July 3, 2009

We spent the day driving along the Rhine exploring the many small towns and castles. We stopped in Ruedesheim and took a two hour river cruise. It was very beautiful and so relaxing that Sol actually fell asleep. The day started off incredibly hot but in the early afternoon the clouds rolled in and we even had a short shower which was a welcome relief. In the afternoon we explored Marksburg which is one of the bigger castles along the Rhine in Braubach, just south of Koblenz. It is the only Rhine castle that has not had to be restored due to damage from a war. The tour was interesting and would have been even more informative if it has been in English!

On the way home, we finally mastered the GPS in our van and were able to get home without opening a single map. This is a great relief for me since the pressure of navigating was starting to stress me (and Richard!). We got back to the house and of course, Elvira had more food waiting for us! They have been incredibly hospitable to us.