One of my favorite things to do in Germany is taking the wine cruise through the Rhine River Valley. It’s not actually billed as a “Wine Cruise” per se, but they sell wine on board and we tend to consume a lot of it. I knew we had to take Diana on this adventure.
Unfortunately the day we went was overcast, but the air was comfortable and we still had a great time cruising up the river, looking at all the wineries and castles sprinkled along the hillsides. Germany is a very dog-friendly country (we joke that they like dogs more than they like kids, but I think there is more truth to that than we want to admit) and Panzer and Bandit were allowed on the boat ride with us. We love those pups and bring them everywhere. I wish the US was as accommodating to our four legged buddies.
After the cruise, we cleaned up in our beautiful hotel in Boppard, Germany and went out to find some dinner. We found a little restaurant with some outdoor seating and ordered dinner. We were all sobering up, hungry and starting to get a little cranky. The service wasn’t so great and we had a table of chain smokers next to us so our mood was plummeting quickly. We wrapped up dinner and on our way back to the hotel took a wrong turn which turned out to be a godsend. Around the corner we literally stumbled upon a festival! There were tents and stands set up, the wine was flowing and the band was playing. We couldn’t have asked for anything better or more authentically German. We found a table in front of the bandstand and chatted up some locals. There was definitely a language barrier, but we managed just fine. Our night turned around and ended up being one of our best.
The next day on our way home, we stopped at Berg Eltz, one of the most beautiful castles I’ve seen. It’s uniquely situated down in a valley, which is unusual for castles, as they are normally high on hills to provide protection. I really wanted Diana to see this castle, and of course, the ENTIRE thing was under scaffolding. We took the tour anyway and stopped for some wine in the castle café afterwards. That’s another great thing about the Germans. They have cafes everywhere.
The next day on our way home, we stopped at Berg Eltz, one of the most beautiful castles I’ve seen. It’s uniquely situated down in a valley, which is unusual for castles, as they are normally high on hills to provide protection. I really wanted Diana to see this castle, and of course, the ENTIRE thing was under scaffolding. We took the tour anyway and stopped for some wine in the castle café afterwards. That’s another great thing about the Germans. They have cafes everywhere.