Boppard

Chair Lift to Top

View of 3-4 Lakes

Boppard

Lorelei

Castle on Rhine

June 6, 2011- Options

It's almost the end of our trip and we haven't called home. Guess we won't. We've kept up with things by email and finding public phones is hard in the age of cell phones.

David says he feels as if he's sleeping with someone other than me. We have twin beds on opposites side of the cabin. Our cabin is at the end of the hall so my side doesn't butt up to anything. David shares a wall with our neighbor and can sense when he/she turns over in bed.

We opted out of optional tour today including a hike up to a medieval castle (we've seen many). But perhaps that walk was more rewarding and there was actually a castle when they got there unlike our quest to the Jewish cemetery in Trier.

We joined Dewi's walk through Boppard, a town of 18,000. The entire town is a UNESCO Heritage site. It’s the most visited town on the Rhine having gained fame when Konrad Adenhauer brought dignitaries here. It features the steepest vineyards on the Rhine and we watched as they were spraying said vines using a helicopter. Guess small planes can't maneuver the slopes.

Boppard grew from, yes, a Roman settlement with requisite battlements to defend against the Vandals (German barbarians) across the river. Eventually that Roman wall extended 234 miles. Later Crusaders mounted 9-11 crusades over time (Dewi said one blended into the other) and left behind Carmelites who built a sweet little church that still stands. Their statue of Maria is paraded through the vineyards and grapes are offered to it in hopes of a good harvest. Due to evidence of ancient history here as in other areas inhabited centuries ago, when attempts are made to erect modern buildings, relics are found. So the site where a public parking garage was to be is now a tourist magnet featuring not only Roman walls & towers, but also 7th century Christian graves. With DNA testing Boppard was able to determine that one of the women buried there had blond hair and blue eyes. Fascinating.

Wine was good to the region and about fifteen families still control the wealth it has produced. There are many mansions along the river some dating back to the 1700's. Since the river is capricious, homes are built with rooms starting one level up from the street. Garages and storage is now and has been relegated to the ground floor. Dewi told us that the two rivers are called Mother Mosel because she's more cranky and Father Rhine since he's steadier. We didn't agree with that assessment. The wine industry spun off barrel making, makers of iron hoops (coopers), and shipping. Before motorized crafts boats were loaded and sailed down river where they were unloaded, broken up, & sold for timber or firewood.

We walked down Judengasse and it was said that Jews weren't forced to live together. Neighborhoods were organized by profession so bakers lived on one street, shoemakers on another, etc. Jews weren't permitted to work at most occupations so lived elsewhere. They did fill the need for people to perform jobs the church forbid to Catholics like money lending.

Uplifting

We walked back to the boat along a lovely promenade and park with lots of roses that were definitely beyond their prime. We dropped off extraneous gear and headed for the chair lift. We did notice that contrary to previous trips abroad, European men are now wearing shorts and do have rather nice legs. It was a twenty-minute ride one way and the views were lovely. We rose above the vines then the forest. It became eerily quiet until we arrived at the top. A cute restaurant was there where we enjoyed the vista before us as we sipped our Pepsi lights. From our perch the winding river appeared to be three lakes. They're officially called four but we could only make out three. Maybe some trees have grown up since it was named. The ride down gave us a better view & we noticed the “high tech” devices used to ward off birds wanting to feed on the grapes. Shiny CD's hung from strings attached to the vines reflecting sunlight and deflecting avian attacks.

We’re finding more kindred spirits at meals and tend to sit with people with whom we've dined before as well as new ones. We'll never meet them all. The conversation always starts the same way with an exchange of names & where they live. Then questions about travel begin. There are some great stories we've heard. Today at lunch a man at our table found a broken piece of glass from his dish in his ice-cream. He told the waiter who called over the maitre de and head chef. No damage was done but the chef was ready to toss all the ice cream. The man who found the glass assured her it had to have chipped after the ice cream was in the dish. She hovered and rang her hands a long time and finally retreated to assess her liability.

I've lost interest in the puzzle. I sit there for the conversation but working on it for a long time is too intense. At home I dawdle here and there but don't sit for hours. I've invited the crew to put pieces in if they want. We're now doing sky, mountains, & trees. Tedious. I don't expect we'll finish in the few days left.

Castles

It started raining as we pulled away from Boppard. Good timing. We headed on to the more scenic part of the Rhine where we were told to do neck exercises so we could see all the castles on both sides of the boat. They were usually built overlooking river bends so they could levy tolls as boats slowed down at the curve. We did pass the Lorelei rock where the siren was said to lure sailors and distract them so they'd sink their ships. As we passed the surprisingly tiny statue marking the spot one of the tour directors, Ben, pranced out in drag with blond wig flowing. I assure you, in that getup he wouldn't lure a blind man. The castles were in various stages of disrepair but from our distance they were right out of Arthurian legend. Binoculars helped and David said he got good shots of several. One in particular, the Katzenellenberger, is a well known Jewish family name.

David told me to add that since we've been complaining about all the pork being served I should mention that the chef substituted beef for ham in the chicken cordon bleu. It looked and tasted like corned beef or pastrami left over from a lunch buffet.

After dinner entertainment was guessing how many people would dance to a variety of tunes. We got up to do the chicken dance but I was wearing sandals so I sat out the electric slide. A lame program again but the tour directors have such a good sense of humor and make it fun.

Tomorrow we'll be in Speyer, our last town in Germany.

Toby