Day 45 Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Our new Airbnb in Mulhouse is lovely. We have nine days here to relax a bit and get ready for the second half of our trip. It is hard to believe but today marks the midway point of our holiday.
This is the view from our third floor balcony.
We are both ready for a restful day. Bob does go for little walk and buys a few grocery necessities. On the way home he walked down this street that has a lot of graffiti art…some better than others!
Day 44 Monday, October 13, 2025
First stop on our way to Mulhouse is a pretty little town called Esslingen. At first sight we thought this was a real person!
Our Airbnb in Stuttgart had a calendar with almost this exact photo. It was the impetus to visiting Esslingen.
Autumn has definitely arrived. I love walking through the fallen leaves.
We walked into this church because its doors were so interesting,
I didn’t record the name of this church, but it had a very austere dark interior…
…but the area to light candles was small and intimate and appealed to me. We lit a candle for all our family members and friends who are facing health challenges right now, and spent a few moments in silent contemplation.
Back outside, we see Esslinger Castle in the distance. But this castle isn’t actually a castle, it is a well-preserved part of the medieval city fortifications, located high above the city centre. Originally expanded in the 13th century, it was reinforced in the 16th century with walls up to 5 meters thick. We can see people up there but we don’t have time to go and explore. Travel days don’t allow for in depth exploration and only give us a chance for brief visits to sites along the way.
One thing I love about European cities and towns are the unexpected little things, like the face on this wall. There is always something interesting and different to discover.
We pass this road construction site. I think they were replacing some pipes. All the little stones from the cobbled sidewalks and streets are piled up and then relaid in the pattern that matches the rest of the in place stones. Very labour intensive, but such a wonderful final result.
Built in 1423 as a sales hall and tax house this building is the Old Esslingen Town Hall. We were hoping to hear the Glockenspiel and see the figures on the clock move but later discovered that only happens five times a day. We are out of luck.
The cobbled streets are lined with ancient timbered houses…
…and there are canals here too. We could have piloted our own electric boat for a trip on the canals but they stopped operating the end of September.
The town is surrounded by vineyards.
I thought this house was particularly spectacular. It is dated 1531! 
As we are leaving Esslingen I quickly snap this photo from the car window! I just googled it and dick means thick in German, but also discovered that F. Dick is a German cutlery manufacturer that owns this smokestack…too funny!
Next stop is Baden Baden. We spent some time in Baden Baden a long time ago so we thought we should stop there for a visit. There are flowers everywhere, but bathrooms are few and far between! We spent 45 minutes trying to find a bathroom. Using Google maps we walked several blocks to where there was a WC…but we couldn’t find it. Turns out it was in a parking garage and both of us walked right past the doors to the washroom twice without seeing them! They were on either side of the of the parking payment machine with a tiny sign on each door!
I love how people have tiny potted gardens on their window ledges or on the street beside their doors. 
Baden Baden has a lot of very high end shops. This watch is priced at €15,500…no prices on the others. I presume they are even more expensive. We also see small diamond earring studs that range from €399 to €820 and there were no clothing items on display in the shop windows below €100! A bit too pricey for us, but it is fun to window shop.
Loved this stork fountain!
This is the Baden Baden Casino. Bob thought we could go in and tryout luck but men must wear a suit jacket and tie. We wouldn’t be allowed in with our jeans and casual sweaters.
The drive from Baden Baden to Mulhouse in France was interesting. I see these strange structures on Google maps while navigating…turns out they are huge shopping malls with parking on the roofs of the buildings.
Screenshot
Just a few kilometres down the road I see this huge truck rest stop on Google maps. I count 86 trucks stopped for a break! Bob’s biggest complaint about driving in Europe is all the trucks on the roads. The right lane is one truck after another and when a truck pulls into the car lane to pass a slower moving one all the cars have to slow down until it manages to pass and get back into the truck lane.
Screenshot
Remember the German highway speed limit is usually 130 km and often there is no speed limit so a truck pulling into your lane at 90 km is actually quite dangerous. Bob does enjoy the chance to drive at 156 km/h though!
We get caught in traffic for almost half an hour, moving just a car length at a time. We finally figure out why. This huge boat was trying to move through a rather small covered bridge so all traffic was stopped during this operation. Notice our speed now…1.6 km/h!
We arrived just in time to meet our Airbnb host, but our planned stop for groceries has to wait for another day.
Day 42 Saturday October 11, 2025
We were headed to the bus to go the Stuttgart Library when we saw people gathering for the local Fellbach Parade. We decided to wait and watch the parade. It was such fun. Like any good parade there were marching bands…
…beautiful horses…
…cute kids…
and more horses…
followed by a ‘fire truck’!
This is the first parade we have seen where the participants carry glasses of wine and many of the people watching the parade also have glasses and bottles of wine.
There were more marching bands…
…including a kazoo playing band! 
There were more cute kids…
and a group of scouts, both boys and girls…
…followed by royalty and their subjects…
…and often we weren’t sure who was in the parade! It seemed like anyone who wanted to be in the parade just joined in!
Of course there were floats, and they were mostly to do with agriculture and the harvest.
I was given an apple with a laser printed label! We had not seen this before but Bob had heard about this method of identifying fruit instead of using sticky labels.
There were a whole lot of girls marching who looked a lot alike with their blonde wigs!
We have absolutely no idea who these characters were supposed to be!
The parade wasn’t over but we decided that we should continue with our itinerary for the day. Next stop was the Stuttgart Library. It didn’t look like much from the outside.
There is a robot exhibit on the main floor, so Bob asks this ‘talking head’ if there is a place that we can go and have tea and pastries in the library. The head answers in English that “The library has a cafe on the roof. Perfect to enjoy your tea with a view. It is a great spot to recharge. Enjoy your break with a dash of literature in the air.” He seemed to speak a least French, German and English…who knows what else? It is a little bit creepy though, as this head sitting on a table is quite lifelike!
We enter the library and make our way to the café and this is what we see! It I huge and defintiely the whitest library we have ever seen.
After tea and pastries we climb up to the viewing platform on the roof. I had to stand on one of these benches to get a view over the top of the double row of railings on the edge of the roof.
We can see one of the Cannstatter Volkfest ferris wheels (from our visit yesterday) and some of the other rides from up here!
Many of the surrounding buildings have living roofs.
Back in the library. Instead of Find Waldo, can you Find Trudy?
There are corridors and more rooms of books behind the book shelves you can see in the photo above. They have some books in all these languages!
Back on the main floor we check out the other robot displays. I made a new friend.
There was an art installation where you stand in front of this horse and think of a number. between 3 and 10. The horse is supposed to read your mind and then stamp his foot to say what number you were thinking. Bob picked 10 and the horse only stamped 6 times. When I tried it the horse shook his head and stamped his feet impatiently. The artist said that I was too intense for him to read my mind. I should try just thinking of a number. I concentrated hard on my number but the horse still reacted as if I was too intense! Too funny! 
There is a lovely public square with fountains and benches right outside the library door.
A short walk leads us to the Old Town and Schloss Platz. We find a bench and have tea and cookies and watch the world go by.
The buildings behind are the Neues Schloss, or the Grand Palace, which is now used as government offices.
We walk around for a bit before heading back to catch the tram home.
I loved the handle on this door, polished by use.
On the way home from the tram we pass the local fairgrounds just a couple blocks from our apartment. The Fellbacher Herbst Fair is very busy. It is much smaller than the one in Stuttgart but there are still lots of rides.
There are people everywhere. Too bad neither of us drink beer! We are both ready to head home and relax with a nice hot cup of tea. It was a full day.
Day 41 Friday, October 10, 2025
On the drive into Stuttgart we pass a huge fairground. It is the Volksfest Canstatter, which is the second largest beer festival in the world!
The Canstatter Volksfest started in 1818. In those early days agriculture was the primary focus. Vendors around the edge of the fairgrounds sold sausages, sauerkraut, and beer. Carnival attractions featured “strong men” and other typical nineteenth-century curiosities but as the years passes beer and food took center stage.
Today the festival takes place for 17 days between September 25 to October 11. Last year this event had 4.6 million visitors.
Right beside the entrance, which is free, we see these young men in matching lederhosen drinking beer.
This ferris wheel is at one end of the fairground and we decide to go for a ride.
There are 5 kilometres of rides and attractions, children’s rides, stalls, market stands, many food and drink stands, including eight beer tents, countless beer gardens, snack bars, and candy stands. We have a great view of some of this from the top of the ferris wheel.
The white roofs are all the beer gardens! The eight tents on site hold a total almost 34,000 people! There is also a second ferris wheel at the other end of the fairgrounds.
We have a great view of these swing ride. At 80 meters it is way too high for me!
After our ride we notice the changing colours on the ferris wheel, done with 1000 LED lights! The centre circle changes too, and we both thought this eye was quite striking.
The fun houses here are huge and very ornate. This photo captures about one half of the length of this one.
We liked the flying witch, the dragon, and the ghost in the window.
I thought it was lovely to see live flowering plants on the tables at the beer gardens.
There was lots of screaming coming from this ride! The rides here also last a long time, much longer than the exhibition rides back home. If you decide that a ride wasn’t a good idea, you are trapped on it for many revolutions!
Time for some Bratwurst mit Brötchen…but we decide against the half meter long option.
Back to walking around the grounds and the sun has set. Our ferris wheel ride looks much prettier at night.
Some of the sweet treats available.
The beer tents have facades that look like alpine chalets and they are huge. Each tent seats anywhere between 2,500 and 5,600 thirsty festival-goers! It takes several weeks to erect the tents and then almost as long to take them down and store them. I really thought these were permanent structures until we walked behind one and saw the SeaCans and canvas walls. Seems like it is mostly young folks attending the beer gardens, and many are dressed in traditional German dirndl dresses and lederhosen. There was a very long line up all night long to get into this particular beer tent.
This beer tent balcony is packed…
,,,and a screen outside gives us a view of the action indoors. I am quite happy not to be inside with that mob of drinkers!!
We are quite content walking outside and looking at the rides and all the people having fun. At home this ride is called the Drop of Doom…it is pretty colourful! Those are people’s feet hanging below their seats as they ride up to the very top of this tower, and then plummet to the bottom!
There is a rollercoaster ride. It is much bigger than it looks in this photo.
This was a crazy ride with seats spinning in one direction and the whole platform spinning up and down in another direction! There was a lot of smoke and screaming riders!
A lot of the rides have smoke effects.
I always like carousels. This one had a lot of lights… 
…but not as many as this ride!
Another crazy ride. The seats are just visible through the smoke. They twist and turn upside down as they twirl around, with lots of smoke…
…and some real shooting flames!
The last time we saw fish on a stick was on our trip when our oldest daughter was four years old. I didn’t see anyone actually eating one of these. Maybe they taste better than they look?
The rides here all have lots of lights and special effects. You can just make out the seats flying by at the bottom of the ride.
There is a definite Polizei presence. We saw several groups on patrol, but we only saw one drunk person. His buddy was half carrying him..his feet and legs just weren’t working at all!
Some of the lederhosen wearing men have these funny half socks that they wear on their calves along with regular socks.
There is even a store on site selling lederhosen and dirndl dresses, We were both rather shocked at how expensive the lederhosen is. They started at €250 and went up from there!
The grounds are busy and I’m not sure we saw everything but we were tired and head home.
There is also a little fair just a few minutes from our apartment, so we walk through part of it too. I loved these balloons and stop for a photo. The guy selling them came over to sell me one, but when he saw I was just taking a photo he burst out laughing! It was a fun night but we are happy to be home.
Day 37 Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Our Airbnb apartment in Stuttgart isn’t big but it has everything we need. We had a hard time finding a parking spot last night as parking is on the street, and there weren’t any available places. Finally after driving around the block a few times we found a place, but it is a couple of blocks away so we make several trips to bring all our stuff inside. Because we cook our meals at home, we have three bags of groceries besides our suitcases. We are soon settled and have our dinner.
Today is a quiet day for both of us. We crammed a lot in yesterday and had over four hours of driving, which made it a long day. I worked a bit on my journal and blog and Bob went for a walk and to pick up some fresh bread and fruit.
Day 35 Saturday, October 4, 2025
It is a 45 minute drive to Mainz, and Bob has several items on our ‘must see’ agenda. First stop is the market. The flowers at these markets are always so beautiful and very reasonably priced.
The main sculpture in the main square (market) of Mainz is the Heunensäule, or Hay Column. It is a 1,000-year-old sandstone column with a bronze casing, depicting various symbols of Mainz’s history and culture like a fool’s cap and bishop’s miter. It is in the market square in front of the Mainz Cathedral. 
I like this wishing well and we both toss in a coin and make our wishes.
We both like the interestingly shaped squash…we might have to try growing some next year.
We have seen these coloured eggs in the grocery stores and wondered what they were. Turns out they are hard boiled eggs that are coated in a tinted resin that keeps them fresh for months! The colour helps to identify them as being hard boiled.
Gorgeous sunflowers! I am definitely planting some of them in our garden next year. They are so cheerful.
Next stop in the Mainz Cathedral. We are met at the door and told that there is a concert starting and if we enter the church we have to stay for the 45 minute concert. Sounds perfect as it is raining and cool outside!
We spend the next 45 minutes listening to an amazing organ concert to commemorate the new cathedral organ. The musician, Alexander Grün, is only 25 years old and has three Masters Degrees! He plays some traditional organ music and then music that is innovative. The 45 minutes absolutely flew by. I sketched for a bit while listening to the music. Loved it. I wish I had recorded more of the music, especially the finale of the concert…it gave me goosebumps! https://youtube.com/shorts/HykSsp-S-9E
There are fall foods displayed on the steps to the altar to remind people to give thanks for the harvest, and to share with those in need. 
The Cathedral cloister has a beautifully tended garden,
Bob liked this statue statue of a man holding his head. This is probably Saint Denis, who was beheaded but picked up his head and walked some distance, preaching the Gospel.
The buildings surrounding the market square are tall, narrow and decoratively painted.
Next on Bob’s agenda is a visit to a small museum underneath a shopping mall. We see Roman ruins from before the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. These ruins were discovered when excavations began for the shopping mall. The area was thoroughly excavated and recorded, but ultimately the mall was built and most of the ruins were destroyed. 
This little museum has the reconstructed ruins of a temple, under a ceiling of constellations. 
Some of the items found when the ruins were excavated. Well endowed males were well represented.
Our final stop in Mainz is to visit the Gutenburg Museum, which is connected to a small Natural History Museum. This display in the entrance is quite striking.
We start with the Gutenburg Museum which shows the impact of Johahannes Gutenburg’s invention of a moveable type printing press in 1440. This press allowed for the printing of 3600 pages a day, compared to 40 by hand printing and only a few by hand copying. There were several beautiful ancient books on display. This Atlas of the World was printed in 1482.
The World Chronicle is from 1493.
An ornate Columbia Printing Press from 1824. 
We are given a blank card that has a chip installed inside the paper when we entered the museum. We place this card into a machine that takes a selfie of us. Then we take the still blank card to a modern printer and this is what we received.
Entering a small room with dim lighting we see the Gutenburg Bibles. Only 49 of the approximately 180 printed Gutenberg Bibles have survived and the Gutenberg Museum owns two. The complete two-volume Bible shown in the bottom of this photo was added to the collection in 1978. The second Bible is incomplete, with only the second volume surviving. The book in the top right is a calligraphed manuscript.
The Bibles were only printed in black ink – two or more colors would have been too time-consuming and expensive. Spaces for colored ornamentation were left empty and the books were handed over to an illumination workshop. As a result, all surviving editions have different ornamentation.
The Missale Moguntinum, was hand written on parchment between 1453 – 1459.
I love that the guide lines are still visible. Imagine writing this huge book. Gutenburg’s press changed how books were produced and made them available to so many more people. Seeing these bibles in person is special but I am still in awe of beautiful hand written and illustrated books. 
In the mid-15th century before printed books were readily available, the demand for books could not be met. One solution was to produce books faster. This was why copies of the “Speculum Humanae Salvationis” or “Mirror of Human Salvation,” were created in cursive and quick pen-and-ink drawings. The volumes are dated around 1450, making them approximately the same age as the printed Gutenberg bibles.
We wander through the Natural History Museum. I wonder how archaeologists are able to reconstruct skulls and bones from a pile of fragments. It must be a very difficult puzzle.
The Wooly Rhino had a huge head compared to the rest of its body. There are samples of real wooly rhino hair on view that were found preserved in permafrost.
I thought these fossils were really beautiful. The plants, insects and other animals are preserved in the finest detail. They are incredible.
We forgot to check what this prehistoric creature was. 
There are a few more displays of stuffed animals. I thought this one of different types of rabbits was interesting. It is a small museum so it doesn’t take too long to see everything.
I know this is a strange photo, but this is the handicapped washroom at the museum. I’ve never seen a public washroom like this. 
We walk along cobbled sidewalks with reminders that summer is over on our way to see the next sight on the agenda in Manz.
This huge fountain is the Fastnachtsbrunnen, or Carnival Fountain. It is almost nine meters high and has over 200 bronze figures from the Mainz Carnival Mythology. Every year on November 11, at 11:11 pm, people celebrating Carnival in Mainz gather here. When the clock strikes 11:11 pm the carnival officially begins. 
Our last stop before heading home is St. Stephen Church. This is the only German church for which the Jewish artist Marc Chagall created windows.
In 1978, the first window by the 91-year-old Chagall was installed. Chagall completed the final church window shortly before his death at the age of 97! Although all the windows are beautiful, I didn’t find the blue light in the church appealing…it felt too sombre, 
Time to drive home…this was a very full day!
Day 34 October 3, 2025
We spend time last night sorting out why my Orange E-Sim is no longer working. Yes, another technical problem! You know the saying that you need to laugh or you would cry? Bob calls the help line and he finally figures out what happened. My E-sim needed to be registered to extend its use beyond 30 days, which we did, but apparently we needed to do this within 20 days of buying the E-Sim. There were no messages from Orange that said that this had to be done within 20 days. It took two phone calls, and purchasing another E-Sim, but now my phone is working again.
I spend the rest of the day at home and Bob goes back to Frankfurt because there is a Jazz Festival this afternoon. He didn’t take any photos of the Festival but these are from his walk around Frankfurt. Some of the modern high-rises in Frankfurt.
The Marshall Fountain has three bronze water nymphs that represent the maidens of Goethe´s classic novel “Faust”.
The Old Opera House had been bombed down to its foundation walls during WWII, and was rebuilt to the original design.
The MyZeil is a shopping mall has a unique design, a hole in the wall.
We saw this same shopping mall yesterday from the top of the bell tower we climbed.
These two figures represent East and West Germany. Today was a holiday for the Reunification of Germany.
Two buildings, one old and one new and then home.
Day 33 Thursday, October 2, 2025
We take a train into Frankfurt. Once we had our tickets it was easy but once again we had problems using one of our credit cards. This trip has been a challenge with credit card, debit card and cell phone issues. I am beginning to think we are jinxed! It is so good to be traveling together. I think if either of us were trying to sort out these problems on our own it would be much more difficult. The saga continues as we find the Hertz car rental company in the train station. This trip we are told we need to extend our car rental contract every 30 days by simply checking in to any Hertz office. Well, it turns out that a Hertz office in Germany cannot extend contracts that was signed in another country. Sorting this out takes more than an hour and we are still not sure it actually will be taken care of. We will see.
We walk down the street across from the train station. I am struck by the contrast between the old and the modern buildings. I should have paid a bit more attention to the signs on the storefronts.
After a man and his lady friend propositioned me we noticed that we were walking through the red-light district! We had a bit of a chuckle!
Nearly 70% of Frankfurt was destroyed during the Second World War but many of the buildings look older than they actually are.
There were four of these massive sculptures supporting the bridge across the street in the above photo. 
In1405, two houses were joined together to make Frankfurt’s City Hall. It is a striking building.
Saturday is a popular day to get married and there is a steady parade of weddings taking place. The bridal couple and their guests wait outside for their turn to be married. It seems strange to me but is perfectly normal here.
We have our picnic lunch on the banks of the Rhine River and then visit this pedestrian bridge. ‘Love locks’ are covering this bridge. I suspect that before long authorities will have to remove these locks before their weight begins to damage the bridge because of their weight like the bridge in Paris that was covered with locks.
Saint Bartholomew Cathedral is the only church in Frankfurt that survived the bombing of WWII. Divine intervention?
As we enter the church we see this group of sculptures depicting Christ being crucified on Calvary Hill. 
The cathedral was built in the Gothic style between 1315 and 1358, but suffered a fire in 1867 and then the bombing of Frankfurt in 1944. The reconstruction after these events changed parts of the church. Today it is a hall church with three naves. 
The cathedral’s organ is impressive and has a different layout of pipes.
I saw two priests walking out of the church and hurried to take a photo. They look like they belong in another age and appear very intense. 
The cathedral’s bell tower has survived from the 15th century and we are climbing it. This is the view from about halfway up the 66 meter high tower.
We are above the gargoyles.
I will admit that I needed to stop and rest a few times as we climbed 328 steps to the viewing platform, although there were people much younger than me were who huffing and puffing more than I was! We had a spectacular view of Frankfurt.
Some views from the tower.
We walk around the platform several times. I wasn’t going to climb all those steps for one quick tour around the tower!
We begin our descent of those 328 steps. I am very thankful that they are solid stone and I don’t have to contend with see-through wire steps, specially as this is the only staircase to access the tower. We have to squeeze to the side when people pass us their way up the stairs. 
The view through a glass window in the stairwell.
This is the tower…
and here is the viewing platform above the clock! If you look closely you can see the platform railings.
Next we visit the indoor market. I am so tempted to buy some flowers.
Edelweiss and Gentians, two of my favourite flowers.
Everything is so colourful and looks delicious.
Produce doesn’t look this appealing at home.
The leeks are enormous! We buy some pastry for a snack and I even find a slice of yummy gluten free apple cake.
Heading back to the train station we do a bit of window shopping. We don’t buy souvenirs as a rule. It is just too difficult to carry purchases around during an extended trip.
These characters made us laugh.
This store carried some interesting merchandise.
I am always kind of shocked to see semi-automatic weapons and other guns on display in store windows! 
In front of the train station this group of friends are all wearing Lederhosen. I think it was for some special event as they were taking photos of themselves.
Back to the train station to head home. Another full day!
Day 32 Wednesday, October 1, 2025
We take a funicular to a park area high above Wiesbaden, a town about an hour from our bnb in Frankfurt. This funicular uses water as its power source. The car at the top fills with water and it is used to counterbalance and power the car that is going uphill. When the funicular car gets to the bottom it empties its water tank, which is then pumped back up to the top of the hill. It is quite ingenious.
Halfway we meet the funicular car that is descending.
There is a panoramic view of Wiesbaden from the top.
This is a monument to the German soldiers that died during World War I.
I think I may have mentioned that there are big trees in Europe? This hollow tree was cut down, I presume for safety. Can you see me in the other end?
We see golden domes in the distance and walk along a path to this ‘Burial Church’.
This Russian Orthodox Church is a declaration of love from the deeply grieving husband Duke Adolph to his young wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who died in childbirth along with her baby. He built the church with funds from her dowery.
I took this photo before I was told that no photos were allowed in this church. The dome is gorgeous. There is lots of gold decoration and many icons in elaborate gold frames on display.
Outside the chestnuts are falling. They are incredibly prickly!
We had our picnic lunch on a bench beside the church, overlooking the town far below, then walked back uphill to the park. We hear a lot of laughter and screaming so decide to find out what is going on. Just a short distance away there is an enormous Tree Climbing Adventure Park that covers several acres.
The first thing we see is this youngster trying to get up the courage to step off the high platform, which eventually does happen. I was wondering if someone would have to go up and rescue them?
I googled these climbing parks. “Using cables, ropes, bridges, planks and branches, the participants, equipped with harnesses, climb. walk in balance, jump, leap into the void and cross various obstacles. It is the variety and difficulty of the obstacles that makes these courses fun.”
I have never seen such a big park or one with such high platforms and challenges. I love watching all the kids as they make their way around the park. These swinging plaforms look hard enough to cross, but…
they are also very high above the ground!
Most of these kids have no fear whatsoever! 
Crossing from one tree to another on these stirrups was a challenge for this young lady, but she persevered and made it!
While we are watching all the activity above, I look down and see all sorts of mushrooms. I absolutely love the different shapes and colours of mushrooms and I took some photos to draw from later.
This platform high in the trees…
…has two young boys jumping and laughing as the platform they are standing on sways back and forth! 
The kids liked that I was taking photos.
This looked tough. These girls needed to hang from two pieces of wood above their heads and swing towards the next piece of wood to stand on! These kids are so strong and confident. It was wonderful watching them!
If I were just a few years younger I think I would have loved to give something like this a try. I was much more fearless then. Now I will have to be content with hugging trees instead of climbing them!
We walk down a trail instead of taking the funicular back down to the bottom. I find more beautiful mushrooms.
The funicular car passes us on the way down. It is faster than walking but we really enjoyed strolling down on the path in the forest.
Next we drive to Rudeshiem where we catch a boat to view castles along the Rhine.
While we wait for the boat to dock I see a little lizard sunning itself in a bit of sunshine.
I do some quick sketches of the castles along the shore.
We pass a lot of vineyards. This area is famous for its red wine.
We spot a few workers high on the hill.
Some of the castles are in ruins.
We pass several charming small towns along the Rhine.
Some castles are still in use.
The castles look different on the return trip. Interesting how a different view changes so much of what we see.
More vineyards on the way back to the dock. It was a 45 minute ride with commentary in German and English.
This little castle was a signalling station on the Rhine River and it was in use until the 1980’s.
It looks like this castle might be in use as a hotel?
There are a lot of boats and ships on the Rhine River which is a very wide river, with some islands in its middle.
A Viking River Cruise ship passes us. It is bigger than I expected…still a lot of people onboard.
Another selfie.
Several barges that have lots of pipes and valves visible…perhaps carrying oil?
This castle is now a museum.
Here are my sketches of the castles I drew as we sailed by.
We stroll down some narrow streets on the way back to our car.
Day 31 Monday, September 30, 2025
I always feel a bit tired after a travel day. Navigating can be stressful at times, especially when the directions and the map don’t quite match up to what I am seeing through the car windshield. Bob is doing fantastic job driving and if we make a wrong turn Google Maps kindly shows a way to get back onto the correct route!
We have settled into the routine of having a quiet day our first day in a new location. Sometimes Bob goes exploring but today the farthest we go is just a few blocks to a grocery store for some fresh fruit and bread.
We also spend a frustrating hour and a half trying to renew our Koodo European Travel Roaming plan. Only problem is the callback phone call from Koodoo asks us to press 1 to talk to a person. That doesn’t work…we discover that the tones for the numbers in Germany are not recognized by Koodo and so there is no way to talk to a person. Of course the digital Assistant is completely useless!. After much effort we find a workaround…we delete our current plan, even though it has already expired, and then we are allowed to buy a new plan. We have had our challenges with devices and bank and credit cards this trip!
The mail is still delivered door to door here with the help of these cute little motorized delivery trikes.
trudymason.com 