Early start this day included a bus ride into the heart of the historic community of Koblenz at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine. Walked along the promenade past transported sections of the Berlin Wall commemorating the reunification of east and west Germany. The huge statue of Kaiser Wilhem I on horseback stands at Deutsches Eck has been rebuilt after being toppled by allied forces during WWII on march to Berlin. Similar to Köln, this city was razed to the ground by bombing and has been rebuilt to resemble its ancient history. Back aboard for lunch and cruise upstream through the Rhine Gorge with hilltop Castles in abundance - used by Barons to control commercial traffic on the Rhine and extract taxes through the threat of a violent end for non-compliance. Vineyards on the steep slopes having vines planted on dip (as opposed to strike) was interesting,
apparently the migrant labour from Eastern Europe arrives annually to pick the grapes from this ancient viniculture introduced by the Romans who made it just this far in their Empire. The rain set in as we arrived in Rüdesheim so after enjoying the famous Rüdesheimer Kaffee complete with a portion of Asbach Weinbrand, we decided to stay aboard for dinner and yet more wine. K pointed out that the TLA AFD could be repurposed as Always F’ing Drunk.
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