First night in Germany, and we stayed in in a cute town in the valley of the Rhine River. The sides of the Rhine River Valley here are steep, deep green and cultivated, in many places by vineyards that flow down the slopes. The old castle grounds are now in ruins, but towers, stairs and arches hint at its past beauty. See part of the old castle (partially renovated), an arch over a tributary to the Rhine, and an old ruined wall in the photos.

Brian hiked to this ruin, seen at a distance, when he was here alone in 2007. We hope to go up again tomorrow morning, if we have the energy before we hop on a boat on the Rhine to float downstream.

The town itself has narrow cobblestone streets lined with high buildings.

We are staying at the Rhein Hotel (spelled the German way) with a Rick Steve’s dinner special – traditional, locally grown, 5 courses and it took over 2 hours. Now we are more tired! As we enjoyed dinner, we watched people interacting with the river – almost the same ways as our California family members do: playing in the currents, frisbee, picnicking and riding bicycles along the edge of the water. That was interesting to observe!

• Europe 2018