Untitled Page 63
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4 revisions | Ganne at Nov 13, 2021 12:41 AM | |
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Untitled Page 63If Friday was the day for noting the unexpected, Saturday certainly fulfilled the As we rode on southward the towns thinned out and the mountains rose straight We spent Saturday night at the hostel in the town of Lorch - about a mile up the Sunday (it is now Monday morning 28.3.60) we had a few more miles of the rugged | Untitled Page 63If Friday was the day for noting the unexpected, Saturday certainly fulfilled the Rhein's romantic expectations. Actually this began with the hostel Friday night in Koblenz - actually a part of the old fortress Ebrenbreitstein, located on a high bluff overlooking the Rhein (and the [m?]oselle as it flows into the Rhein) and the city. The old walls, passageways, dark cold rooms, etc were right out of medieval days, and the view of the city was absolutely splendid. About 10 miles south of Koblenz we came upon the [Marke?]burg castle - the only [unruined?] castle on the Rhein, dating in part from the 11th and 12th centuries, last really used in the early 18th century. We climbed the path up to the castle (about 450 feet over the river) and spent about 2 hours there, ate lunch on the walls looking out over the river, wandered around the old walls, etc. then we took a brief but fascinating 1/2 hour tour through the insides of the castle itself. We saw living rooms with walls 9 feet thick (they are 18 ft. thick in the cella[r?]!), old tables, clothes chests, portraits of [tormen?] residents, etc, with the dim lighting and chilled air giving the final authenticity. Also a small chapel room, with the paint now fading badly from the walls, the kitchen with a fireplace large enough to roast a whole ox, the torture chamber with a stretching rack and other equally ingenious devices. It was really fascinating, and so much more meaningful than seeing all the items in some museum - this way we really got a total picture of a way of life. As we rode on southward the towns thinned out and the mountains rose straight up from the river (still planted in many parts with vineyards even so). The stretch from Braubach to Rudesheim (part of the distance between Koblenz and Mainz) is the most beautiful for scenery on the Rhein - many ruins, rugged hills, with the river winding and turning often, the famous [Loreley?] [bend?] (where the river narrows to 350' wide) with its sheer rock cliff, all of it was magnificent, even in mostly overcast weather. We spent Saturday night at the hostel in the town of Lorch - about a mile up the valley of the Wisper river, with a view of both this and the Rhein valley - really a splendid location. After dinner in a small cafe, we went to a local wine house and sampled some excellent Rhein wine - bought a bottle to take back to the Bing with us to share with Dr. [Boerner?] too, since he helped us plan our trip and is anyway a generally great guy. Sunday (it is now Monday morning 28.3.60) we had a few more miles of the rugged Rhein to Rudesheim, then mostly flat, slightly rolling country on into Wiesbaden and across to Mainz. The most interesting incident was in passing Bingen, where there is a stretch of shallows and very dangerous water. Just at about the time we rode by a large barge had run aground and damaged its rudder, tying up traffic behind it as effectively as a big accident on the bay bridge. We stopped for about half an hour to watch as the damaged ship drifted carefully backward through the line of companion vessels to find safe anchorage for repairs; then slowly the waiting boats moved single-file, cautiously through the narrow safe water channel. While all this was going on we fired a constant line of questions to an old man standing beside us, and in that half hour we learned a lot of river lore. Once again traveling by bike (and thus seeing so much more of what we pass) and speaking German made |