Rhine River Cruise: Koblenz to Rudesheim

To many people, the “Middle Rhine” is the high point of their journeys along this famous river, because of all the castles visible along the cliffs above the river itself. The first part of this entry is the middle Rhine. We tried to name all the castles for you, but it’s difficult. Fortunately, the cruise line gave us good maps and the cruise director told us stories of the castles as we passed.

The Deutsches Eck promontory in Koblenz where the Mosel River (to the right) joins the Rhine River. The statue of William I on horseback commemorates his role in the unification of Germany in the late 19th century.

Fortunately, we woke up early and grabbed some breads and drinks to take up to the top deck to watch the castles and cute towns of the Middle Rhine as we sailed upstream.

Castle Stolzenfels in Kapellen at 585 km from Constance, Switzerland (headwaters of the Rhine River)

We noticed large numbers on the Rhine River, which tell us how many kilometers we are from the source of the Rhine, and helped a lot in identifying the castles as we sailed past.

Lahneck castle in Oberlahnstein at 585 km

The most fun was seeing how the architecture of the castles varied. Some of the differences were due to the approximate date the castle was constructed, other differences were in style, from the identity of the castle owners.

Sterrenberg and Liebenstein castles in Kamp-Bornhofen at 566 km were built by two enemy brothers; the wall between them was built to quell the feud.

So much complexity of history here, most of which did not affect the world, just the sites along the river. Many of these areas were tiny kingdoms in their own rights.

Katz castle in St. Goarshausen at 556 km

Loreley monument and rock. Legend has it that as the beautiful virgin girl sings to the boatmen passing by, they are so distracted that they fail to negotiate this narrow part of the Rhine Gorge at 555 km.

Castle and church, we can’t remember the names

Schönburg castle in Oberwesel at 550 km is also a hotel.

Pfalzgrafenstein castle in on an island near Kaub at 546 km

Sooneck castle in Niederheimbach at 538 km

A variety of colors on buildings that front the river

Reichenstein castle in Trechtingshausen at 534 km

One of the challenges the cruise director prompted was to count the number of “towers” in one of the towns associated with a castle. Clare thought there were many more than the 7 official towers, because she was counting the tall architectural things (not towers, somehow) in the many churches along this part of the valley. The towers are the high points along the old walls and moats protecting the castles.

A few years ago, we stayed in a small town along the middle Rhine and took a ferry to see the castles. The ferry trip was crowded, and the stories about the castles were difficult to hear. This time, we were able to move around the cruise ship easily, making Brian’s photographs more clear than before.

Brian has visited Bacharach twice, the last time with Clare in 2018. A wonderful village with the Werner chapel ruin.

At the end of the Middle Rhine was the christening of the ship.

The AmaLucia was decked out in green garlands for the christening. Some local women dressed for the occasion.

Upon entering Rüdesheim, the AmaLucia was welcomed by the local yacht club.

An old-fashioned music machine added to the festivities.

Although the AmaLucia had been sailing for about six months, this voyage was designated for the christening of the ship; the ceremony was held in Rüdesheim. All of the passengers were invited by the owners, Rudi Schneider and Kristin Karst, to attend, but we decided to hike to some vineyards above the village with a small group.

The ceremony included this Irish blessing:

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

We did not attend the ceremony, choosing instead to walk through some of the vineyards and riding a gondola up the side of the valley.

Vineyards above Rüdesheim with Riesling grapes and an unidentified flower

The hike was in direct sun on a very hot day so we opted to go back into the village and ride a gondola up to the Niederwald monument, which commemorates the unification of Germany. The central figure is Germania holding a crown with other figures representing war and peace. The main inscription on the pedestal translates to “In memory of the unanimous victorious uprising of the German People and the reinstitution of the German State 1870-1871.”