Great Friends, Great Rhine, Great Wine...

After returning home from Switzerland, the very next day we set off on a Rhine cruise from our Wiesbaden port.  The trip takes you downstream towards the northwest, past acres and acres of vineyards.  This stretch of the river is called the Romantic Rhine because of all the castles and well-preserved towns along the way.  This was the northern-most boundary of the Roman Empire and one of the busiest shipping rivers.  Many of the castles were placed there to extract tolls from the river traffic.  Most of these castles were built in the 11th-13th centuries. 

We stopped in the classic Rhine town of St. Goar where we had lunch among the ruins of Rheinfels Castle overlooking the river.  Us girls found a shoe store selling only Birkenstocks.... we all bought a pair.  So much for Romantic Rhine.  We then jumped on the next boat heading north to Koblenz.  This town was established during Roman times and in Latin means "confluence."  It is situated where the Mosel River joins the Rhine. The town was bustling because of an annual European flower show (BUGA) that Koblenz was chosen to host this year. 

Funny you should ask about our hotel.  In Europe, you have no idea what you are booking... pictures can be deceiving.  Since the town was inundated, we expected our pickings were slim.  Once we checked in, we couldn't find 2 of the rooms because they were hidden between floors (another good reason to have a local Konigsbacher beer).  This made the bathroom interesting... in order to use the sink, the door must be shut so you have room to turn around.  The next day we set off back home up the Rhine against the current.  This made for a longer trip so we were in for an 8-hour boat ride.  Luckily, Pete bought a deck of cards before leaving town so, no worries, we played Hearts and Rat all the way home.

The next day was Saturday which meant the opening of the Wiesbaden Rheingau Wine Festival.  During the day, we took in the farmers market and by night found new friends all over town to party with.  The festival is held for 10 days with live music held on 3 stages every night.  The music was just right for our group - lots of classic rock sung in perfect English by German cover bands.  We ended the night at our local fave Irish Pub with live acoustic music and.... beer. 

On Sunday, Mary took a break and Pete took our guests to Schloss Vollrads vineyard outstide the town of Oestrich-Winkel just down the Rhine from Wiesbaden.  We sampled their Sommer wine and promptly found their booth that night at the wine festival among 100 other Rheingau vintners.

By Monday, we went downtown for last minute shopping on the day before our friends needed to leave for home.  Of course, we came back for one more night at the Festival to get our Flammkuchen fix (pizza-like thin crust with creme sauce, bits of ham, cheese and topped with fresh Arugula).  It was a full and festive week with friends from home.   Tschus!

It must be noon somewhere

One of the many cliff-hanging castles along the Rhine

A scenic town along the Rhine

Having lunch in Rheinfels Castle above St. Goar

Only surviving castle along the Rhine - Marksburg

A castle surrounded by vineyards above the Rhine

Schloss Stolzenfels near Koblenz



Pete enjoying his family namesake wine (almost) at the Rheingau Wine Festival



Tim, Keith, Pete, and Agnes - our friends from England 

Behind the stage, Blind Willie Rounds played air harp with the band

This guy is dancing with his 2 daughters simultaneously... I wanted to cut in.

A little bit of South Dakota jitterbug in Wiesbaden

The group enjoying the riches of the Rheingau region



Girls just wanna have fun.... again



Great Friends, Great Mountains, Great Times...

OMG...Where do I begin?  Our good friends Mike and Brenda Andersen and Keith and Cathy Rounds came to visit us a few weeks ago.  Let's just say the words "Fun & Fantastic" describe everyday!

While waiting for the Rounds to arrive, the Andersen's and us took a day trip to Heidelberg to seek out the infamous castle and old town.  The bridge of the Neckar River is crossed by many tourists including us.  And the castle is perched on the hill above the river like a fortress.

One day after picking up the Rounds, we traveled with 2 cars to the pristine oh-so-swiss town of Lucerne, Switzerland. We were in search of the fantastic views, fondue and rosti's.  We found them all !!  The wooden covered bridges in the old city are one's to remember.  In fact, I remember vividly the main bridge from my first trip here 35 years ago.  The flowers along the entire span of the bridge are full and gorgeous.  We took a cruise on Lake Lucerne to enjoy the amazing vistas and homes along the lake.  The day was perfect for taking in the view and enjoying a cold beer on the boat. 

A short trip from Lucerne is the beautiful town of Interlaken... named because the town connects two long. crystal-clear lakes together.  From there, we had a great view of the 13,640 foot tall Jungfrau peak from our hotel room and fun Italian food for dinner.  The town is quite inundated with tourists with cameras (oops, maybe that was us), so we moved a short distance into an incredible valley below the town of Murren.  On the way, we stopped at Trummelbach Falls (Mike had this on the "must-do" list).  It's a meandering falls that moves inside and outside of a mountain cliff.  The path to view it up close and personal is in itself a marvel of Swiss engineering.

This area is called the Bernese Oberland - home of Eiger and Jungfrau mountain peaks. From just beyond the falls, we parked our cars below the town of Murren - it's only accessible by cable car.  Murren is perched on a ledge above the town of Lauterbrunnen and because there are no cars, it's extremely peaceful and quiet - and only a few miles from touristy Interlaken.  We stayed at the delighful Hotel Bellevue.  Checked in, threw our bags in the room, and immediately ordered beers on their patio terrace that was to die for.  After only about 2 beers on the terrace, it was so breathtaking, we all decided to stay an extra night there.  We found a little paradise, made even better by the uber-friendly Bellevue owners, Oti and Ruth.

We did some short hikes in town and after seeing hang gliders running off the mountain, Pete and Keith were enticed.  They both decided to try a paraglide flight over the cliff into the valley.  Thank god they were with professionals.  They can now knock this off their bucket list:  Jump off mountain with thin piece of fabric and some twine overhead.... Check! 

That night we finally had our authentic Swiss Rosti - a skillet of potatoes, cheese, veggies.  And Andersens shared a cheese fondue - that made our day.  The next day we woke up to cloudless skies.  After coffee on the terrace and more pictures, we almost decided to stay another day.  But, a Rhine river cruise was awaiting us back home in Germany.  That episode next...
Tschus!

Andersen's and us on the stone bridge in Heidelberg



View from Heidelberg Castle above the Neckar River



The famous covered bridge over the river leading from Lake Lucerne

Beautiful Jesuit church in Lucerne

Typical scene from boat trip on Lake Lucerne



It was our 34th wedding anniversary while we were in Lucerne so Pete asked me again... I said whatevvver...yes.



The girls just trying to have fun

Lake Lucerne

View from hotel room in Interlaken of Jungfrau peak

Bernese Oberland valley

Trummelbach Falls inside the mountain

Thank goodness I was there to save the day

The view from the terrace at Hotel Bellevue

Pete and pilot paragliding over the canyon...yikes!

Eiger Mountain from the terrace

Our new favorite Swiss beer - goes perfect with the view

OK, yet another view on a cloudless day

The daily trek through town - last summer it was goats in Zermatt - this summer cows in Murren

Taking advantage of a fruit stand along the drive to Bern

On our way back home, we stopped in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, for crepes