Tag Archives: Rhein

Riesling Country

Jewish cemetery in Worms, Germany

Jewish cemetery in Worms, Germany

Visions of summer vacations have flowed through my mind for most of the last semester this year due to an unusual amount of stress that accompanied the school year. I couldn’t wait to sleep in, see some sights, and then read. Well…. it hasn’t happened in just that way.

Our first week was spent in Germany as a working trip. Mike was lucky to receive invitations to several schools in this area. I haven’t found a part of Germany yet that I didn’t like but much of this part of Europe has been challenged by excessive rain. It is also colder than what we are used to so the sun has become a rare friend at this point.

We trod forth with umbrellas. Under our protective dome, we visited a medieval monastery, a Riesling vineyard, the only intact Jewish cemetery in Germany, and the alpine village of Grainau.

Riesling comes from an area west of Frankfurt and is the pride of the people who live in the quaint looking towns of this region. To my surprise the glasses served to me were “trocken,” which means dry and are delicious! Very crisp and fruity!! I have always associated Riesling with sweet.

Riesling vineyard on the Rhein River

Riesling vineyard on the Rhein River

We are spending our vacation with another couple, who are experiencing their first trip to Europe. Artists, they are in awe of the views and their cameras are getting a work out. Merrie and I rode a cable car that led us to a walking path. We hiked for about two miles and then rode down on a ski lift. That led us into a fairy tale looking town where we sat down to local fare, and then caught a boat to tour a small section of the Rhein River back to where we started. It was a sunny day so we had a lot of fun.

Boat tour of the Rhein

Boat tour of the Rhein

The week ended in the mountains of southern Bavaria, where the temperatures were in the low forties and constant rain. This made it difficult to do much but get some great photos of the Alps and enjoy some hot chocolate.

Despite the weather, I adore my trips to Europe and have enjoyed seeing new things. Onward to Austria and Hungary!

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