2004 Europe

Stein am Rhine, Switzerland



June 4 – Up and at ‘em this AM. Diana drags a bit in the morning so I went down early to breakfast and then scouted the town (above) so I could give here a guided tour later when time will be short. The buildings are all so interesting. It’s a lot of fun to try to figure out what the various paintings depict. Some are historical, others religious subjects. One major subject that shows up often is St. George and the dragon. He is painted on several of the buildings around town and he tops off the column in the town square (below). It was fun to just wonder around the town and soak it all in. You’ll have to look the town up on the internet for the history and all. I was having too much fun just looking. After Diana had breakfast, I got to see the best parts again as I took her around the town for a short tour.



Here we are, back on the bus and headed for the Rhinefalls. Joe has warned us that, although these are a big deal in Europe, if we’ve been to Niagara they’re not going to be very impressive. Actually they are quite nice. The Rhinefalls has two sections separated by an island sort of like Niagara but on a much smaller scale. They have boat rides that take you up to the falls and you can get off on the island in the center and climb wooden stairs to the top for a very good view. We had lunch there, bratwurst and French fries. The Swiss are pretty good sausage makers but I can’t wait for Germany. On returning to the bus parking lot we found an interesting bus and I had some of the group pose at the side for a picture (below). It’s pretty funny, just sound it out phonetically.



Then it was into the bus and off to Rothenburg. When we got to Rothenburg, Michel had to drive the bus on a very difficult, circuitous route to get us close to the hotel because the cafes in the area set tables out in the street at dinnertime. It was raining but that didn’t seem to alter the behavior. Germans, what can you say! After another long travel day it was nice to get to the room after dinner and rest up. Rothenburg is the most well preserved medieval city in Europe because it was never bombed in any war and not overrun by barbarians. The hotel we are staying in is built right into the city wall and is about 700 years old.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger