible to keep going when I'm busier than I'd like. This was one of those times. Our day in Cologne had much to see both in the day time and evening. I do like this city, one I first visited in 1972.



Together looking like this.

Travel with Me Thursday - Rudesheim

After lunch, he decided he wasn't feeling really well and would stay onboard and take a nap. That seemed best as vacations don't have to have a daily agenda though Vantage had enough activity to keep the easily bored busy. What a glorious day it had become. Brisk but sunny and clear.

Such a lovely river walk, it was tempting to stay behind but there was a gondola ride ahead and I wanted to do that.

We each had a gondola to ourselves and, as I had no partner this day, I was alone in mine. It was open air and a really nice ride over the vineyards. The Neiderwald Monument was at the top of our trip up but after a quick look, most of us just looked out at the view rather than try to translate all the posters about the reunification of the German empire back in the late 1800s.

What a view there was up top. The restaurant on the left was sadly closed for the season and it would have been nice to have a coffee or tea up there and just watch the river. I suspect that gazebo might have a few chairs in summer? or just provide a bit of shade on the hot days.

I had to prove that I was actually here, so here I am! We were given the option of walking down through the vineyards back to the town, and I thought about it but decided no. I had only recently had the boot from my ankle removed that I didn't want to test it. So back down into the town I went by gondola.

There had been guidance earlier on about the various wine stores in town but not being a wine drinker, I just walked about in the late afternoon light.

But as I didn't need wine or any of the Christmas items for sale, the only souvenir I bought was edible - two tubes of marzipan.  Christmas shops abound in Germany it seems but we are in the downsizing of our Christmases rather than in the ornament collecting period. So for me, it was time to walk back to the boat, not take the road north to Weisbaden. That would be for tomorrow.

 

The river walk beckoned and again it would have been nice to just sit in the sun... well, if I had a cup of tea also. Tea was on the boat so I just enjoyed the sun and headed back.

Back on the boat, it was time for tea and a rest of my own.  Eventually it was time for dinner, which started out with a soup as usual. btw, no one forced me to eat this soup but it was a nice start and always good. When is a good broth not welcome? "Fladle Suppe".

What followed this day was roast pork tenderloin with mushrooms and rosti. Oh yum! Pork would also figure prominently on this trip. German pork was delicious.

Finally, this tiramisu while good eating was so cleverly decorated that we all ooohed and ahhhed.

Trevel with Me Tuesday - On to Rudesheim

Now we were starting to get into the real part of the cruise. Down the Rhine we headed after a good solid breakfast. I do like my breakfasts. Yoghurt with granola and stewed fruit, as well as some good meats and cheeses.  A pot of tea as always.

The day outside was dismal and rainy but we weren't going anywhere in the morning. We'd be docking after lunch, so it was nice to just sit back, and look out the windows as we passed town after town.

Fortunately, the weather was not quite so dark all morning but the sky was dramatic early on. Just have some more tea as the sky lightened and lovely towns appeared.

Each day while we cruised like this, we would have one of our guides narrating the sights we were seeing. This first day it was Piet, our knowledgeable guide from the Netherlands. As we could hear him outside, many of us wandered in and out depending on the rain.

I had driven down this stretch of Germany in 1972 and knew about the Castles along the Rhine. There was one ahead in the distance.

Big patches of low cloud were also ahead, so we snapped our photos as fast as we could.

But clouds can move quickly too, and we were rewarded.

By the time we reached Rudesheim, the weather had cleared up, and after lunch we would have the afternoon in the town. But now, time for a break. Back later in the week for the rest of this day.