21 June

It's the first day of summer, and we're wearing jackets! I showered again this morning, just to be sure I used as many of Hilton's resources as possible, and pocketed another apple from the checkout desk on the way out of the lobby. We had apple strudel from a local bakery for breakfast while waiting for the river boat to Koblenz to start boarding. When we were in Budapest, the Danube River was full to the banks, so much so that it appeared that boats would have trouble getting under some of the bridges. Some villages in Hungary had been evacuated due to severe flooding. The Rhine also appears to be well above normal, but we've heard nothing about flooding associated with it.

The float down the Rhine is "don't miss" category touring. This must surely be the castle capital of the world. We even passed a castle that houses the headquarters of the castle society. All of the little towns are extremely picturesque and the countryside is beautiful. As we approached the town of Loreley, the recorded tour guide mentioned Loreley Rock, which looked to me like about a dozen bluffs one floats past on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. It seemed the least remarkable thing we'd seen today, but it must be something because a lot of people, including every Chinese tourist on the boat (of which there were many) started taking pictures like mad.

We had debated staying on the boat all the way to Koln, but decided that six hours was enough, and rather than float another six hours to Koln, we elected to take a one-hour train ride. It was about a one-mile walk to the train station along a very indirect route, so Janene fired up the TomTom. We were able to rescue a lost couple from North Carolina who also sought the station. Tom led us right there with time enough to spare for snack shopping at the neighborhood bakery. Germans definitely win the European pastry competition so far. We scored another private compartment on the train. Too bad the trip is too short for a bit of a lie-down.

We got train schedules for Hamburg and Copenhagen when we arrived so we can plan our next move. The local tourist info office found us a very serviceable hotel a few blocks from the station and the big cathedral for 45 Euros. We checked in, then walked through the cathedral. This is one of the biggies in Europe. They started working on it in 1248 and finished it in 1880. I've had workers like that! But seriously, it is one major piece of architecture. It looks like the set of every spooky movie ever made. We've decided to stay an extra night here so we can take the underground tour tomorrow and attend a pipe organ recital tomorrow night.

After the cathedral walk-through, we watched skateboarders in the plaza for a while, wandered the neighborhood, and had a mighty fine dinner at a Thai restaurant. We walked along the Rhine to get home. So far, we like Koln a lot.

Rhine River Cruise

river cruise map (larger map)

cruise boat

dinner cruise boat	Theodor Heuss Bridge	Kaiserbrücke
Evangelische Christuskirchengemeinde	Wallufer Str mansion in Eltville	Johanneskirche, Eltville
Oestrich-Winkel	Weingut Villa Gutenberg	Rheingau 524 Camping

Eibingen Abbey

Zollamt Restaurant

Niederwald Monument

Burgruine Ehrenfels

Burgruine Ehrenfels	Assmannshausen	Burg Rheinstein
Burg Reichenstein	Burg Sooneck	Lorch am Rhein
Ruine Burg Fürstenberg	St. Bonifatius, Lorch	Lorch am Rhein
Bacharach	Jugendherberge Burg Stahleck Bacharach	Bacharach

bulk cargo ship Kalisti

Bacharach

Burg Pfalzgrafenstein

Burg Gutenfels

Burg Schönburg, Oberwesel

Burg Schönburg

Oberwesel

Liebfrauenkirche, Oberwesel

Haagsturm/Roter Turm

RR tunnels on E bank

St. Martin, Oberwesel

Ochsenturm (Bull Tower)	Burg Schönburg & Liebfrauenkirche	RR tunnel on W bank
World Famous Loreley Rock	Loreley Statue	Burg Katz

Burg Rheinfels	Burg Katz	Burg Katz	Burg Maus
a boat named Janine	Burg Sterrenberg & Burg Liebenstein	Bornhofen Franciscan Monastery	N end of Boppard at Mittelrheinsteig
Hof Liebeneck	Pringoooals	Marksburg	Schloss Martinsburg

Schloss Stolzenfels	Burg Lahneck	Festung Ehrenbreitstein
Parish Church of St. Peter & Paul in Koblenz	Festung Ehrenbreitstein	Schloss Koblenz

Koln (Cologne)

Koblenz Station	beggar dog	Cologne Cathedral	Cologne Cathedral
cathedral interior	cathedral window	pipe organ	Roncalliplatz (Roncalli Square)
cathedral labyrinth	cathedral crypt	cathedral floor mosaic	skateboarder video (10s, 1.2MB)
skateboarder video (3s, 0.5MB)	Thai restaurant	view from restaurant	Paolozzibrunnen