Rhine River Cruise #2 Heidelberg to Rudesheim

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This panorama shot of our boat, 'Avalon Felicity', may appear a little bent, but I liked the result - a long vessel, perfect for river cruising! Heidelberg to Rudesheim was not a long haul but we had great venues to explore, day time cruising and nights in dock - that meant peace, calm & quiet ... zzz 😊
The river level was clearly low - we passed many boat ramps that fell short of the water and this helped us appreciate the ordeal we went through with all the bus travel at the start.
Hope you're enjoying the blog.
Cheers from Jan & Garry

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Photos

Heidelberg Castle
This castle had an amazing history but suffered at the hands of the French - Louis XIV used gunpowder in huge quantities in an attempt to demolish it.

View from the Castle
Overlooking Heidelberg from the castle - Neckar River valley below & the Theodor-Huess Bridge - acclaimed by Mark Twain to be the most beautiful bridge in Europe.

Theodor Bridge
Gorgeous buildings, bridges and gardens. A truely picturesque city - over-run with students of the local university & home to, "The Student Prince".

Souvenir Stalls
Thought there was a church fund raiser on - no - the major, humungous church was aproned by a sea of tourist stalls - a little ... off?

Oz Fart
Saw these signs to 'Ausfahrt' all around the district - thought it must have been a really big neighbouring town. Couldn't help smiling each time - finally found out it meant, "Exit"!!!

Happy Hour
Departing Mannheim for the evening cruise to Mainz coincided with 'Happy Hour'. Two for the price of one. When I ordered a beer & a wine, was given two of each!
We managed :)

Mainz
Another guided tour - this time the city centre of Mainz - beautiful Cathedral. Also went into Gutenberg Museum - invented type of printing press - saw 2 original G'berg Bibles - hand illustrated.

Town with Character
Walking the streets of Mainz brought so many photo opportunities that I often had people walking into the back of me as I propped to capture a scene on the hoof.

Lunch Cruise to Rudesheim
Lunch buffets were awesome and when cruising it was a bonus. The 2 hours from Mainz to Rudesheim became an extended lunch break.

Short of Docking Space
When access to shore was taken by a cruise boat, the next would tie up alongside and their passengers would stroll across our deck to reach shore - very friendly.

Novel Transport
A Toot-Toot 'train' saved us the walk into Rudesheim - cute but squashy - but a quicker way to get us tio our afternoon tour of a mechanical musical intrument museum.

Pianola with a Difference
Amazing museum of inventions that played music where no musician was available. This one, controlled by a paper scroll had piano as well as 8 violins playing a classical piece.

Wine Gardens
Germany has many beer & wine gardens - we seemed surrounded by them! Had a wine tasting of local reislings here in Rudesheim.

Rhine Valley Views
Took a 'cable car' ride to a peak overlooking Rudesheim - beautiful Rhine Valley views. Walked back to town through hillside vineyards - ah - the serenity!

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[Ian Rasmussen]

Rafting
We call this "rafting" in a marina or at anchor when you have a shortage of space and friendly neighbours.