Day 11 Nuremberg - Rhine Valley - Amsterdam

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The German adventure continues this morning! We leave the historic sights of Nuremberg behind and head towards the enchanting Rhine Valley. We are up for breakfast at 7-7:30 for breakfast. Then its on the bus for 8am departure.

It was tough for me today! I got up ok at 6:30, but then snoozed on for 10 minutes. Not the best idea! I finally got up, feeling ok, I always seem to feel a bit ‘heady’, that’s been pretty normal first think in the morning! So no change there, I don’t notice it yet, but I’m so damn slow this morning!! I can’t decide what wear, just slowly plodding around, then I look at my watch….?it’s five to bloody eight!!! OMG…the coach leaves at 8!!!! There goes everything!!!! Cereal, breakfast, toast, coffee, water… everything!!! I’m running round like an idiot… just shoving my final bits back into my back, to simply get out of the door with all my stuff intact , and more importantly….,with me. I’ve got my frock,underwear and shoes in…. Out of here!!!
I walked casually up to the bus, Ishti, our driver said, ah, I wondered where you were!’ And smiled, I smiled back, and casually alighted the coach…. With a whole bloody war still raging on inside me. For anyone who knows how my OCD affects me…. This is huge for me, but more importantly, I got through it fine, without a soul noticing. I’m not sure if I’m good at managing it, or everyone else is too busy looking at their own shit to notice.
I am now sat on the coach, heading to Amsterdam, thinking how hungry I am and how much I would appreciate a coffee!!!

We are expecting the weather to cool down a bit, as we are heading North, but here seems to have been a bit of a heatwave, so not sure if that’s going to happen! I’ve been wearing my cardigan on the back s, it’s so chilly with all that bloody air con on!

We come to put one and only, comfort break. It’s a nightmare! I bypass the toilet, thinking I can do that later, head straight for coffee machine, overtaking a few in my sprint. I get an XXL cappuccino… hmmm, I’ve not see this size before, a welcome grin ripples across my face! Remembering that I’ve had NOTHING yet today, not even water… I NEED COFFEE! And I make it. But it’s a long wait, there’s only one girl plodding her way down the queue. Patience is failing some of the queue, especially when Jamie came in to ‘hurry us along’ He had no idea what this coffee means to me! Luckily I’m next in line, I’m standing my ground for this coffee. Then I throw in a curve ball and add a request for a butter croissant and a packet of chocolate covered Liebniz biscuits. I’m seriously going for it today! I pay the girl, and leave with the biggest grin on my face…. I have breakfast and XXL coffee to go!

We are aiming for one of the most picturesque areas along the Rhine River to enjoy our lunch as a group today.

I haven’t taken any scenic photos today. This is because where I am sitting on the coach today, I can’t actually get a position when I can take one. Today Su is sitting near the window, which she absolutely deserves to. I have regularly offered the window seat, but she has refused it, but today she had taken her turn. So no photos from the coach for today. Let’s face it, they are usually rubbish photos anyway!

It’s no just after 12:00, we have arrived at the Rhine Valley.
As we entered the area of Bacarach , I did try to take photos, especially when we passed the castle, but sadly I simply couldn’t get access to photograph any of it! We are getting off the coach at St Goar.

Sankt Goar is a town on the west bank of the middle. The town is well known for its central location in the Rhine Gorge which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Above the town stand the ruins of Burg Rheinfels, one of the castles for which the Middle Rhine is famous, and across the river lies the sister town of Sankt Goarshausen with its own castles, Katz and Maus, (“Cat” and “Mouse”). The famous Lorelei rock is close by, slightly upstream on the opposite bank.

We got on the boat at 2pm to set off down the Rhine. After 10 minutes, lunch is served. It’s quite unfortunate that I’ve just had the biggest piece of cake - very untimely for me!

Lunch done, the majority of the passengers were n the boat moved up to the cool and breezy, third and top level to sit, relax, and take in the scenery… at a slow pace for the duration of the boat ride. At a corner point of the Rhine we see Lorelei. Lorelei is a German girl's name, and was originally used to refer to a rocky cliff on the river Rhine. According to legend, a maiden named Lorelei would sit on this outcropping and sing, luring fishermen to their deaths in the treacherous pass.

Afterwards, the journey continues to Amsterdam. The boat ride took about an hour to complete, then it was straight back on the coach to continue our journey through Germany, and on into The Netherlands.
We actually entered the Netherlands at about 5ish. We had a game of Bingo on the coach, it was a diluted version of Bongo Bingo. Good fun all round.
As we got nearer to Amsterdam Jamie had a chat with us, he explained his story about the origami crane, then proceeded to hand one out to every person. Such a nice thought. He then goes on give his appreciation to Ishdi for all he has done for us all throughout this trip. I have to agree, he has been amazing in every aspect of our comfort during travelling, his knowledge, driving ability and experience, his ability to foresee what we would need, or benefit from to enhance our experience.

Along with our origami, we received a copy of a group photo, which was also another lovely.

It’s 7pm, time for our dinner stop in La Place, nearby a town called Beesd, which is in the Netherlands. So far, so good!! I ordered a pizza, it took so long to come, but that’s the benefit of being cooked to order! Only managed 2 slices, so packed the rest up in a pizza box to have a bit for my supper!
We are going to the hotel now, it’s going to be a quick turnaround as we are going to a karaoke night. Bless the people eats if I get up to sing! But the thing about me is… I seriously can’t sing, I shout! But.,.. what I lack in talent…. I gain in enthusiasm!! Ha ha
We’ll see how that goes!


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Comments

[Angela]

Lesley you are a star.....
Love every blog...I live these holidays with you...must meet up soon...coffee on me! Enjoy Amsterdam!

[Lesley2912]

Hi Angela
Thank you so much! It’s been a fast pace, but great trip. I feel I’m getting back to where I was with travelling! Hopefully more ahead! And yes, definitely have a catch up on my return. I’ll be in touch soon xxx