8/11 - The ship docked in Koblenz as we were eating breakfast. Their rolls & most cake goods are delicious - the one food thing Germany, esp. Austria, is noted for. Had some & esp. liked a sweet raison roll with a soft spot in the middle that tasted like apple. Every morning I asked my waiter for melon, as that's not one of the fruit items usually out. I now ask for a small reg. milk pitcher for my coffee. Their cream tastes more like evaporated milk - ugh. Hated the odor when my parents used to open a can of it for their coffee.

While Erna was feeding the ducks, I found a alcove on ship. I watched all the different ducks floating in water outside my window. By the time I got around to taking a picture, the white ones had left but I got the others.

At 9 we were split into a few groups & all went on a walking tour of the old town of Koblen z. We had a knowledgable male guide with a thick German accent. He took us on a short walking tour. First we stopped at different sections of the riverside promenade. As he was talking, I took a picture of an old bridge where the Rhine & Moselle Rivers meet. Then he had us face a castle - lower part is Roman & the top is a Chapel which I also took a picture of.

Then we entered the town walking where most of the roads were hilly & all was of cobblestone - both sidewalks & roads. We went to the City Archives where we saw a model of Koblenz. One interesting item was a clock high up on a tower. When the clock strikes the hour, the face's tongue sticks out & his eyes roll. There's more but for some reason i can't read my handwriting??? At the end of the tour, I took a picture of the guide.

We were back on board by 10:45 & I had time to shower after Erna & before lunch. Meanwhile the ship continued on to Rudesheim. After lunch, we were told to go up on the sun deck or the lounge to enjoy the most scenic, romantic part of the Rhine. We were told to bring our binoculars to see castles, ruins, cute towns & the famous Loreley Rock. Erna sat & sunned herself. I sat with Maureen, Dora & 2 more women I met. From then on we 6 ate all our meals together & took the same bus (there were usually 3) while touring, etc. Actually 5 of us as Erna usually wandered around by herself.

Jane Webber is a widow for about 2 years & lives in NJ with her grown son. He lost his job & moved in with her. Although he is working again, he is staying with her. Her roommate was Angela Vitucci who lives in No. Miami Beach. She (as she told me days later) is the oldest virgin alive. She never left home & always lived with her parents who are now dead. The two women worked together in govt. jobs years ago & kept in touch. Now that Jane's husband is dead, they've been spending time together. Usually Jane stays a few weeks a year at Angela's place. They were both very nice women. I took many pictures of cute houses, Oberwesel Castle with just the tower or turret remaining, & the Loreley Rock. Most little towns had a church in its center. At one point, there was a toll station in the middle of the Rhine.

"The famous Lorelei poem, written by Heinrich Heine in 1824, tells the story of a beautiful siren, the Lorelei, who would sit on the cliff top high above the river, combing her hair & singing seductively to passing boatmen. Thus distracted from the lurking dangers of the river, the boatmen would be lured to their watery grave. The story isn't just a figment of the imagination. Many boatmen did indeed perish in the treacherous currents of the narrows where the Rhine rounds the Lorelei cliffs, which rise 433 ft. above the water. Parts of this stretch of the river have been dredged to create safe channels for barges & other ships, & signal masts have been erected so that the boatmen keep on course."

Oberwesel Castle Just a tower or turret remains	Houses along the Rhine
Each town seemed to have a church at its center	Houses nestled in the curve of the river with a castle in the mountains above
Bridge where the Rhine & Moselle Rivers meet	Castle in Koblenz from a distance
Our guide in Koblenz	Stone chairs with stone foot stools in the shape of balls
June in Koblenz	This is the Loreley rock of the famous poem Heinriche Heine written in 1824
Siegfrieds Music Kafinett Rudesheim, Germany	At Rudesheimer Schloss - a restaurant

8-12 I ate breakfast with Angela & Jane. t was a champagne breakfast but only Erna had any.
The ship arrived in Mainz at 8:30 & we left in 2 busses for a guided bus tour of Mainz, Rheingau, & Frankfort. After we left, the ship sailed on to Frankfort. The bus crossed the Rhine & drove by the vineyards of the Rheingau. The vines are planted in perfect rows on slopes going straight up on the foothills of the Taunus. It's to make sure all the plants get rainwater. We passed the picturesque villages of Gelsenheim Winkel & Jattenheim.

The bus stopped at the historic Ebeerbach Monastery, where the movie, "The Name of the Rose" was filmed. It lies in a charming valley in absolute isolation. In 1135 the Cistercian monks from Burgundy came here & laid the foundation stone for one of the best kept medieval monasterial establishments in Germany. A guide took us around. First we stood in the chapel where he told us things I've since forgotten. We saw the sleeping room of the monks - no beds, etc. as they slept on the stone floor when not praying. We were given wine in little shot glasses with the name on it. I took one sip & threw it down the toilet but kept the glass. Here, as well as other places including the ship, I bought postcards since my camera couldn't do justice to much of the places visited.

We were then dropped off at Roma Hill Square in Frankfort. Frankfort is Germany's financial & commercial capital. We were given free time to buy souvenirs. Among other things, I bought some change purses for me & as gifts. We were bussed back to the ship at 1. After walking in the heat, it was great getting back to an air conditioned bus. At 4 I went to teas as usual meeting the others. We worked on a jigsaw puzzle together but will probably never finish it.

At 8 I went to bingo in the lounge with Angela & Erna. Carol, Uniworld guide, picked the numbers. The purser read them out. There were 3 games. Angela won the last one which was the big pot. She won 105 marks & $10.

As of today, we are on the Main River. Stair step locks will lift us the coming days to the highest point of any commercial waterway in Europe. I picked up a folder with information on the locks we will pass. Listed are the locks between Amsterdam & Vienna & cities along the road.

Mainz	Mainz, Rheingau & Frankfort
Monastery in Rheingau	Monastery surrounds garden
Square in Frankfort. Kathy Katz is in the bottom, right corner of picture

At 5 the ship arrived in Rudesheim, the capital of the Rheingau - one of Germany's most famous wine growing regions. We all departed by toy train for a city tour. This was enjoyable esp. as we sat to see the sights. The 6 of us managed to squeeze together in one coach. We were then let out & were given a tour of Siegrieds Music Kabinett in the Bromershof at Oberstrasse 29. This historical building contains a fun collection of mechanical musical instruments, such as piano las, from the 18th & the 19th century. Many of them were demonstrated during the guided tour. We were taken from room to room & instrument to instrument. Many of which the guide turned on so we could listen to the music. At each spot, toward the back, would be Erna dancing to the music by herself.
Then we walked to Rudesheimer Schloss which is one of the many wine bars & restaurants along the narrow Drosselgasse. Four of us sat to a table. I sat with Erna, Angela, & Jane. On the table was a wine bottle, a dish of radishes, & dark rye bread in a basket. When the bottle was finished, a second was put on the table. Jane had one glass, I had about 1/4 of a glass, Angela doesn't drink. The food was awful & the noise horrendous. The musicians strolled about playing loudly & there was loud singing.
Toward the end of the evening, one of them came to our table among others. They were looking for people to help them entertain. Angela was picked & said she thought Erna would be a more likely candidate. I took pictures as she & others took turns ringing a large bell when told to.
We had a 15 minute walk back to the ship.

Beautiful country scenes on upper part of this 18th or 19th century mechanical instrument.	One of the only ones in the world. Not only does the pianola play but also the violins. Spectacular!

8/13-8/14

	Sign my guestbook