Day 5

Today we went on a cruise of the Rhine River. The Rhine used to be the boundary between Germany and France. Short history lesson, Germany used to be lots of separate farm areas, the whole Lord and serf thing went on their way past most other countries. In fact, the First Reich (a gathering of all those areas of land) didn't happen until the later 1800's. And of course we know about the Third Reich. Apparently there will be no more Reich's because of that one. Anyway, all along this river were the ruins of the castle's that belonged to the robber barrens. And the villages are still there, using the farm land up and down the hills. The main crop is grapes. Interesting. Anyway, we had a beautiful weather day and I couldn't decide which pictures to include so I put a slide show at the end of the post. When we landed at St. Gore, we ate at this restaurant. I had pork with a slice of ham, a slice of pineapple and a cherry on top, all covered in hollandaise sauce. Pretty decent but super greasy and heavy. Dan had some kind of saurkraut and bratwurst. Then we went shopping at the little shops. There are several that sell just Christmas decorations all year around. I will do a post showing you all the stuff we got when we get home.
This is a picture of one of the barges on the Rhine carrying cargo. If you look closely at the back of the boat, you will see a swing set and a Little Tykes plastic play house. So little kids live on these boats! We saw one where the kids were out playing - wearing life jackets no less. What an interesting way of life.
It was a beautiful day. On the way back on the boat, I had a little nap followed by a chocolate ice cream bar. And I was with my mom the whole time. Perfect.