December 16

 CASTLES ON THE RHINE DAY

Today is THE DAY that you come on any Rhine River itinerary......not only do you get the opportunity to walk through a medieval castle but you get to see soooo many medieval castles on the hillsides of the UNESCO Heritage Rhine River Valley.  I LOVE this day!  And today could not have been ANY more magical.  So, if you've been following our adventure over the last week you know it's been cold - winter like with the whole Christmas vibe.  And very thankful for that.  But what's been missing by and large is snow.  Right after Kim and I returned from Antarctica I googled "Marksburg Castle In The Winter" and made the photo on the left my lock screen on my phone.  And I told everyone who asked about the trip that THIS is what I wanted to see.  I went so far as to say, "If we only get snow on one day - I hope that it's the day we see the castles!"  The photo on the right is Marksburg Castle TODAY.....yes, today everything in the area and on through the Rhine River Valley was blanketed by snow.  JUST MAGICAL!

When we woke up, within minutes I looked out our stateroom veranda sliding doors and what did I see - A CASTLE.  Oh it's going to be a good day!

Good Morning Castle Day

Hike the steps to the castle?  Nope....we had a gradual incline "hike"

The outer gate - let's go in!

The inner gate - note how big it used to be (when knights on horses rode through)

Looking down into the valley - the Rhine is there in the distance!

Cannons to protect against invaders - this castle is the ONLY castle on the Rhine over 800 years that was never invaded

Coat of arms for every family that's lived in the castle

The bathroom - locks from the OUTSIDE in case invaders try to sneak up through the toilet!

The main bedroom - the small bed is for two reasons:  (1) people were shorter and (2) they believed that if they slept laying down they would die, so most slept sitting up!

One of my favorite parts of the castle tour - climbing through the hidden passages!

Of course - Ghluewein & a souvenir mug (and souvenir Christmas ornament) tops the morning's excursion!

THE picture of any Rhine River itinerary - usually you see the river, but at least you can see the castle in the background

Marksburg Castle Tour

When we returned to the ship we had about an hour and a half for lunch and then it was time for the ship to enter the Rhine River Valley and for the "presentation" of the Castles all over the hillsides.  Guests were invited to go into the lounge with the panoramic windows to watch, or if you were "one of the brave ones" to come up on the top deck.  Because this is SUCH a highlight day for me I was one of the first on the top deck and literally the very last to leave.  Early on there was a pretty big crowd joining me up top.

Worth mentioning....the guy on the far right IN SHORTS!  Every day but one he's been on our excursions (in the teens and 20's) in shorts.....oh yeah, he's a "tuff guy" WOW

I was surprised that there seemed to be SUCH a time lapse between castles, but then our program director commented that because of the low water levels we had to go much slower through the valley.  But it was a spectacular day of castle viewing despite the much slower pace and time between castles.  Hope to be able to sail through here again in the next few years!

The first of the castles - like out of a fairy tale

Panoramic view of the Rhine with quaint village overlooked by a castle

NEVER seen rocks in the Rhine before - because it's still below "mid-normal" levels.  Our program director said the instruments said we were sailing in four feet of water and remarkably it only takes ONE FOOT of river depth for Viking Longships to sail on the river!

This "castle" is actually a watch tower that was once connected to the city wall

Another dramatic view of the snow-capped village roofs being overlooked by the protective castle on the hillside

Midway thru the afternoon the staff brought us hot cider with a shot of run (hat on / hat off - shade / sun)

One of the best shots you can get - TWO for ONE castles in the frame

Even the highway tunnels are constructed to look like castles!

The flag flying is indicative that the owner is "in the building"

ALMOST as good as the 2-for-1 castle shot.....a cathedral & a castle in a single frame

One final castle - this photo taken from our veranda balcony

Yours truly celebrating yet another FABULOUS day thru the Rhine River Valley - it's THE BEST

Rhine River Valley Castles

Tomorrow we have two excursions - both "INCLUDED" scheduled, and fortunately for us the first one isn't until 10 am.  But this evening after the "Port Talk" where we were informed that temps at that time are scheduled to be around 15 degrees AND that after a bus ride into town and an hour long walk we'd have 90 minutes of "free time," we decided (Mike, LuAnn, Khloe and myself) that we'd pass on that outing.  If I didn't already have a souvenir mug and had not seen a Christmas Market I'd be inclined to go.  But considering we have done all that AND that the second excursion, in the evening is a 1 1/2 hour trip we opted to make that the sole outing tomorrow.