July 2012
Boppard-Rhine River
Our hotel was right on the river
and very convenient for our boat tour
Above the town of Bornhofen are the castles of the "hostile brothers"
Legend says they killed each other in the church of Bornhofen
In these photos you can see the "Hostility Wall" that the brothers built between their two castles
Sailing up river
Passing the town of Hiezenach
"Mouse" Castle (Burg Maus) really Thurnberg Castle
Given this nickname by their neighbors, the nobles in the Katz Castle
Katz Castle (Burg Katz) 14th century,
Destroyed in 1806 and rebuilt according to the original plans
Burg Maus, another view
Burg Rheinfels (We will explore this in detail later)
We had to leave the boat at the town of St. Goar.
The river was closed because a boat carrying chemicals ran aground creating a hazard.
Fortunately, Peter our guide knew of this, met us and drove us around the problem to the next town - Bacharach
I'm so glad we didn't have to work this out for ourselves
On the way to Bacharach
Pfalzgrafenstein Castle - 14th century customs tower
Burg Gutenfels
Town of Bacharach
A town obviously proud of its wine industry
We had time to walk through its picturesque streets
   
And then we waited for our boat with Peter
and got back on the River
Burg Hohneck above the town of Rheindiebach
Sooneck Castle (haunt of the infamous robber-barons)
Sooneck Castle, another view
Burg Reichenstein

Rheinstein Castle
What is that bird standing on? An enormous fish!
Castle Ehrenfels
Maus Tower - Original a customs tower, now a signal tower.
Its name reflects a horrific legend.
Next was the town of Rudesheim - a separate page on the index
Followed by an exciting visit to Rheinfels - another separate page

Back at our hotel in Boppard we relaxed after our fascinating day.

We will remember the unusual pool, the elegant decor

and

the church across the street which rang its bells

several times during the morning and evening

for 10 minutes at a time