Rhine - Mosel Discovery - Day 5

Day 5

For many on board, today was the highlight of the cruise because at 07:00 we set off from Mainz to travel along the middle-Rhine with its many picturesque castles. We arrived at the narrowing gorge at about 09:00 and again the weather gave us rain, cold and low lying clouds for most of the way.

Picture by Krisie

Maps of the gorge with photo's of castles and their kilometre marker were handed out.

Picture by Krisie

As we came out of the gorge and passed the Lorelei rock and statue we had a demonstration of making Rudesheim Coffee (coffee, brandy, sugar, whipped cream and dark chocolate) and then everyone was given the fancy cup with the coffee.

Picture by Krisie

Lunches 'Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwich' was tasty as was the wine, Horst Sauer Eshendorfer Lumpen Sylvaner trocken 2021 (Germany, Franken) in a bocksbeutel.

We arrived at Koblenz at around 13:00, mooring at German Corner by the confluence of rivers Rhine and Mosel by the cable car station and huge statue of  Emperor William I. The name Koblenz is derived from the Latin for confluence. 

We joined the included 13:30 walking tour of historic Koblenz. We went on a tour last year but this guide was more informative and showed us things we'd not seen before, such as the spitting statue which is the town's symbol and appears on drain covers.

A nearby clock has a mans head who rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue on at hour and half-hour.

Mosel on right, Viking boats rafted closest to Mosel. Picture by Krisie

Dan and Krisie took the cable car over our boat up to the castle on the other side.

Picture by Krisie

That evening was 'Taste  of Germany'. Tables had pretzel trees and German cheeses, cold meats and nibbles, and there was a choice of hot dishes from the kitchen - roast meats, fried chicken, sauerkraut, red cabbage, several types of sausages and more -  served buffet style.

Picture by Krisie

Waitrons dressed in German costumes. This is Simone, the bar manager, who ensured our wine glasses were never empty.

Wine at dinner was Gerard Bertrand 'an 1650' 2020 (France, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape) a delicious Carignan, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend.

We'd set off for Winningen on the Mosel at about 18:30. There was an optional tour (which we'd not booked) 'An Evening of Wine & Music' planned when we arrived at Winningen at 20:30 but we were delayed by the first lock on the Mosel. As time passed Viking had to cancel the tour and refund monies. I don't know when we reached Winningen, it was after we'd gone to bed, or perhaps we didn't stop there.