Hi,
Hope all is well in your part of the world.
Well, yesterday we finally made it to the Rhine River in the late afternoon.
I guess you could call yesterday 'castle day'. Lots of castles along the way (18-20, including the statue of the Lorelei) as we came upstream the Main River all morning and early afternoon after lunch, until it joined the Rhine at Koblenz where we docked for the night. Along the way we stopped at Braubach after lunch at 1.30 and visited a medieval castle which was fascinating. Boys, I don't know if you could have fit the stairways going straight on, they were that narrow, and steep to boot. We saw the wine cellars- did you know that in medieval times they couldn't drink the water because it was infested with germs etc, so instead they drank low volume alcohol instead (bier), even the kids. Better to be buzzed than get sick. Anyway, they also drank wine, and it has just been proven that their belief of drinking white with fish and red with meat to kill any infected fish or meat or spoilage is actually true. There is something in the white and red wines that helps to ' disinfect' the fish & meat. So that is where white with fish and red with meat came from. Dad was very fascinated with the whole castle tour. Anyway, I have lots of castle pics to show you when we get back.
The internet has been really spotty and today we are parked beside a bridge which is apparently blocking our signals so no internet. Will have to send this from Amsterdam tomorrow. With all the internet glitches you may get these after we are back!
Anyway, yesterday was another rainy day, all day. later on in the evening it poured. Our coats were all wet, even though it did not go through, AND we had an umbrella.
So let me get you up to date....
Braubach - only did the tour of Marksburg Castle, inside & out. It is the best preserved medieval castle on the river, and was never conquered or destroyed in all these 800 years, partially because it located on a very steep isolated hilltop. Then onto the bus to drive for about 1/2 hour to meet the ship in Koblenz where it was waiting for us - by now it was around 4 PM. The bus did not go all the way back to the ship but dropped us off about 10 minute walk away, so we walked into the town because we wanted to see things before it got completely dark.
We went to the 'old' part of town and found the Christmas market (of course). Bought another mug and had some ghluwein, of course. Shared at 0.5m bratwurst on a bun - it was good. Then wandered around a bit and came back to where the ship was docked. It was right where the 2 rivers converge, called "the German corner - Deutche Ecke" . By now it was totally dark, so we could not really get pictures anymore, but we tried as there was this huge statue of King? On a horse surrounded by 'fake' coliseum behind him with all the crests of the German states. In front it was like a piece of pie lined with flags on each side with the narrow tip pointing into the rivers, one on each side, Main and Rhine, then flowing together at the 'tip'. Dad and I probably spent around 45 minutes trying to get pictures, until Dad got fed up and went to the ship. I stubbornly stayed out longer and did get some pictures, but most of them did not turn out, especially the ones of the rivers that I wanted to use to show how the rivers converged. Oh. well. We were really wet when we came in, and had to hang up coats up to dry on the back of our door all night.
Got back on board to realize that it was 'Captain's Cocktail and dinner" that night, so had to rush to change out of day clothes into 'ship' clothes. Didn't even have time to put on makeup or anything, as it was already 6.40 and it had started at 6.30. Then dinner at 7.00- I had lobster thermador and Dad had filet mignon. We were very tired so then Dad got ready for bed and I stayed up downloading pictures of the day and frustrating myself trying to see if I could salvage them or they had to be ' dumped'. Lots of the late evening ones got dumped. We watched a movie on the TV while we were doing this. Dad fell asleep, but i stayed up until 4 AM. This was a mistake as had to get up today as shore excursion of Cologne started at 9.15 am.
Also put our shoes out last night as SinterKlaus might come by in the night and leave us something sweet, according to tradition.
So, today - Cologne... This morning there was a chocolate Santa and bar of marzipan in the shoes for us. Sinterklaus DID come. I guess we were a good little boy and girl after all.
The weather - it didn't rain !!! The sun even came out for a little while. Still coolish -2C, but comfortable.
Guided walk through the 'old' town ending at the Cologne Cathedral around 11.30. Spent a lot of the time inside the Cathedral with the guide - took lots of pics - it is huge!!!! Apparently has the largest façade (or something , not sure anymore) of any one in Europe. Fascinating.
Then Dad claims I spent an hour going to the public bathroom ( they cost .50 E to get in- it's like the metro- you put your money in and enter via turnstile) - as usual there was a long lineup at the ladies, and then when I got in I had to remove my fannypack, camera case, outer clothes etc.
On the way back we stopped at 2 Christmas markets . I liked the second one better because it seemed more traditional in that it had little painted street signs, small elves and gnomes all over, and was nicely decorated. Somehow more 'fairytaleish', if you know what I mean. Bought the mug of course... and then Dad got fed up and went back to the ship by himself, leaving me to wander around. He had to go the bathroom and besides wanted to have lunch on board. I wandered and then bought a "Weinanchtes Wurst"- it was a mix of blutwurst, fried onions, apples, and regular sausage meat which they cooked up the huge grill and put on a bun. I had them wrap it up in aluminum foil so I could take it home and share it with Dad. Also bought a Landjaegerwurst- like dried pepperette but larger, which I also brought back to share with Dad.
When I got back to the ship it was around 2.20 and I had missed lunch, so I just went up and they let me have a beer. I drank the whole thing while sharing my sausages with Dad, who had eaten lunch already so didn't need a real meal. Dad says that is the most beer I've had in over 5 years. That worked for me. I was tired,( I think the beer did it !) but we decided that we would walk down to the Lindt Chocolate museum which was neat the boat. It also had a huge chocolate store in it ( surprise !), which chocolate products from other companies as well- sort of a 'chocolate showcase' you might say, including chocolate ( various varieties and mixtures, such a chili, cherry, etc) and marzipan liquors, and all things chocolate. Of course, there were a million boxes of chocolates and holiday figures etc. Thought about bringing some stuff back, but our suitcases are really out of packing space and we have to watch the weight also, so in the end didn't buy anything.
There was another Christmas market there also, so wandered around it also. Strangely the lebkuchen are no more- I guess they end at Nuremburg, which is like ' lebkuchen headquarters'. It was dark by now, and we were tired, especially Dad, so we went back to the ship ( after \I took a million pictures of course). I had a snooze and missed the 'disembarking' talk, but Dad managed to stay awake and went for both of us. Then it was time for supper. Had a great time with some people we met- lots of laughter, funny stories etc.
So now are in the cabin. I am in my silk underwear as I write this and Dad is on the bed snoring. We were going to start packing but are too tired, so will have to do it tomorrow as it is our last day 
. The cruise has flown by. I think we will probably go to bed once I am finished drafting this email- it is now 11.15pm, and the boat has left the dock bound for our last stop, Kinderjdijk in Holland. It is along drive, and we should arrive there around 1.30, just after lunch is over. There is a walking tour planned for 1.45-2.30, then the rest of the time we need to get ready for leaving on the plane. Will have to check on electronically, but can't print the boarding passes. Would like to see if there is a last minute upgrade also....
Oh, BTW- Dad broke the toilet today. Not permanently, thank heaven, but we did end up having the chief engineer come to fix it. (This is not as bad as it sounds as there are only 2 engineers on board ship, and they take care of all those sorts of things). It took him less than 3 minutes to fix it, so no big deal really, I guess, but for a while there we were worried. At one point thought it would flood, and it wouldn't stop 'whining'... so you see Omi, now you can say you and Phil broke a toilet!
On that note, I shall sign off.
Don't know if I will email tomorrow as we will be busy packing to fly out Saturday morning. I doubt it.
So, see you Sunday- just don't call early because we will be sleeping in extra late... as well as fighting jet lag and time change.
Take care everyone.
We are happy to be coming home- missed you all.
Love Mom & Dad
