Rudesheim

After passing Mainz, the Rhine has widened before narrowing sharply just before Rudesheim. After Rudesheim the Rhine expands to nearly a mile wide. The expanse of water acts like an enormous mirror, reflecting and magnifying the sun's heat onto the south-facing slopes on the north bank. The late-ripening vineyards of Riesling grapes florish here.  The ship has travelled from Amsterdam, traversing along a very shallow group of rivers. The expanse between the banks of the rivers' to the edge of the water is quite a distance, showing white sandy and sometimes rocky beaches. As we are in early autumn, the flows coming down river are low, narrowing the navigational sections.

Along the river are numerous caravan parks which are well utilised. Many vineyards cover the northern slopes, sometimes growing down almost to the river. Scattered every couple of kilometres are little hamlets/villages of pretty half-timbered houses, many churches and hotels/taverns/winegardens.

The ship moored about 1 kilometre from the main section of town. The connecting walkway from the ship to the shore had to be widened to allow for the shallow river. Waiting for everyone to board was a little 'Choo Choo Train' which took us up to the higher section of the town to see the Museum of Mechanical Musical Instuments. Unfortunately my camera had overloaded and I had to delete All my photos before I could take any more pictures. There is a section not backed-up which I had taken that morning, so there are no photos of this museum or the quaint little German town.

After the museum DH and I wandered back down the cobbled alleyways, past shnitzel and waffle making cafes, wine gardens and souviner shops. We couldn't resist going into a winegarden to savour the local Riesling wines.