Cruise down the beautiful Rhine River

Barely unpacked from our Luzern adventure, we all piled in the car again and headed 1.5 hours north to take a Rhine River cruise.  We drove to the quaint town of Bacharach where we boarded the boat.  We chose to cruise this particular part of the Rhine because it's supposed to have the most castles.  We were not disappointed!  We learned that most of the castles are "robber-baron" castles and were built in order to levy tolls on passing river traffic.  With the help of chains and a tower on the opposite bank, they would stop each ship and get the toll.  Most of the castles date back to the 11th-13th centuries.  Too cool to see so much history on one river!

My parents and the girls board our boat in Bacharach.

Only a few minutes into our cruise, we see Pfalz Castle (the one in the water built in the 1300s) and the Gutenfels Castle on the hill. 

Another huge castle on a hill.

Sweet sister love on the Rhine.  Wish it was like this all the time.

Enjoying a great afternoon!

No time to sit down on this cruise.  Too much to see!

The Loreley - steep slate rock that rises 450 feet over the narrowest and deepest part of the Rhine.  In the foreground notice the barge with a single car on top (you can click on the picture to see it larger).  An interesting fact about barge workers... many own their own ship.  The captain lives in the stern with his family and the family car is often parked on the stern.  We saw several of these on our visit!

Oh look, another castle!!  I believe this is Katz Castle. 

Approaching our destination city of St. Goar.

Looking for a place to have lunch in St. Goar.

Finished with lunch and heading to Rheinfels Castle which looms on top of the hill behind us.

Thank goodness there is this cute little train to take us to the castle which sits on top of a hill.

Just inside Rheinfels Castle with a view of the Rhine below.

Another look at the Rhine.

Our tour guide springs into action and we're off!

It is easy to see that this castle was once the largest one on the Rhine built in the 13th century.  It's massive!

Taryn finds a door just her size!

A staircase to nowhere!  Fun!

Leena finds the entrance to the old brewery.

Breathtaking views!

View from the castle.  Wow!

Taryn in medieval time-out.

These pesky little black bugs were attracted like magnets to Mimi's yellow shirt.  The girls enjoyed yelling "bug alert!" and shooing them away. 

View of the Rhine from the top of the castle.

Family shot from the upper most lookout point.

Looking down on a fraction of what's left of the castle.

Back in the town of St. Goar.  They say this is the largest suspended cuckoo clock.

A quick 10 minute train ride from St. Goar and we are back where we started in the town of Bacharach.  Taryn spies these "people" and asked to have her picture made.  

The girls stand in the courtyard of the old Post Office in Bacharach with a ruined chapel on the hill above it.  This post station dates from 1724 when stagecoaches ran from Köln to Frankfurt and would change horses here, Pony Express-style.

Standing on Oberstrasse in Bacharach.

Our departing shot from Bacharach.  Another great day!