The Rhine cruise and Cologne

Breakfast at Mercure was just so-so and the food area was very cramp. Anyway, we were on the road to the Rhine valley pretty fast since the hotel was near the autobahn. We were to have our cruise on the river Rhine this morning and as we drove along the banks of the river we saw several picturesque towns, numerous castles and very steep vineyards. Below is a clip shot from the tour bus window. Take away the reflections and the green tint and the video looks pretty good and it feels like I am on tour again viewing it.



We had a rest stop and here we learn that it usually costs money to visit the toilet. Usually it is 50cents and in some rest areas, you get a voucher for this amount that can be used for purchases in shops using the same system. If I am not mistaken, it is called Sanifair and I think the charge is quite fair as the toilets are really clean. Make sure you make use of the accumulated vouchers and use them at the last rest stop that is applicable as they do add up to a tidy sum.

After all the views on the bus, it was then time to board a river boat for the pleasure cruise down the Rhine River at one of the boarding towns. One of the must see item is the Loreley Rock more because of the legend associated with it but I could not see the Loreley statue from this video.




There are several charming looking towns along the way where people get on and off the river boat, St.Goar is one of them.



We finally made land at Boppard where we had our free time and lunch. There are several towns along the Rhine river where one can break journey and Boppard is one of the bigger ones.
The town square of Boppard.



Generally, food in Germany is quite affordable in the many cafes and restaurants in the tourist areas, the main course usually below 15 euros. (Of course not in the high class restaurants that are beyond my budget.) And the portion is big and good enough for two persons if you are not big eaters, like me and my wife. Thus we normally share the meal and sometimes even cannot finish it especially when it comes with chips (i.e. french fries.)

From Boppard, our next stop is Cologne.

Ronald Kwok.