River Cruise - Day 5

We are finding we are turning up to breakfast later and later each day. If we keep this up we might just start the day with lunch.

After breakfast there was onboard entertainment. It was a zither player and yes there is such a thing. I had a toy zither as a child and I just had to see it. It's a fairly impressive instrument as it sounds like about three guitars playing once. He played mostly traditional german music and we were hoping he would bust out and play "Smoke on the Water" or AC DC's "Thunderstruck" unfortunately we were left wanting.

In the afternoon we visted the town of Miltenberg. This town is famous for its half timbered houses. The town is long and narrow as there is not much available land along the river. It makes for very easy navigation around the town as there is only one street.

This is another walled town and as you enter the original gate you start to step back in time. There are sections in the roadway that indicate where there old wall ran and at this point the buildings went back a century in time.  It was quite amazing.

Our guide was very good at pointing out all the older homes. The oldest was built the 1333. It's incredible that it's still standing and survived a number of floods.

We passed the town hall and the germans have a very interesting name for it...the Rathaus. Seems a very appropriate name for where politicians reside.

As we wandered down though the street we came across a place that just looked like a wine store. It was very pretty with grape vines growing all over the front of it. As you stood at the door it felt like they had a very cold air conditioner going. We went inside and it was like a cave. There was no air conditioning, it was the cool air coming from deep into the hill. A man came out and told us there was a cellar than went back another 30 metres into the hill. We weren't sure what to expect but as we entered it felt a bit like entering Aladdin's cave without the treasure. We really felt like we had stumbled across something quite special. Our timing must have been perfect as we mentioned it to quite a few others and none of them had been shown this cellar.

We decided to walk up to another castle just to see view from the top. It was a steep climb but well worth the effort for the spectacular view. There has been no shortage of amazing views on this trip.

Back down in the street we were given vouchers to sample some of the local produce...like we needed more food! We got to try chocolate, pastry and cold meat.

In the evening the boat provided on board entertainment. The crew put on a talent show.  The told us none of them were professional entertainers and they were right! Thankfully none of them tried to sing and the mostly did amusing skits. Despite the fact that it was quite amatuerish, it was a lot of fun.

River Cruise - Day 4

Today was a lot of cruising. We had spent all night and then the whole morning cruising toward the Rhine River.

During the morning we passed through the Valley of the Castles. Our cruise director explained the history of the area. The reason for building all these castles is pretty unromantic. They  weren't built for royalty or to defend the people, they were built to house the tax collectors. Some of the were pretty spectacular though.

You can see that Terry was captivated by the talk.  I just walked to another part of the deck and pretended I didn't know him. I think he eventually woke himself up with a snore to some amusement. I think he appreciates me now when I nudge him awake.

Many were destroyed by King Louis and other were destroyed during the wars. Many have been rebuilt into luxury accommodation. You too can holiday in a castle if you are willing to pay the price.

There was a least one castle that was bought by an american and he didn't want it to be renovated. There has now been a caveat placed on the property that it must remain a ruin. These are the ones I would love to look through.

The afternoon was a surprise as we docked at Rudeshiem to visit the Sigfried's Mechanical Musical Cabinet. This is a museum that houses the most amazing mechanical instruments from pianolas, to mechanical violins players, to snuff box that has over 700 pieces that had a tiny mechanical bird that whistled when you opened it. It was almost an enchanting place and the time we were there absolutely flew.

The house that it was in was also amazing. It was built in the early 1500s and from the outside it looked like any other house but some of the rooms inside were like caves.

After the museum, we were taken to the Rudeshiemer Schloss Hotel for a taste of the special Rudeshiemer Coffee...coffe with cognac and cream. Of course we thought it rude not to try and we both enjoyed it. I have never drank as often as I have on this trip. Even when we were up on the deck listening to the talk about the castles they came around offering cocktails local to the area...that was 9:30!

The town buildings and streets were lovely but the shops seemed quite "tacky", although they did have a very nice christmas shop. You will see what I mean by tacky in one of the photos below and this was tame compared to what else was in the window.

In the evening we tried the bistro tasting menu and that was nice as we spent the evening with a lovely couple from Wisconsin.

River Cruise - Day 3

Still cruising down along the Moselle River. Today we were docked at Cochem. This is a very pretty little town with an amazing castle perched up on the hill.

Today's tour was to visit the town and then catch a bus up to the castle. As we walked to the town centre we passed the mustard mill. Apparently this mustard is so strong that the workers can only work with it for about fifteen minutes. Must be some powerful stuff.

We crossed the bridge to the market square. This is another town that was protected by a stone wall and again the majority of the wall has been destroyed but luckily they managed to save one gate.

The Moselle River is prone to quite high floodwaters and our guide showed us markers from over the years.  Before she told us this I had just told someone that I think I could move there because it was so lovely, but as soon as I saw the flood levels I changed my mind pretty quickly. Not sure if you can see from the photo, but the marks on the right side of the building just under the window are the flood water levels and this building is not even right on the waters edge.

Wandering through the narrow streets and up steep lanes was very charming and occasionally you look back down  through the lane and get a glimpse of something spectacular. We've seen some very pretty towns but I think this is one of the prettiest. Every direction you turned there was something interesting to look at.

After the tour of the Market Square we were taken up the hill by bus and I'm glad because it was very steep. The castle is Reischsburg Castle. It was a ruin until 1866 when a wealthy magnate bought the castle for princely sum of 300 Taler (not sure what that equates to but I don't think it's much).

It is beautifully decorated with lots of wood which gives it a really warm feeling. As you would expect from the Germams everything has it's place and is very symmetrical. They would even put it in a false door so as not go mess up that symmetry.  My kind of house! There were ornaments hanging from the ceiling that you rub their belly for luck. 

We got a chance to wander through the town on our own and it had lovely shopping area. I almost bought a new top but glad that I changed my mind because another lady on the boat bought the same one.

The afternoon was spent cruising along the river...we seem to be doing a lot of that.

River Cruise - Day 2

Today we woke to a beautiful morning and after breakfast we joined a tour to Trier the oldest city in Germany. It was founded by the Romans in 15 BC. Hard to even imagine anything that old.

We were first taken to the top of a hill where we had a fantastic view of the city. From up there you could see the remains of an ampitheatre that held about 25000 people, roman baths as well as churches and the remaining gate from when the city was surrounded by a stone wall.

From there we were taken down to the city square to get a closer look at the gate. When we got there it was hard to get good photos because they were setting up for some kind of festival. I've never seen so many beer tents! I guess the Germans do like their beer. It would have been great to come back in the evening when it was in full swing.

Walking through the square we also came across a statue of the original St . Nicholas. The main square was very quaint with it's typical german style housing built of wood and clay. They paint them very pretty colours and you can't help but feel happy when you walk through.

We also got to look at another church, no less beautiful than all the others we've seen. Trier is a lovely city and once again not enough time to have a good.

We got back to the boat for lunch. Be prepared when we get home because I'm sure there will be a whole lot more of us...there is an endless supply of food. We had a lovely quiet afternoon cruising along the river taking in the sights. 

As I sit here writing this blog we have descended into another lock. It the weirdest feeling, almost like we are sinking.

River Cruise - Day 1

We found our first day a little confusing and after chatting with other guests we weren't the only ones. We've come from a tour that was very precise on when and where to be and what to expect when we get there. Our first excursion was a bus tour around the city and we just followed the crowd not really knowing where we should be. We found that much of what they took us past were things we had already found on our own.

In the afternoon we had a tour to the Palace of Versaille. This is a huge palace created for the for the Kings Louis (I can't remember which ones). It's another extremely impressive and ornate palace. Apparently they changed the decor in every room at least twice a year. We were told this was to create jobs but I've learnt enough in the last few weeks about these royals to not believe that was not the only reason. Like I've said an earlier post...they're a fickle bunch.

Outside the palace there are beautiful gardens that would be much better appreciated from high up in the palace. The huge gardens on three sides of the place. Once again there was not enough time to explore them properly. We decided not to to go too far as we didn't want to be late back to the bus. Our tour guide was bit of a  strange one. We weren't quite sure how to take him.

In the evening we went to Cabaret Lido. We thought this would be like Moulin Rouge but it was a bit more like Cirque d'Soliel but with topless dancers. The meal was nice and the show was entertaining. By the way we weren't allowed to take photos inside the venue so I just downloaded some from the website.

Another day with an early start tomorrow...we have to have the bags out at 6am.

Paris Day 3

Today we took a tour out to Giverny to visit the famous Monets Garden.

We met up with a tour group at the train station and travelled to Vernon where we stopped to get a pinic lunch in a lovely little market square. While we there we found a beautiful old church and a building that turned out to be the oldest building in town.

After this we collected pushbikes and headed to a lovely park to eat our lunch. There our guide told about Monet's life. He was a very charming young italian man....the men in Europe are very handsome (well, the younger ones at least).

We had a really easy ride to the garden and when we got to the Monet's water garden it was magnificent. It didn't matter where you took a photo from, it was beautiful. The only downside is that nearly every shot has strange people in it.

We also got to go through Monet's house but there were far to many to enjoy it. Our ride back to the train was a  breeze and we made the return train easily.

We got back to our new hotel that was booked by the river cruise company. Back to nice accommodation but there is no way I would pay the price they ask if I was booking it.

Paris - Day 2

Today we decided to visit the Louvre, but we didn't know where to get tickets before we got there. We thought we didn't mind lining up even though we knew the queues would be huge. Again,  we decided to walk because it was only about 25 minutes. On the way we passed the Palais Bourbon. Unfortunatley it is the seat of the French National Assembly, and not the a palace where they make bourbon much to Terry's disappointment. We also passed the Ministry for Diplomatic Affairs but I wasn't game to take a photo of that because they had soldiers with guns patrolling out the front. Not game to cause a diplomatic incident today.

We arrived there and there were people everwhere. We realised that today was the one day should not have slept late. Anyway we took the plunge and got in line.  We had been waiting about 10 minutes when I offerred to take a photo for a family. They were so grateful and we started chatting. They were a couple from New Mexico about our age with their son. They were a really lovely  family.  Then a young woman from Portland, Oregon joined in the conversation. She had a service dog because she has epilepsy. It was really interesting chatting to her as she was very well travelled. Our two (yes two) hour wait went fairly quickly thanks to these people. I think Terry is happy now that I will chat to anyone who will listen.

We finally got inside the Louvre we have to line up again! The first line was only for security. Forty five minutes later with tickets in hand we set off to find the Mona Lisa. We had no idea how big the Louvre is and how busy it would be. We found the audio devices you can hire a bit confusing and in the end Terry just gave up.  We eventually found the room where the Mona Lisa is displayed and what chaos. The were tour groups and dozens of other people vying for a position take a decent photo. We couldn't get any closer than about 10 deep. We held to camera up snapped and hoped for the best. Neither of us had the will to fight our way to the front.

After that we gave up because it was just too hot and stuffy and overcrowded. In hindsight we would have been much better to go with a guided tour. Never mind you live and learn.Walking out to fresh air has never felt so good.  We found a restaurant for lunch and then headed for the Champs Elysee to check out the Arc D'Triomphe. The Champs Elysee is an amazing shopping precinct with all those famous french fashion labels. The stores all had sales but I still don't think I could afford to go in many of them.

At the top of the boulevarde stands the Arc D'Triomphe an impressive memorial to those who have served to defend France. This one I did decide to climb. What's another few hundred steps! The climb was worth because even though it was wet and windy, the views from the top were amazing. The Arc D'Triomphe is the central point of the city and it has twelve boulevards radiating out from it. It's in the centre of a huge roundbout that would be about four or five lanes...if they were marked. To watch it from the top is chaotic but we didn't see any accidents while we were in Paris, although I'm surprised. 

Another day over and we were both so tired we could not even be bothered going out to eat.

Paris - Day 1

We arrived early at St Pancres train station for our trip to Paris. It seems our timing was perfect because later in the afternoon there were huge distruptions due a strike.

Out trip was great and really comfortable. I can't believe how little time it took. We both had a lovely snooze on the train and arrived in Paris feeling pretty fresh. When we arrived in Paris we had someone come up to us to offer a taxi. Luckily we were warned of this and as soon as he said how much it would be we thought it best to wait in line at the taxi rank. He wanted to charge us €65 the normal taxi  cost us €15. Dodged our first bullet there.

Driving to our hotel we were astounded about the beauty of the city. I'm sure went spent the whole trip with our mouths gaping.  It's huge but very elegant. As we headed toward our hotel drove we past the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais although there is nothing petite about it. We crossed the Siene River and headed passed  another impressive building, the Military Museum. We found that when we got to our hotel we were only about 10 minutes walk to these two places.

After checking into our bijou room (by far the smallest we've had) we decided to start exploring. Even the elevator was tiny!  First we had to find something to eat. We discovered that's pretty easy in Paris. Our first encounter with the language barrier was when I ordered a glass of wine. I ordered chardonnay but ended up with something pink and quite sweet. Our waiter was a very charming frenchman so who am I to argue! It didn't matter because I enjoyed it anyway.

After lunch we'll started to wander back the way we came in and ended up the the Petit Palais. This is a beautiful museum. After a quick look through the museum we headed back toward the bridge because we had seen the Eiffel Tower and that was going to be our next stop. We walked along the river bank watching lots of ferry cruises pass by. Obviously a popular tour in the city.

We arrived at the tower and it is spectular! It's a far more beautiful structure than I imagined.  I decided this was the one thing I didn't need to climb. For me it was all about the tower, not the views from it. It was fantastic just to wander around it and take countless photos. We both decided that it would be great to  come back to see it all lit up as it was only 15 minutes walk from our hotel.

Unfortunately we happened to be in Paris at the summer solstice. Only we could choose the longest day of the year to go and see something when it gets dark. We stayed until about 11pm with a thousand or so others. Well the others stayed longer but we decided that it got dark enough.  It was a great atmosphere with mostly young people enjoying the sight.

Finally got back to the hotel about 11:30 having enjoyed our first day.