Speyer

The next day 19 April we awoke in Speyer - a cute town which wasn't as touristy as others. We didn't have a guided tour but just wandered around - and of course went to the obligatory cathedral - this was very similar to those in Mainz and Worms and not as ornate as others.












And the contrast was this statue I found in the park - where I also videod a squirrel running around - I wasn't quick enough to get a photo!

Mainz & Worms

The next day we visited Mainz in the morning where we went through the Gutenburg Museum and yet another cathedral.


















And we sailed during lunch and then arrived at Worms - another magnificent cathedral amongst other attractions.

Rudesheim

After the morning of gloating over Castles on the Rhine we arrived at Rudesheim. Our tour first took us to Bromserhof - the house dates from around 1300 and now houses Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet - a wonderful collection of self-playing musical instruments, some of which are shown here.













After playing with the musical instruments we walked down the hill a little way to a beer garden where we indulged in Rudesheim coffee and were entertained by the local musicians. The coffee was not your normal coffee!!!! And the musos did play Waltzing Matilda for the Aussies amongst us. There is a small street in Rudeshiem which advertises that it has 2,300 seats for drinkers in their beer gardens - what a way to go!








And on a more sober note the Adlerturm was build around 1500 for storing gunpower (apparently today it holds the money of one of the banks)!

Rhine Gorge

This magnificent building is the Rheinfels Castle overlooking St Goar










And just across the otherside of the river is the Katz Castle









It wasn't all castle - the trains are a constant in this part of the world, as are the barges, and the image of them appearing from the hillside is a contrast to the castles above.









The Pfalzgrafenstein Castle by Kaub was originally built by King Ludwig to collect tolls on the river.









And this could be the Rheinstein Castle.

The Rhine Gorge

The next morning we sailed down the Rhine Gorge - my first image, as I looked out the cabin, was this castle - Stolzenfels Castle, Kapellen - it was magnificent in the dawn light.






Not a castle this time - but one of the many pretty towns we passed by.










And I did rush up on deck to catch the sunrise over yet another town!









Marksburg Castle and Braubach









And another little town.









This day ended being an eating day!!! Because we were staying on board for the morning we tended to have a later breakfast. At around 10.30 the crew brought some German sausages, pretzels, etc and wine on deck for us to indulge whilst taking in the scenery. An early lunch at 12.00, before we visited Rudesheim where we also went to a beer garden to indulge in Rudesheim coffee (plus be entertained by musicians). Then dinner!!!!!!

Cochem

The afternoon of 16 April saw us visiting the town of Cochem. I particularly liked this fountain - once a year they hook up an enormous wine vat and it sprays wine instead of water - very civilised!











This castle towers over the town and is beautifully restored inside - I love the work on the upholstery of the chairs and the lamp shade had an interesting story which currently escapes me!






















The buildings inside the castle.













And the steps down into the township.

Luxembourg

That afternoon we drove to Luxembourg - unfortunately it was a Sunday and the only things open were restaurants - the clothes etc in the shops looked lovely (and expensive so perhaps it wasn't a bad thing)!

This is a beautiful city but we did seem to spend a lot of time looking down on its beauty - I would have loved the time to explore at the lower level.