Realities of The Rhine

Ahhh, The Rhine. Romantic castles, incredible views, and tourists. It felt a little bit like being on a foreign game show where players' expectations don't quite match up with the reality of experience. Our odd impressions and pictures are below. Having said that - I can't wait to go back. It is beautiful. The castles are cool. The trip (in August) was great.

There really are castles everywhere you look on this section of the Rhine and it is impressive, especially from the river. We went to one 'ruins castle' where you can explore freely, and one 'tour castle' where you have a guide to see the restored inside rooms (not as much fun but cool to learn about). And we rode a river boat, the train, and a ferry. The ferry rides were Kevin's first and I think he liked it. We rode it five times. There are no bridges over the Rhine for 60 miles so ferries are necessary, plentiful, and fun.

Odd Observation #1: There is no shortage of flying insects on the Rhine. Be prepared to do battle for your food. You may have paid for it but he flies and the bees.... they want it. And they are persistent - indoors and out. Meals were all-out war zones with menus and hands waving and they were, unfortunately, long. I would love to 'do as the Europeans do' and linger over a long and lazy meal. But I have two kids. Who do not linger well when hungry. And I hate insects. Particularly those that fly.

Odd Observation #2: There is a shortage of blonds in Europe and particularly among tour groups. We've run into this before being (often) the only tourists with two cute little kids around. But Mary, with her platinum hair, gets celebrity-level attention. This was particularly strong attention to the point we were dodging tour groups and Kevin was getting upset. Strangers wanted to hold her (and tried to lure her from my arms) and numerous home movies and photos were taken, all featuring Mary. I said it was fine but I would hold her, thank you, and would have to be in the pictures too. Finally we just had to avoid them. Don't be afraid to bring your cute little towheads to Europe... just make sure they wear hats.

Odd Observation #3: We used to be the enemy and sometimes it still feels strange. The plaque in one very touristy town stated (in English) that 23 little kids and teachers died at a Kindergarten during an allied bombing raid. It's so sad to think my country was the likely bomber, but that the war against Germany was necessary back then, however we feel no animosity toward each other as people now, and how odd it all is, 62+ years later.

...education, in progress.