Steve enjoying our picnic by the Rhine River
Friday, August 27, 2004
Along the Rhine River
When my Dad came back, he only had a day with us. We decided to take him to the Rhine River.
We ended up having a lovely day, with the weather getting more and more beautiful as the day went on.
We started by crossing the river at Mainz, then took the 42 along the north bank of the river. We found a place for a picnic right away and enjoyed some sandwiches while watching the river go by, as well as some kayaks, ducks, and barges.
There was a fest in Rudesheim, but we couldn't find parking so we drove on. We stopped instead in Assmannshausen, strolled through the pretty town, and bought some ice cream bars.
Our next stop was to take the ferry to Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, the shiplike castle in the middle of the river. It was used to demand tolls from boats wanting to go by (like most of the castles). The boys swung on a tire swing tied to a tree while my Dad and I went through the castle.
The drive itself was beautiful, as castle after castle lines the river. Our final step was at Burg Lahneck. We'd been to this castle before with Stephanie and Bruce, but that time we were too late to go inside. This time, my Dad and I took a tour while the rest had a snack at the castle restaurant. When the tour was done, we all had dinner there, on a terrace overlooking the Rhine River with a breathtaking sunset. It made a very lovely day, and we were glad that Dad was there to share it with us.
We ended up having a lovely day, with the weather getting more and more beautiful as the day went on.
We started by crossing the river at Mainz, then took the 42 along the north bank of the river. We found a place for a picnic right away and enjoyed some sandwiches while watching the river go by, as well as some kayaks, ducks, and barges.
There was a fest in Rudesheim, but we couldn't find parking so we drove on. We stopped instead in Assmannshausen, strolled through the pretty town, and bought some ice cream bars.
Our next stop was to take the ferry to Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, the shiplike castle in the middle of the river. It was used to demand tolls from boats wanting to go by (like most of the castles). The boys swung on a tire swing tied to a tree while my Dad and I went through the castle.
The drive itself was beautiful, as castle after castle lines the river. Our final step was at Burg Lahneck. We'd been to this castle before with Stephanie and Bruce, but that time we were too late to go inside. This time, my Dad and I took a tour while the rest had a snack at the castle restaurant. When the tour was done, we all had dinner there, on a terrace overlooking the Rhine River with a breathtaking sunset. It made a very lovely day, and we were glad that Dad was there to share it with us.
Roman Fest
The day after the Medieval Fest in Kaiserslautern, we went to a Roman Fest in Trier. It was probably unfortunate that we went to them only a day apart from each other. It seemed pretty much the same thing, only in Trier the participants were dressed up in Roman costumes instead of medieval ones.
Trier was an old Roman capital in Constantine's day. The "black gate" or "Porta Nigra" is still standing, as well as an old palace and an amphitheatre and the Imperial Baths. We walked around some of these sites and looked in the shops as well as looking at the Roman Fest. At the Fest, Timothy tried using a wooden sword on guys in Roman armor.
They had colored lights up in the underground passages of the Baths, to give it a "Mystical" appearance. It made it rather spooky, and hard to see where you were going, so Timothy urged us to get out of there as fast as possible.
We finished up the day with pizza at Romeo's in Landstuhl.
Trier was an old Roman capital in Constantine's day. The "black gate" or "Porta Nigra" is still standing, as well as an old palace and an amphitheatre and the Imperial Baths. We walked around some of these sites and looked in the shops as well as looking at the Roman Fest. At the Fest, Timothy tried using a wooden sword on guys in Roman armor.
They had colored lights up in the underground passages of the Baths, to give it a "Mystical" appearance. It made it rather spooky, and hard to see where you were going, so Timothy urged us to get out of there as fast as possible.
We finished up the day with pizza at Romeo's in Landstuhl.
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