Germany: Fourth of July
It was quite foggy this morning. Still a bit wet. Damn. Breakfast, however, was warm and delightful! Sausage and eggs! This morning, our fine Bacharach Guide was Herr Rolf Yung. He is the German version of my grandfather! I immediately took a liking to him. He was very sweet, kind, proud of his village. What a great choice for a guide.
He took us through the streets of Bacharach, pointed out the watermarks on some of it's buildings - reminiscent of floodings of the Rhine in recent years. We walked through some ruins and slowly made our way up the the hills into the vineyards of Bacharach - full of Reisling grapes, the local specialty. Rolf said ask for "Krosten" for dry wine and when toasting, be sure to say: "Proste!"
After we toured Bacharach, it was a short bus ride to our next tourist spot, St. Goen Castle. Talk about a long, steady, steep hike! Rolf lead the tour through this once massive fortress. He kept emphasizing that he didn't want to show us ruined walls, but rather, give a sense of what it was like to live in this castle - and that he did! He lead us through claustraphobic-inducing tunnels and wet, damp, absolutely pitch dark sentry ways. We had flashlights with us.. I kept imagining soldiers feeling their way through these passages - perhaps some carrying torches. We also saw towers and beautiful heights with clear views of the Rhine.
It started to rain halfway through our walking tour. It was announced that lunch was moved next to the river. The group members started to our "Picnic-In-The-Rain" lunch. Sadly, I found out that my travel shirt was water-resistant and not waterproofed. I, along with some members of our group, was drenched. I took a slight detour from our group and visited a German cemetery I spotted along the way. It looked so peaceful and with the flowers growing profusely about, one can almost easily mistake it for a garden... almost. I took a moment and savored the silence, closed my eyes and breathed in the rain and fresh bouquets.
My detour left little time for souvenir shopping. I took too long in admiring the different coo-coo clocks at one shop. They were very expensive and I decided not to based on 1) where the heck would I put it 2) would it really match my decor and lastly 3) if I were to buy one, it should be from Switzerland. As a left the shop, the rain had progressed from a light drizzle to full Armageddon - not really, but that's what it felt like.
I picked up a ferry ticket from Jeff who wondered where the heck I was and continued down to our planned lunch next to the Rhine River. Katy had prepared a what would have been a wonderful faire had the weather cooperated. I asked where the rest of the group was. Vivek pointed downriver and said most of the gang opted to take an earlier boat home. At those words I sprinted towards the docks.
I found the group conveniently huddled at the ticket stand. The ferry arrived and we boarded quickly. We stayed on the formal dinning level. The riverboat was nicer than I expected. It was filled with tables full of white linen. Kind of reminds me of Hornblower Yacht Cruises here in Southern California.
I shared a table with Kristen, John and Dave. It didn't occur to me that I still hadn't had lunch until we were handed menus. I was starving! We started off with coffee liquor drinks. I had a bowl of warm beef stock. It was about an hour to our stop in Bacharach. We sat back and admired the view from the Rhine. Castles loomed above us on the hills... one in the middle of the Rhine. No matter how hard it rained, it didn't seem to dampen the group spirit.
Although I don't consider myself someone who is superstitious or prey to bad karma, I have this... well, for lack of better term, let's just say, the Fourth of July curse. This day has never been kind to me. For example, a few years ago, during a Fourth of July BBQ at a friend's house, a tree fell on my car. Yep, a tree out of nowhere... falls on my new car. All the witnesses had the same baffled look and pronounced the same thing: it was an Act of God. Oh well, I know it's me... or the fact that tomorrow is my birthday.
As I debarked our ship at Bacharach, the absolute worst happened. I was making my way down the wet, steel gangplank when I slipped and slammed my knee hard on a steel keat. Oh my God! I was so close to passing out from the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced in my life. It felt like taking a baseball bat to the knee.
I immediately went down. Two ship employees saw that I was blocking the rest of the passengers. They came down and lifted me and conveniently - and without hesitation - deposited me on the asphalt on all fours. I was seconds from passing out on the pavement when Bill and Dave caught me and lifted me to a nearby bench. I wanted to tell them that I was all right, but I didn't have any control over my vocal cords. I couldn't speak!
Only when I was sitting down, did I notice our tour group huddled around me, staring at my knee. I looked down, I didn't realize that I had a deep gash and that it was bleeding profusely. The sight of my own blood made me even more nauseous. Geni quickly got out a Kleenex and wiped away most it. Dave cleaned, bandaged the wound and, ever so slowly, walked me back to our hotel and up three flights to my room.
Although the pain was unbearable, my stupid pride prevented me from crying in front of the group. If anything, the one thing I can think back and laugh about is the fact that I was offered a wide assortment of pain relievers from our group including tequila shots from the bar. I was passed out until dinner, missing a former-castle-now-youth-hostel hike Jeff had planned for our group.
Jeff and Katy came by and checked up on me prior to dinner. Although the pain was still there, it was reduced to a dull throbbing ache. Their faces had me worried. I couldn't miss another one of Fatima's diiner which that night consisted of a pork cutlet with mushroom sauce and fries. Delicious!
After dinner, we were all invited to Bacharach's only nightclub - located in our hotel basement: The Tacky Tetonic Tiki Room! I wonder what the soldiers a thousand years ago would have reacted to their watch tower being turned into a tropical disco nightclub. I hurt so bad, but triping the lights fantastic to Donna Summer in Germany was certainly worth it!!
He took us through the streets of Bacharach, pointed out the watermarks on some of it's buildings - reminiscent of floodings of the Rhine in recent years. We walked through some ruins and slowly made our way up the the hills into the vineyards of Bacharach - full of Reisling grapes, the local specialty. Rolf said ask for "Krosten" for dry wine and when toasting, be sure to say: "Proste!"
After we toured Bacharach, it was a short bus ride to our next tourist spot, St. Goen Castle. Talk about a long, steady, steep hike! Rolf lead the tour through this once massive fortress. He kept emphasizing that he didn't want to show us ruined walls, but rather, give a sense of what it was like to live in this castle - and that he did! He lead us through claustraphobic-inducing tunnels and wet, damp, absolutely pitch dark sentry ways. We had flashlights with us.. I kept imagining soldiers feeling their way through these passages - perhaps some carrying torches. We also saw towers and beautiful heights with clear views of the Rhine.
It started to rain halfway through our walking tour. It was announced that lunch was moved next to the river. The group members started to our "Picnic-In-The-Rain" lunch. Sadly, I found out that my travel shirt was water-resistant and not waterproofed. I, along with some members of our group, was drenched. I took a slight detour from our group and visited a German cemetery I spotted along the way. It looked so peaceful and with the flowers growing profusely about, one can almost easily mistake it for a garden... almost. I took a moment and savored the silence, closed my eyes and breathed in the rain and fresh bouquets.
My detour left little time for souvenir shopping. I took too long in admiring the different coo-coo clocks at one shop. They were very expensive and I decided not to based on 1) where the heck would I put it 2) would it really match my decor and lastly 3) if I were to buy one, it should be from Switzerland. As a left the shop, the rain had progressed from a light drizzle to full Armageddon - not really, but that's what it felt like.
I picked up a ferry ticket from Jeff who wondered where the heck I was and continued down to our planned lunch next to the Rhine River. Katy had prepared a what would have been a wonderful faire had the weather cooperated. I asked where the rest of the group was. Vivek pointed downriver and said most of the gang opted to take an earlier boat home. At those words I sprinted towards the docks.
I found the group conveniently huddled at the ticket stand. The ferry arrived and we boarded quickly. We stayed on the formal dinning level. The riverboat was nicer than I expected. It was filled with tables full of white linen. Kind of reminds me of Hornblower Yacht Cruises here in Southern California.
I shared a table with Kristen, John and Dave. It didn't occur to me that I still hadn't had lunch until we were handed menus. I was starving! We started off with coffee liquor drinks. I had a bowl of warm beef stock. It was about an hour to our stop in Bacharach. We sat back and admired the view from the Rhine. Castles loomed above us on the hills... one in the middle of the Rhine. No matter how hard it rained, it didn't seem to dampen the group spirit.
Although I don't consider myself someone who is superstitious or prey to bad karma, I have this... well, for lack of better term, let's just say, the Fourth of July curse. This day has never been kind to me. For example, a few years ago, during a Fourth of July BBQ at a friend's house, a tree fell on my car. Yep, a tree out of nowhere... falls on my new car. All the witnesses had the same baffled look and pronounced the same thing: it was an Act of God. Oh well, I know it's me... or the fact that tomorrow is my birthday.
As I debarked our ship at Bacharach, the absolute worst happened. I was making my way down the wet, steel gangplank when I slipped and slammed my knee hard on a steel keat. Oh my God! I was so close to passing out from the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced in my life. It felt like taking a baseball bat to the knee.
I immediately went down. Two ship employees saw that I was blocking the rest of the passengers. They came down and lifted me and conveniently - and without hesitation - deposited me on the asphalt on all fours. I was seconds from passing out on the pavement when Bill and Dave caught me and lifted me to a nearby bench. I wanted to tell them that I was all right, but I didn't have any control over my vocal cords. I couldn't speak!
Only when I was sitting down, did I notice our tour group huddled around me, staring at my knee. I looked down, I didn't realize that I had a deep gash and that it was bleeding profusely. The sight of my own blood made me even more nauseous. Geni quickly got out a Kleenex and wiped away most it. Dave cleaned, bandaged the wound and, ever so slowly, walked me back to our hotel and up three flights to my room.
Although the pain was unbearable, my stupid pride prevented me from crying in front of the group. If anything, the one thing I can think back and laugh about is the fact that I was offered a wide assortment of pain relievers from our group including tequila shots from the bar. I was passed out until dinner, missing a former-castle-now-youth-hostel hike Jeff had planned for our group.
Jeff and Katy came by and checked up on me prior to dinner. Although the pain was still there, it was reduced to a dull throbbing ache. Their faces had me worried. I couldn't miss another one of Fatima's diiner which that night consisted of a pork cutlet with mushroom sauce and fries. Delicious!
After dinner, we were all invited to Bacharach's only nightclub - located in our hotel basement: The Tacky Tetonic Tiki Room! I wonder what the soldiers a thousand years ago would have reacted to their watch tower being turned into a tropical disco nightclub. I hurt so bad, but triping the lights fantastic to Donna Summer in Germany was certainly worth it!!
posted by Jenny Rose at 9:23 AM
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