Rhine Gorge

today was apparently the most scenic of the trip, with 4 hours through the Rhine Gorge. this is the place you see on postcards, with tall bush-covered sides and lots of ruins and castles and churches perched up high on the top of hills overlooking the Rhine. for us it was a fine day, but coldish and blowing. We sat up on the sun???? deck for those 4 hours (me covered in a jacket and a blanket) just watched and gazing in awe at the spectacular sights we were slowly passing. the only way to show you is through photos, but even then it doesnt do it justice. OUr cruise director was up on the top with us (as was most of the boat, tho the wind drove most inside after an hour or so), and he gave a running commentary about it all as we passed , plus we were given a map and a written sheet about the sights so no excuse for ignorance! It was easy to see how wars were won and lost in this area. I didnt expect vineyards perched on the sides of steep hills tho, and they were fascinating too. very steep and we found out there was a green patch inbetween each vine to stop erosion. aslo there were brick or stone walls (similar to retaining walls) and we thought they were also to stop erosion (retaining walls ) but found out it was also to keep the heat in the soil to heat up the vine roots.Considering these walls were probably built a thousand years ago, this was pretty clever understanding of how plants grew!all the steep fields you can see in the photos are planted with grape vines. Imagine harvesting them. some of the castles made you wonder how on earth they built them up so high, and into the rock on the side of the hill. Watch out for the photo of a castel with a little cage hanging out the side, as app. this was where criminals were put by the count of the castle and hung over the side to deter others from committing crimes! sorry about the amount of photos but i couldnt decide which were the good ones, so put all in! this was dave on the end of the camera!