Castles on the Rhine - pictures below

Our next stop was the Rhine River - taking the train past steep vineyards once again, past castles, and all the while following the river, was just breath-taking! We stopped on the way down in a little town called Boppard where we spent the afternoon trying to find a trail and just giving up and going on a little "there and back" hike that we loved. Then we hopped back on the train to our final destination - Bacharach. (And yes, I did sing "I'll never fall in love again" to myself once or twice.) The picture below with the castle is where we stayed - Castle Stahleck, built in the 1100's and converted this century into a youth hostel! The picture of the river with flowers in the foreground is the view from the courtyard. This was by far our favorite part! However, there was a 20 minute, grueling up-hill hike to get there, which certainly was an incentive to just hang out and not to the touristy thing. However, since we were there three days, we were able to do both. During our second day, we took a Rhine boat ride up to St. Goar - where we visited the Castle Rheinfels. This was a ruin jaunt - lots of paths and underground passageways to explore. The picture below with Steve sideways with his legs up, Harrison and Ev - was taken after a really fun, pitch-black tunnel route. Rowyn and I took the upstairs route and met them, miraculously, at the other end. (A little too scary for us- but apparently we really missed it!)

On the boat ride, the kids hooked up with a very nice boy named Gareth (or Garrette - we have a disagreement going about what his real name is) who was touring with his dad and step-mom. He was really nice, and it made the trip home great for the kids that afternoon. It's strange how you meet people when traveling - you can really strike up a good relationship, albeit a temporary one. He is, I guess, living in Germany for the next couple of years with his mom. I gave him the blog address - I hope he reads this! If so - hello Gareth/Garrette!

Steve and I tried to get out to see an organ concert (Bach) for that evening in Bacharach, but couldn't find the church and ended up hiking forever. After a long day of hiking up to the castle in St. Goar, I was exhausted. (Keep in mind that we had to hike up to our lodgings as well! I felt as if I had muscles that haven't been in use for quite a few years working over time!) Steve and I, after the kids went to bed, went down to the cafeteria to share a light meal and glass of wine. There is a special kind of wine they make here called a "Riesling" - we ended up sharing our very first entire bottle of wine! This amounted to two full glasses each, but I had to wait a bit before walking up stairs to our room. We considered this our little mini-celebration of my birthday that following week. Those of you who know me well, know that I have no head for alcohol, and I was officially "tipsy"!

We left the next day, and spent the day in Cologne (Koln) - before the girls and I heading back Monday night. Steve and Harrison spent Tuesday(my 40th birthday!) in Cologne in order to see an NBA exhibition game (Philadelphia against Pheonix, and then the top two European teams played as well, Russia and Isreal, I think) that night at the stadium there. Harrison was in HEAVEN! He just loved it - I guess it made up for the fact that he and Steve had to take the train Tuesday night at 2:30 - or rather Wednesday morning!

Well, I warned you all that it was quite an experience for just five nights/six days! (six/seven for Steve and Harrison) And we have a lot to remember and are already planning for our Christmas break!

Bis balt! (until soon)