Once we were back on board we headed for the bow, as we were getting ready to head on through the Rhine River Gorge. This is a stretch of the river that is dotted with 26 castles. Some of these are in just ruins, but many are in great shape and open for tours. Our seats secured at a little bistro table on the bow, and our drinks in our hand (had to be in our hand as the wind was blowing pretty good and not holding onto them may not have ended well)
First up was Rheinstein Castle, dating back to the 14th Century.
Next was Reichenstein Castle, which dates back before 1213, as that is the first mention of it.
Also dating back to the 11th century we have Sooneck Castle.
As we sailed along the next one that struck us was Fürstenberg Castle Ruin. Again dating back to the 11th century, it was destroyed during the Palatinate Succession War and now is only a ruin, that gives us an impression of what it might have been.
Stahleck Castle dates back to before 1135. It was destroyed by the French in 1689 and rebuilt during the 1920s and 196os.
Schönburg Castle dates back to before 911 A.D. and was destroyed like many neighboring castles in 1689. Reconstruction began in 1885.
Katz Castle was built in the second half of the 14th century.
And this was the very next castle, Maus (Mouse) Castle
Martinsburg Castle was built by the end of the 14th century. It has a powerful and unusual hexagonal tower
One of our favorites was Stolzenfels Palace. Just loved the sandstone of the castle against the green mountain side.
This by no means all the castles. These are just a few to peak your interest and make you want to travel the Rhine. We went from here down to get ready for dinner as the wind was much stronger now and well we were hungry.
After traveling through the Rhine River Gorge, famous for its beautiful and imposing castles, we capped the day off with a visit to Lahneck Castle.
We did a wonderful candle lit tour of the castle. The castle is currently in private hands and has someone living in it. In the description below I want to take a minute and tell you what not to do on a tour of a castle built in 1244.
Before we entered the castle we were introduced to a knight's threshold, this was a threshold about 6 inches tall and worked as part of the castles defenses. A knight in full armor would not be able to step easily over the threshold, and thus create a point that could be defended easy.
When we entered the castle we were told a little about the history and then the guide had to stop talking, because a member of our group was opening up doors and looking in everywhere. He had to ask her to close the closet door as that is just where they kept cleaning supplies. As we went into the next room she continued to open drawers and doors and look in them.
There was a beautiful hand carved armoire that was over 600 years old. She went over and proceeded jerking on the handle to try and open it.
In the next room he asked everyone to not touch anything and not to look up the fireplace, well guess who hit her head as she was pulling her head back from looking up the fireplace.
This was a really cool dollhouse.
This was the only tour we were (un)fortunate enough to have her with us, so not sure if that is what she did on all of them, but come on.