Day 19 - TT European Whirl (Day 2) - Mannheim

**  Have had no internet for a couple of days so this post was delayed **

 

 

Another very busy day today!

 

Thankfully wake up call was not until 6am!  Then we had to shower/dress and have our bags outside our room doors by 6:30 and head down to breakfast.  What a rush this was!

 

Anyway we made it - luckily it turns out as Tasha LOVED the dutch pancakes that were offered on the breakfast buffet.

 

At 7:20 we were on the bus and off on our way.  Our tour guide, Sigi (from Austria) spent some time going through the optional excursions offered over the trip and we stopped in Germany for a rest stop at 9:15 and were back on the bus 1/2 an hour later.

 

I am still getting used to:  1)  Learning new phrases each day for the country we are in

2)  Remembering to keep spare change on us at all times for the bathroom!

 

At 11:00 we stopped in the gorgeous town of Cologne (Koln) and spent some time admiring the amazing gothic cathedral.  I took so many photos but I couldn't help thinking "I wish Matt Allan was here - he would spend all day here and not get tired of it!"

 

We had lunch in the town of Cologne which consisted basically of going into a bakery/sandwich shop and pointing and with lots of yes,yes or no,no,no and nodding and shaking we eventually got our desired lunches

 

 At 12:25 we were back on the bus and off again.  Our tour guide organised a hidden treasure for us - a short diversion into the town of Rhens for a 10 minute photo stop.  What a gorgeous little town.  I loved the ratshaus (town hall) - it was built a long time ago and the floors and walls are not straight but it is still used today!

 Then it was back on the bus and we headed for the town of Boppard - stopping briefly for another photo op - this time of Marksberg Castle.

 As we drove down to the village of Boppard we were amazed by the vineyards - not just how many of them there were but the slopes they were grown on.  Apparently if you grow grapes on the steep hills you get a subsidy from the government (seems like you would need the danger money - some of those hills were very steep).

 In the town of Boppard we had the opportunity to get a family shot thanks to one of the other people on our tour - not easy as there is usually one of us behind the camera.

 Then we climbed onto our cruise boat for a trip upstream along the Rhine River.  What gorgeous scenery we saw - and many castles!  I don't know exactly what I expected from Germany but I do know that I was so surprised by how beautiful it is!

 We saw lots of little towns along the river - with the church on the top of the pic below standing out..... you see you have to enter through the pub which has been built onto the front of the church to get into the church itself.  And then on the way out the pastor usually pours the beers behind the bar!

 Then it was back on the bus at the town of St Goar for a trip through some of the gorgeous little towns along the riverfront before heading back to the highway.  Most of these towns are unchanged from many centuries ago and are simply lovely.

We drove past Mannheim to Heidelberg Castle for another quick 10 minute stop before heading back to Mannheim to check in to our motel.

At 7:30 we all met in the restaurant of our hotel for a german dinner of Broccoli Soup... Pork .... and ice cream.

Thoughts of today:
As I said before I have found Germany to be a beautiful country to travel through.

Although the bathrooms are interesting!  The public toilets in some places are clear glass - once you are in and lock the door the glass turns opaque and you can't be seen but it is hard to relax!  Also at our hotel the bathroom door is clear glass - which some of the couples on our trip found confronting.... let alone our two poor teenagers!

The people on our tour are lovely and we are slowly meeting each of them although as most seating for meals is done at tables of four it can be quite isolating as a family.  It has also been hard for the kids as they are the youngest by far in our group - unfortunately we picked a tour with no other families with children.

Tomorrow seat rotation starts on the bus so hopefully this will give us a chance to mix more with other people on the tour.

Todays tally:

Steps:  6339
Time on bus:  7 hours
Time on cruise:  1 1/2 hours