I’m still working on adding picture. Our internet is very spotty.
We went on a drive through the Rhine River Valley today. It was amusing to drive along the river through quaint little towns. Along the way, our host (and driver) Michael, told us stories about landmarks and castles on both sides of the Rhine. There was the Maus Tower (there was a famine in that town due to a infestation of insects. The bishop hoarded a lot of food in the tower and did not share it with the people. He locked the door to keep them out and eventually, the starving mice/maus of the town raided the tower ate the food AND the bishop). There was the Lorelei sculpture (she was a beautiful girl who lived along the river. Men would stare at her as they navigated the river. Distracted, they often crashed into the river rocks and died).. There were many more castles and many more stories. We stopped along the way we at Germania, to check out a monument celebrating Germany’s victory over France. Afterwards, we took a gondolier down the mountainside to meet back up with Michael and Marcelo and continue to Marksburg (the only castle along the Rhine that has never been destroyed or heavily damaged since it was built). It is unknown when the castle was originally constructed but it appears in records starting in the early 1200s. We learned two interesting things at the castle:
1. The castle bathroom on the top floor of the castle was originally a small room at the back of the house. The “toilet” did not have a bowl, all of the refuse just spilled out onto the street and was washed away when it rained.
2. The common military salute is a hold over from when knights would raise their helmet visors in honor/recognition of high-ranking officials.
The drive back as the sun set was just as lovely although we did have a bit of a delay. As we were driving I could see several emergency vehicle lights ahead of us. The traffic never really stopped, we just slowly wound along the river bank. After about 15-20 minutes, the traffic started to pick up speed. As we passed the emergency vehicles we realized they were an escort for what appeared to be competitive long-distance, roller bladers - like 100+ people decked out in Spandex and protective gear. We all had a laugh.
We had dinner a few meters from Wiesbaden. The men ate steak. The vegetarian option was a “potato burger” which was actually sautéed chanterelles, a slice of tomato and a sliced boiled egg slathered in an indiscernible tasting white condiment sauce between two hash brown patties instead of bread. Thus far, the German’s are very creative in their vegetarian offerings. For dessert I decided to be brave and order a local favorite — walnut ice cream with egg liquor. I didn’t know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised to realize the egg liquor was eggnog. The two were a delicious combo that Ricardo flatly rejected.
Julia - Michael being such an informative tour guide was a real treat. I also enjoyed dinner because it was such a nice time and the entire time we were there we could see the glow of the Bismarck castle across the Rhine and up the hillside.
Ricardo - Seeing my great-great-great (maybe 4x great) uncle, Otto von Bismarck) referenced in the Germaine monument
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