Rhine River Bus Tour and Cruise
Our journey started early. We arrived at our bus stop at
6:00AM and the bus left promptly at 6:30. We were on our way towards the Rhine River.
Our travel bus brought us through landscape that suddenly began to burst with many
cornfields, wheat fields and Riesling Grape vineyards. The countryside was lush
and verdant. Interspersed through the open landscape were compact villages with
red and gray roofed houses and always a church with a tall steeple.
The tour bus dropped us off in the village of St. Goar which sat right along the
Rhine. From there we entered various
little shops where we sampled delicious desert wines including a $495 bottle of Eiswein (Ice wine). We
also tried a peach brandy that made you feel like you were lying in a peach
orchard, eating peaches on a warm summer day.
Next, we trekked our way through the village square and
encountered little shops selling notoriously unfashionable Cuckoo Clocks and
other wooden toys—endearing as they were—but
screaming with bright, obnoxiously fun colors. Window boxes hung from nearly each and every
window sill and were overflowing with red and pink geraniums. We discovered quaint
eateries and cozy little cafes offering apple Streusel and coffee with freshly
churned cream. I noticed many of the locals were sitting outside, under
umbrella covers and exchanging lively conversations.
After our village adventures, we embarked upon a Rhine River
cruise ship which forged its way up the Rhine river. Many villages were
situated along the Rhine and some had castles peering over the river from high
up in the hills.
Our tour bus dropped us off at Reichenstein, a notable castle that was up for public tours—provided
that you purchase apple cake and coffee upon your departure. We were given a
walk-through tour of the castle. Afterwards we enjoyed the apple cake and
coffee in the castle courtyard. From the vantage point of the highly positioned
castle one could see the murky, olive green Rhine carving through the valley
below. All along the sides of the river were patches of land comprised of
Riesling vineyards. Many of these were on steeply slanted terrain that almost
seemed to descend into the river. The German’s seemed to be adept at using
every spare piece of land in a productive way.
We went into the town of Rudesheim to have a late lunch. Our
lunch which was included in our tour package, consisted of jagerschnitzel with
a richly delicious mushroom gravy and also French fries and salad.
I’ve noticed that restaurants in Europe typically do not
serve water with the meal. In fact, you have to specifically order water and
when you do, it costs money, usually between 2-3 Euros. In the U.S., I’ve taken
it for granted that a glass of water is something you automatically get with
your meal. Another thing that I’ve noticed about eating in German restaurants is
that the portion size is not suitable for the average American glutton. For
instance, a small coke is really just a small coke. I measured a scanty 6oz in
my glass; it did come with a lemon slice floating on top, perhaps to compensate
for its’ paucity in size.
After our meal in the little German restaurant, we ended our
day by trying the famous Rudesheimer Kaffee. It is a specially made coffee made
of brandy, sugar and whipped cream. They actually make it right at your table!
.
