26 July 2016

Rhein cruise to Boppard and Koeln with Nanna, 26th May 2016

Josh sporting some happy birthday glasses and a "CD player" (around his wrist) from a kinder birthday party.

The Rhein Valley (between and Bonn and Bingen) is also know as the Romantic Rhein, with the section from Kolbenz to Bingen a UNESCO World Heritage site. All aboard and off we go!

Fast.

Faster.

Fastest!

Nanna enjoyed the food selection...

...and the beautiful scenery.



We ALL enjoyed the scenery! 


The entire trip from Bonn to Bingen takes over 11 hours, so we decided to break the journey up a bit, and only do a small section. All the more to discover another day! We drove to Koblenz and then caught a KD cruise boat to Boppard. The scenery along the river was stunning, as was the architecture in the town of Boppard. 

While the parents were busy looking at the beautiful architecture, the children noticed the small statues closer to the ground. The large ice cream cone was obvious, but what was the woman statue holding?

Lollies!!!

Kuck-kuck clock!

"All the world's a stage, and the men and women merely players".

Exploring the Roman ruins.

But where are Josh and Maxie? Oooh, I know!

There they are!


After a leisurely cruise along river, we then took the speedy train back to Koblenz. This is the way to travel!

Back in Koblenz, my shoes decided they were no longer my friends on this unusually warm day (well they are winter boots!), and with blisters lining the soles of my feet I had to call it a day, taking Nanna and Lew home with me. This meant we missed the cable car ride across the Rhein to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress :(

And the fountain :(

Back home, I discovered my most favourite-ever-usually-only-sold-at-Christmas-time food, Reibekuchen, at our local Edeka. I'm fairly sure you can just eat it from the tub, right?

Josh never ever ever sleeps during the day, unless he is very tired or sick or both. Oh da darling.

With Josh again on the mend we enjoyed a stroll in the Tierpark, playing with the deer,

patting the deer

and feeding the deer.

Or not? Oh deer!

Yes, Tyler, we did feed the deer!

And now the food is all gone.


Secure in the knowledge that Nanna was in charge at home, we headed to one of the top cocktail bars in the world. So carefree!

All looks good at home so far...

Hhhhhmmmm... Come to think of it, Nanna might be a little out of practice.

We couldn't let Nanna stay in Koeln without seeing the Dom. Sure, we may have left it to the very last moment, but it still had to be done! The Koelner Dom (the High Cathedral of St Peter) is the tallest twin-spired church in the world. It was the tallest church before the completion of Ulm Minster (a Lutheran church in Southern Germany). In fact, a tour guide told me that it is once more the tallest church as the new entrance to the tower goes DOWN a few metres, but I haven't been able to verify this. Maybe she meant it was the tallest "cathedral", I'm not sure. Work started on the Dom in 1248 and stopped, unfinished just over 200 years later. Work started again in the 1840s and it was finally completed in 1880. It really is a spectacular place, some people can't contain their excitement at the sight!

Nanna inside the Dom. It is quite difficult to capture the height from floor to ceiling.

The relics of the Three Magi (or Three Kings or Three Wise Men); the Dom's was built to house these relics.

Ben joined us for a light dinner at the Frueh Brauhaus... Yum yum!

Are our boys going to miss German food as much as we miss Australian food?

All too quickly, it was time for Nanna to take the plane home. Could we build a big tower to take us back to Australia? 

Maybe we could we ride to Australia? We miss you Nanna! xx

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