Monday 8 September 2008

Trip to Germany - Day 14

Today we decided to cross the Rhine on a ferry and go back upstream to Rudesheim, opposite Bingen that we visited yesterday.  We really wish we hadn't, it was a shoddy town with hardly anything of interest (unless we missed it).  So back in the car and we set off to Bad Ems, on the Lahn river.  What a beautiful town.  Swans on the river, fountains, flowers and beautiful buildings.  Most notable of which is the Russian church.  We were glad that this town was so delightful, as it is our last trip before setting off back to Calais tomorrow (boo hoo).P1030011 P1030021

 

 

 

 

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Trip to Germany - Day 13

Today we drove back up the Rhine to Bingen, which was a pretty little town but quite touristy.  It is a major stop off point for Rhine cruise ships.  We had our lunch here and then set off with no particular destination in mind.  We set Tomtom up with our apartment as the destination, and deliberately tried to go differently to wherever it sent us.  We found some lovely small lanes through glorious countryside.P1020982P1020974

Trip to Germany - Day 12

Today the weather forecast was none too good, so we decided that we'd be better in the car than walking around.  So we decided to plan a route over to the Mosel valley, along it for a while and then back. The weather true to forecast was quite drizzly in the morning, we stopped at Cochem on the Mosel for lunch, and then drove on. In the afternoon the forecast was wrong, the light showers were absent.  Instead it absolutely hissed it down!  The scenery in the valley was breathtaking even in the rain, we can only imagine what it would be like in sunshine.

It wasn't only the valley that was beautiful though, when driving up through the forests, around the many hairpin bends, it really was beautiful.P1020915 P1020929

 

 

 

 

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Trip to Germany - Day 11

P1020773 As hinted at we did indeed take a trip on the Rhine today.  We set off from Bacharach at 10:15 and arrived at Koblenz at 1:10.  The weather was good, the scenery beautiful and the ride very relaxing.  We only just had time at Koblenz to get to a cafe for a quick lunch before boarding again for the 4.5 hour trip back up river to Bacharach.  Perhaps in hindsight it may have been better not to have gone so far and had a longer stop.  Then of course we wouldn't have seen as much of the Rhine.

Silly us though,sitting on the sundeck of the boat for seven and a half hours in good weather, we caught a little too much of the sun.  Fantastic trip though. 

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Trip to Germany - Day 10

Well here we are at sunny Bacharach, it rained nearly all the way, and the roadworks near Wurzburg were horrendous.  To cap it all off, the last 50km we decided to take the scenic route and ended up on the wrong side of the Rhine.  Hey Ho, never mind we had a lovely ferry crossing for €4.50.  Bacharach is a beautiful town, right on the Rhine (5 mins walk, even for me).  Sorry, didn't take photos today in the rain, but it won't matter anyway as I won't be able to post this until later in the week, as we have no internet connection.

All being well, we are going on a long cruise up the Rhine to Koblenz tomorrow, so no driving at all for me.