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Published: July 19th 2011
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We had a brief morning in Rothenburg as we had to take an early train to the Rhine. At the station, we met 2 woman from Sacramento and an older couple from San Diego as well all working together to navigate the train system. We helped one another out traveling together to the next transfer point and helping the elderly couple with their bags. The two women were teachers on vacation in Germany without their husbands and parted ways with us in Frankfurt but the older couple headed to the almost the same destination so we traveled together for a couple of hours, helping them with their luggage and sharing life stories. Our train to the Rhine was delayed by 20 minutes, surprising since the German trains are notorious for being on time. We chatted with the couple on this last leg and shared stories of Rothenburg. They had gone on the Executioner tour in Rothenburg which they also thoroughly enjoyed. The couple got off in Bacharach and we got off at the next stop, St Goar. They were 2 towns on the Rhine just 1 stop apart. From the station, we walked to the hotel which was a mere 5
minutes, the shortest walk to date. The hotel was right on the Rhine river from where we could see 1 castle on the hill across the way. We checked in and got ready for our Rhine cruise. It was now 17:00 and it was the last cruise leaving St Goal and it was one way so we would have to take a train back from whichever town we got off at. We enjoyed a pleasant, peaceful cruise with just perfect weather conditions enjoying the abundance of castles we saw along the way. Our first stop came up 1 hour into the cruise but since we were enjoying it so much, we decided to stay on and get off at the next stop since we were told trains to St Goal were available at every stop. Two hours into the cruise, we started asking questions to cruise staff confirming the stop and our return. They were very unhelpful and just focused on getting people on and off the boat. So, we got off and spent the next hour trying to figure out how to get back. Additionally, we were no longer on the same side of the river. We come to
realize that there were no more ferrys for the evening (something else we had been told) and no buses. Nature was calling by this time and wasn't helping the already tense situation. After popping into a restaurant, we were relieved to discover that there were trains going north in the direction of our town but we would still have to find a way to cross the river. We ran for the next train and took the 30 minute train ride to St Goal. Once there, we found out that ferrys carrying cars and people crossed the river back and forth every 30 minutes so we got onto the next one to cross the Rhine and be in St Goal in 5 minutes. Phew! Close call! Our initial plans to have dinner in one of the other towns on the Rhine had to be abandoned when the fear of not having a way to get back crept in. By now it was 21:30 and the sleepy town was...well sleepy. So, we searched for an open restaurant and then had to find one with at least one attractive vegetarian option-this was a lot to ask in Germany. We found one that advertised
a vegetarian casserole, had dinner by the Rhine, and headed home at midnight relieved that we didn't end up stranded in another town. So much for reliable information!
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