During the night the ship has cruised down the Mosel and then took a right at Koblenz to get back onto the Rhine River.
When we awoke, we were docked in Boppard. There is a town out there; and again, with the morning fog, we just can't see it.
Boppard itself is a designated Fremdenverkehrsort (state-recognized tourism resort), known for its wine growing.
Word of its famed wines started with the Romans in 643 and today, it is actually the biggest
wine-growing center in the Middle Rhine.
Today we chose to go on an optional tour to the Marksburg Castle, one of the most beautiful structures along the Rhine River and the country's only 13th-century fortress unchanged by war or reconstruction. We will see what it was actually like to live here in medieval times.
A coach bus drops us off at the bottom of a narrow trail that leads to the castle.
We reach the castle and follow Manuela up the cobblestone walkway.
Our castle guide is waiting for us with the key to open the doors.
We walk up some more. The Marksburg Castle is nearly all original construction. We head to the inner gate, originally tall enough for knights on horseback to gallop through, it was made smaller and therefore safer from enemies on horseback.
And above the gate is the "murder hole"--handy for pouring hot pitch on invaders.
Once inside, we navigate our way over rough stone
and see a wall filled with colorful coats of arms.
These are from the noble families who have owned the castle since 1283.
A peak into a room off the hallway
Back outside we see the cannons from around 1640.
This smaller cannon is from 1500. Cannon balls were rough to let the explosive force leak out.
Walking along the outer wall, we see about 160 plants from the Middle Ages--used for cooking, medicine, and witchcraft. Supposedly there is hemlock planted here but I didn't see it.
Inside we go to the bedroom. This was the only heated room in the castle. The canopy kept in heat and kept out critters.
We enter the Hall of the Knights. This was the dining hall. The long table is an unattached plank. After each course, servants could replace it with another pre-set plank.
Through a door behind the dining table is the outhouse, made of wood, hanging over the side of the castle.
When not in use, it's door was locked to prevent any invaders from entering this weak point in the castle's defenses.
The chapel is still painted in Gothic style with the castle's namesake, St. Mark, and his lion.
The kitchen filled with the cooking utensils of the day.
The next room held an exhibit of two thousand years of armor.
The last room we saw was the horse stable, which now shows the tools used for punishment.
Many times the accused was simply taken into a torture dungeon to see all these tools, and guilty or not, confessions spilled out.
The picture on the wall show various medieval capital punishments.
We left the castle and headed to the castle's restaurant for a German Breakfast.
First a soft pretzel...
And then 3 different kinds of German sausages.
They were good, but I liked the middle one the best.
After the castle tour, we had time for a short stroll through Boppard.
The historic streets are lined with half-timbered buildings.
The Church of St. Severus is a beautiful example of late Romanesque architecture. 13th-century Severuskirche was built on the site of Roman military baths and a 6th century Christian church.
Its towers define the city skyline.
Manuela points out the statue of Sweet Elsje selling candy to a child.
Then it was time to head back to the ship as we would set sail this afternoon through the most beautiful part of the Rhine River where we will see castles on both sides of the river.
We pass small villages
We sat on the outside deck with our friends, Joyce and Neal
It is not long before we come to the first castles--the Liebenstein Castle and Sterrenberg Castle. These neighboring castles are called the "Hostile Brothers" castles. Evidently the brothers didn't get along.
The next noteworthy castle is the Maus Castle. In the 1300s, the Maus Castle was considered a state-of-the-art fortification, until Napoleon had it blown apart in 1806 with his state-of-the-art explosives.
It was rebuilt true to its original plans in about 1900.
Ever since Roman times, the Rhine has been one of the world's busiest shipping rivers. We see barge after barge passing us as we cruise.
Next we cruise by the town of St. Goarshausen, where there are two castles on opposite sides of the river. Many of the castles were put there to levy tolls on passing river traffic.
A robber baron would put his castle on the river and stop each ship to get his toll. These two castles had a clear view up and down the river, effectively controlling traffic and collecting tolls.
The first is Katz Castle, built around 1371. A wealthy Japanese man bought it in 1995 hoping to make it an exotic escape for his countrymen. But the locals wouldn't allow him to tamper with the historic building so now it sits empty.
Across the river is the Rheinfels Castle. It was built in 1245 to guard a toll station. By the 1600s, it had become the strongest and most modern fortress in the Holy Roman Empire. Eventually the French Revolutionary army destroyed this and so many of the castles on the Rhine in 1797.
We see a statue of the Loreley; she sits combing her beautiful hair. Legend has it that in medieval times, sailors blamed Loreley for distracting them and making their ships crash into the rocks.
And as we passed the statue, Loreley appeared on the ship in search of the captain!
As we were watching Loreley, a ship passed us in this narrow portion of the river. It came really close to our ship.
Here's that narrow stretch in the river and the rock cliff named Loreley, where the legendary maiden waits to distract sailors. So glad we were able to pass by without an accident.
Schonburg Castle sits above the medieval town of Oberwesel. The town goes back as far as 400 BC. The castle is now a posh hotel.
Pfalz Castle and Gurenfels Castle collected tolls from passing ships. Pfalz Castle sits on an island in the Rhine and stretched chains across the river to block the boats that didn't pay the toll.
We pass the town of Bacharach
This was an important town in medieval times. The tower was originally a crane tower for unloading goods from river barges. They needed to be carried around a treacherous reef and then reloaded.
Bacharach has been famous for its wine for centuries. The Rhine Gorge holds in both warmth and moisture and the slate soil absorbs the heat of the sun and stays warm all night., resulting in sweeter grapes. The medieval Pope Pius II ordered Bacharach wine by the cartload.
Stahleck Castle, above the town, was home to one of the seven electors who chose the Holy Roman Emperor.
Another pretty town along the river--Lorch. There are no bridges along this stretch of the Rhine so a ferry is how the locals get across.
Again, the hillsides are filled with vineyards. The Rhine Valley produces some great white wines, particularly the whites known as Rieslings. The ancient Romans planted the first vines here.
And with the town, another castle. This one is Sooneck Castle, built in the 11th century. This castle was twice destroyed by people sick and tired of the robber barons who collected tolls.
With the sun going down, and the castles now in shadows on the hills, our Program Directors ended the commentary they had given during our cruise down this "romantic" section of the Rhine.
We sail on to Speyer where we find out there has to be changes to our itinerary. To continue reading, scroll down and click on "Newer Post".
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