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bodyrudesheim
Rüdesheim, the Rhein river, and Bingen in the distance.
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-- Rüdesheim --
( 11 June 2007 )
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The idea for taking my Mom and Aunti Ri to Rüdesheim, came when Hanne and I were driving along the Rhein about a week before our wedding. Hanne thought this location would make for a wonderful adventure, and I knew that Mom and Aunti Ri hadn't been on a train in about 20 years, so instead of driving, we boarded the train.
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Our day started at the Oberstein bahnhof. We took advantage of a group discount ticket which allowed all four of us to travel for about half the price of standard tickets. With typical German precision the train arrived on schedule, and we made our journey toward Bingen.
Once in Bingen, we had to figure out where the ferry was located so that we could cross the river to Rüdesheim. We walked about a half mile from the bahnhof, asked for directions, and made it to the ferry in short order. Fifteen minutes later, we had crossed the Rhein.
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At the bahnhof.
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On the ferry.
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Now that we had reached our destination, we had to decide on a direction to start our tour. As we made our way to the historic center of the town, we stumbled across Siegfried's Mechanischem Musikkabinett, which has mechanical music devices on display similar to what we saw in Triberg. Although we didn't have time to go through the museum, we plan to see it on our next trip.
After checking out some of the unusual items at the gift shops, it was time to see first hand something that had caught our eyes while we were still on the train a few kilometers outside of Bingen. So, we boarded gondolas and were hauled up to the top of the hill overlooking Rüdesheim.
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On our ride up the hill, we were treated to a breath-taking view of vinyards, and the river valley below. Unfortunately, the air was a bit thick and hazy that day, as can be seen in the photographs. Finally, we exited the gondolas, walked a short distance throught the Niederwald, and reached the Denkmal.
The Niederwald Denkmal is a memorial completed in 1871 to commemorate the victims of the Thirty Years' War. Like most German memorials, this denkmal is ornately decorated, but in an immense scale. It's 32 meters tall! For me, this was an amazing way to add to the adventure of the day, and I didn't even know that it existed until we caught a glimpse of it from the train.
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At the Denkmal.
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Later, we continued to stroll through the town, and ended up at an Italian ice cream shop. I thought that this would be enough of a rest, but it was clear to me later that everyone was tuckered out. As we slowly made our way to the Rüdesheim bahnhof, we saw a few more interesting sites. We haven't seen enough of Rüdesheim, so we'll back again some day.
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(Many thanks to Auntie Ri for taking about half of the photos you see here.)
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