Boats, trains and automobiles

We had heard that the cruises on the Rhein River are nice and decided to spend our Saturday up on the border between Hessen and Rhineland-Pfalz.

Our day started by driving up to the Frankfurt Airport. We needed to buy my tickets to Virginia and get Finn's tickets as well (government and infant tickets have to be paid for in person). Having tried to do this the day of departure last time we thought it prudent to go early this time. During our last trip back to the States, we arrived at the airport 4 hours early, but the ticket purchase process took so long that we barely made our flight. This time was not much faster, we spent almost 2 hours in the terminal, but we are now confirmed to be going home in June.

We drove on to Rüdesheim am Rhein where we hopped a boat down to Koblenz. The river runs between picturesque bluffs which are frequently dotted with châteaux and castles. The weather cooperated: mostly sunny and 70 degrees. It was a nice ride down the river with stops at sites like Assmanshausen, St. Goarshausen, and Loreley.

As we approached Loreley, all the Germans started singing a folk song and then the song was played over the boat's intercom. Since this was not a narrated trip, we weren't sure what was going on, so we Googled it when we got home. Loreley is located at a bend in the river at its narrowest point between Switzerland and the North Sea. At this point, the river runs quickly and used to be full of rocks and small waterfalls and it's the site of many shipwrecks. The song that was played is about the Sirens' call to the river boatmen to luring them to smash their boats on the rocks. It is kind of like singing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" when going out on Gitche Gumee.

After arriving in Koblenz, we walked over to the Hauptbanhof to catch a train back. We bought our tickets and then got some Chinese food to eat on our ride back to Rüdesheim. It turns out that Finn loves trains. He spent the hour train ride back smiling, laughing, and eating his hands. The picture above shows another red train on the opposite bank to help you visualize our trip.

When we got back to Rüdesheim, we wandered through the town. It is a classic German tourist town with Bier Gartens and a lederhosen-wearing band in the street complete with sousaphones. We had a great wander around the town and came across a drunk Polish guy who said he also had a 4 month old kid in Poland. After saying my name is Beachkofski, he said that his name family name is Bieńkowski. We thought that he was lying, but it seems to be a real name.

All said, we had a great time, good weather, and Finn seemed to enjoy it. You can relive the experience through our pictures.