Day 14: to Rüdesheim o Koblenz

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Day 14: Mainz to Rüdesheim to Koblenz



28^th September 2014



The boat started cruising from 0600 so no run this morning. Probably a good idea as I may have thrown myself into the river …..



The weather has been glorious, perfect for travelling. Overcast and cool in the morning and as the sun gets through the clouds the day opens up to clear and sunny. Still needing a hoodie but its on and off all day.



The visit to Rüdesheim was way too short. It is a touristy town but there are some interesting things to see. It is wine country so the whole village is embedded in vineyards. I will tell you about the vineyards later as they have a story on their own.



This was the last of the 3 excursions Frank and I had booked and we knew we were going on a train ride to one of the local wineries for a look around and to sample wines. Lynn and Bill had not booked this excursion and they had decided to do their own thing for the morning. Lucky and clever them. Because here was the last indignity …. It was a novelty train …… So they herded us on two ‘trains’ and off we went through the streets of Rüdesheim. Lucky it was early and misty so not many people could see us. The ride took us up some really steep cobbled pathways and narrow roadways and we wound up and up through the village and the vineyards. In this region grapes are planted in every available place and so you can literally reach out and touch them as you pass by.



Rüdesheim is a winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge and is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site. It lies at the foot of the Niederwald on the Rhine’s right (east) bank. It lies in the north-west corner of the German wine producing region Rheingau. Riesling grapes are the main type grown in this area and it produces mainly high-quality white wines. The town is one of Germany’s biggest tourist attractions with only Cologne Cathedral drawing more tourists. Rüdesheim as a town was first recorded in 1074 and its livelihood came mainly from winegrowing and shipping, particularly timber rafting



The Drosselgasse is a lane in the heart of Rudesheim's old town full of beautifully decorated restaurants and it is a 144-metre-long narrow cobblestone pedestrian street. Built in the 15th century, the Drosselgasse was for boat owners to move items from the river to homes in the town. It is Rüdesheim's most famous attraction and so it was packed with tourists.



We went to a winery where we were able to listen to an hour long really informative information session …. In French. Frank tasted some wines. I was pretty bored and so was happy when we left. Back on to the little train to go down into town where we were disgorged into the center of the village. We knew we were going to see a museum that was unique in that it was a collection of mechanical musical instruments and I was kind of OK to go there. However it looked small and so with 100 or so of our closest friends to be cramped in there we thought we would have a little wander around on our own and then go back in. Again this was not to be. The tour guide chased us and basically indicated if we didn’t go now we wouldn’t get in as it was a booked tour and it was only open at particular times. So back we went herded like cattle but in this instance I have to say I’m glad we didn’t miss it as it was fascinating, creepy and beautiful at the same time. The group was broken up so they weren’t so large and our tour guide who didn’t speak a word of English was a delightful young woman who clearly loved her job.



Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet Museum houses an impressive collection of automated musical instruments and is a building called Brömserhof which was a noble court built in 1542. The museum covers an exhibition space of more than 400 square metres and has one of the largest and most beautiful collections of mechanical music boxes in the world. There are approximately 350 exhibits of mechanical instruments dating from the 18th to the 20th century – from delicate musical boxes to a gigantic piano-orchestras. The museum also includes tools and machines for manufacturing barrel organs, cardboard music, piano rolls and musical box plates. The museum provides an insight into music boxes in the past and its place in society including the roll they played in small and large scale entertainment. A music box could be found as a child’s toy, a pianola in someone’s living room for evening entertainment or large scale machines for beer halls, carnivals and large entertainment venues. The museum also demonstrates traditional techniques in making the musical boxes and the music rolls. It’s fascinating to understand how these instruments work and how, in the larger version, they can incorporate so many instrument. One machine had banjos, piano, drums, and other percussion instruments.

But what ins equally impressive is the love, care and time that the owner has put into to firstly finding and sourcing these machine many of which were completely ruined and then restoring them to their former glory using traditional tools and methods. I can only admire a person who does something like that. The exhibition kept me interested even though I didn’t understand a word.

Frank and I also knew there was a cable car ride (yep I know but I would have done it anyway….) up the side of a small mountain that goes over the vineyards and up to a winery and a 17^th century statue. Apparently the view is amazing however there wasn’t enough time to do that as we had to get back on to the boat – thankfully we were able to walk there. When we got back Lynn and William told us that that was what they had done for the morning and it was fabulous and when we caught up with Mandy and Louis the next day they had also caught the cable car up and then walked back down and they thoroughly recommended it. Ah well … next time.

The remainder of the day was spent cruising down the Rhine river and I now get what people talk about when they say it is beautiful. The four of us sat up on the top deck and just chilled out. I spent hours just writing and getting up to date, Frank read and took photos and Lynn and William just generally relaxed. The cruise travels down stream and in the process has to go through some lochs. I don’t understand the system of lochs and why they are in existence so will have to Google that later. The ship passes through wine country and EVERYWHERE you can plant a vine they have done so. They plant on the most extreme slopes that no machine can safely harvest the grapes and so it is all done by hand. However it is so steep that it has to be dangerous for the pickers. We even joked about having nets at the bottom of the rows to catch any falling picker so he or she didn’t plunge to their death! And when there is not a vineyard there is a beautiful village comprising mainly of whitewashed houses with terracotta tiled roofs and detail around the windows and doors ect in a brown paint. And interspersed amongst the houses are lofty church steeples, medieval buildings that are beautiful and imposing and if that’s not enough there are castles generally on a hill or higher ground that looks over the village in an imposing and authoritative way. Again, what impresses me is the imperative to keep the integrity of the history of the buildings by preserving the facades, rebuilding in a way that is true to the original and the financial commitment it must take to continue this work. Who ever or whatever finances this stuff lets hope they have deep pockets and an unending commitment to philanthropy and history.

The Rhine is a busy working river and we were passed by lots of ships that are obviously the heavy transports of the river system. There are also lots of large cruise boats like ours and plenty of small day trips ships. The Rhine is 1320 Km long and it originates in Switzerland and flows through Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxemburg and Holland. The history of the river is associated with many legends one of which is the legend of the Lorely which tells the story of a 19^th century blond maiden who sits on a rock and combs her hair and as she does so she sings and distracts the sailors and they forget to take the bend in the river and crash their boat into the sea. At the end of the day its just a big rock with 2 flags on it ….



The final dinner on the cruise was the 4 course Gala Dinner which I have to say was pretty good. Poor William has a very bland palate and so he hardly ate anything but Frank and I ate everything. Frank went out for one last walk before going to bed.

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