Travel Links� �Day One� �London on My Own
London to Amsterdam��Amsterdam �Amsterdam Photos  The Rhine Valley�

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We rose bright and early for what Aaron (our tour guide) informed us would be the first "typical" day of the tour. We had breakfast at the hotel, and then got on the bus--most of us hoping to get a bit more sleep! We would spend most of the morning traveling, eat lunch at a rest stop, and then take a cruise down the Rhine River while Beaker (our driver) drove the bus to the hotel.

The rest stop where we ate lunch was almost exactly like all the other rest stops along the highway during the tour. But the "cruise" down the Rhine was quite pleasant, especially when I finally got a seat outside. The weather was good, and the views were incredible.

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In fact, as you can see, I wasn't alone in my desire to record the journey on film. One thing I noticed as I journeyed was that most of us spent a good deal of time viewing the scenery through the lens of a camera. However, I'm sure that everyone else is as glad as I am to have the assistance to our memories, now that we're no longer on the tour!

�� The Rhine Valley is famous for three things--castles, vineyards, and the Lorelei. There was a huge number of castles along the stretch of the Rhine we traveled (silly me, I forgot to write it down!).
� The vineyards climbed up the mountains, many of them with rows of grapes that seemed vertical--to better allow heavy rains to run off. We didn't stop at the Lorelei, but the guide on the boat pointed out her rock, and explained how she used to sit on the rock, and lure sailors to their deaths. Given the popularity of both wine and beer in the area, some people on the tour speculated that the Lorelei might have been a cover-up created by sailors who hadn't been properly sober while navigating the very rocky stretch of the Rhine.

After we checked in to the hotel in St. Goar, most of us walked across the road to attend another of the optional excursions--a wine tasting. We went deep into a cellar, with a long table down the center. The woman there explained several things to us. First, when you check the cork of a wine bottle, you don't need to bother sniffing it to find out if it's a good vintage, unless you're very talented. Instead, you should check to see whether the wine was stored properly--on its side--which will leave the cork somewhat damp. Second, when you're tasting, first you should look at the wine, to appreciate the way the light travels through it (and to make sure there aren't bits of cork floating in it!), then you should smell it, and then you should take a very small amount on your tongue, to savor the taste. You should also swirl it in the glass, to allow air to touch all the parts you will be drinking.

We had a chance to taste several of the wines, including an ice wine, which the Rhine Valley is famous for. These wines are made with grapes that were not harvested until after the first freeze, and they are very sweet. I chose to buy a drier wine than that, planning on drinking it either in the gondola in Venice, or on a picnic later on.

After we finished with the wine tasting, we had several hours before dinner would be served. Most of us wandered back to the hotel, and discovered a coin operated computer connected to the Internet. We waited to log on and check our email.

I had decided to miss the presentation of "beer steins and cuckoo clocks you can buy to take home," so I ventured out into St. Goar instead. It was a quiet town, with streets dominated by pedestrians. I bought some postcards and stamps, and sent a few of those. Then I embarked on a true adventure--grocery shopping in a foreign language.

I made it through the store just fine, and even found some trail mix, known in Germany as "studenten futter." I chose some fruit, which ended up causing me to upset the checker. I hadn't realized that I needed to print out a sticker with the price in the produce area, and my German wasn't good enough to figure out what she wanted me to do. Fortunately, a kind woman with an American accent explained the problem to me, and I was quickly able to correct my mistake.

After a good dinner, several of us walked out to the river. We looked at the castles in the dusk, and then people realized that I had a digital camera, so we looked at all the pictures I'd taken thus far. We had a good time talking with each other, and wondering about what would happen later on the tour.

Then we went back to the hotel, and drank beers and listened to pop music on the jukebox. A few people danced, but there wasn't much room, and most people weren't really in the mood for dancing. Finally, I went up to my room, and had a chat with my roommate, who was from North Carolina.

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Travel Links� �Day One� �London on My Own
London to Amsterdam��Amsterdam �Amsterdam Photos  The Rhine Valley