RAFINO CRUISE - Log # 4

16 August 2007

At 09:00 AM we sailed from Rudesheim and I immediately went to the sun deck where there I could see both banks of the river.  Sun deck was a misnomer at this time because there was a light mist and the wind was pretty strong.  I came down to the room and put on my jacket then returned topside.  Almost immediately we entered the Romantic Rhine area of castles and vineyards.

This part of the river was much narrower than it had been and the depth of the water dropped from 9 to about 27 feet.  In three hours I shot 172 pictures of beautiful sights. 

1.  The castles were magnificent.  Some of them were still in ruin but many of them were partially restored and were all kinds of tourist business, from hotels, museums, restaurants, to shops of various kinds or homes.  The castles are national monuments that are controlled by the State.  We were told that a medium sized castle would cost about 25,000,000 euro or $33,000,000 US dollars.  There were about 25 castles in this section of the river.  They had been built as fortresses and were placed on the high rocky mountains in the most inaccessible location.  For example one was accessed by a basket that would be lowered from the castle for the ride up the mountain.  (A castle pictured attached, I hope).

2.  The mountain sides were covered with rows of grape vines that ran up and down the steep slopes.  I remembered from when we were in Germany in the late 1970s that the farmers worked the fields by putting a tractor with a power take off on the road above the field that would lower a sled down each row.  The worker would ride the sled on his stomach and work the plants or pick the grapes.  The green fields of vines were a sharp contrast to the steep and craggy mountains.  (A picture is attached, I hope).

3.  Buildings in the quaint little villages were beautiful.  Every town would have at least one church with high spires.  Buildings were often located with only a highway and railroad between them and the river.  There were large buildings that we assumed were villas or businesses.  Many of the houses were Bavarian style with the painted wood strips set in the plaster walls making a colorful pattern.  Flowers were plentiful and many kinds of trees lined the river and streets.  There were benches where people would sit and watch what was going on in the river.  People walked their dogs along the way.

4.  Traffic was heavy along the river and the railroad.  We passed or were passed by barges hauling coal, rocks, sand or other building material that was just piled in the body of the barge.  Some long barges carried several levels on cargo containers, I saw one barge load of new cars.  Many barge marked “Gas” with a network if pipes on the deck went by.  At first I thought that they must be river going service stations, but later decided that they must be tankers that were delivering gas to the on-shore service stations.  Both passenger and freight trains ran on both sides of the river, I believe that they were electric.  They hauled new automobiles out un-protected on flat cars where in the US we have to put the automobiles in box cars with sides to protect the cars from the public. 

About noon we docked in Coblenz which is located where the Mosel River joins the Rhine.  After lunch I took a guided tour of the city.  First stop was at a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I and a Memorial of German Unification.  In the Memorial area there were flags of the German States flying and a 48 star American flag was also flying.  I asked the guide if this indicated that Germany had accessed the USA, she said “no the USA flag was added after 9/11 to indicate friendship and empathy for America and also to express friendship.”  This Memorial contained 3 large slabs of the Berlin wall. 

In one of the four cathedrals that we visited our guide lamented that these beautiful old churches were not frequented by the younger Germans.  Coblenz was also bombed during WW II and about 85% destroyed.  She pointed out one house in a block alone as the only survivor of the bombing on that block.  I commented that this house was likely the one that they were sighting on.  Fortunately most of the damage was inside the structures and the walls were still standing.  (A picture of the Church of our Lady, I hope)

Coblenz was a walled city with restrictions that delayed the development of industry.  This put them behind other cities such as Frankfurt & Mainz.  Even today Coblenz is more of a cultural and art center.  (I wondered why we bombed it).

I have been amazed at the long history of all these cities we are visiting when they have been conquered by the Romans, the French or some other group.  Often the cities have been destroyed.

Across the river from Coblenz there is a hugh castle that was not destroyed. Supposedly the castle was on the list of targets then removed because of no military threat.  That Castle is now filled with Museums, concert halls, shops & cafes.  In 2012 the International Flower show will be held in the castle.  A gondola will be built for access from the Coblenz side of the Rhine River.  This gondola is being authorized as a temporary exception to the restrictions imposed by the Rhine River Authority and must be removed in 5 years.

This evening we dressed up for the Captain’s dinner.  The meal choice was fish or beef strips.  The desert was baked Alaska with all the parading and such. After dinner we were entertained by a very fine string trio Brussels.  During Dinner we docked in Cologne three hours ahead of schedule due to a faster current than was expected.  Tomorrow we visit Cologne in the morning and move on to Amsterdam.  J. Claud