Fw: Tour day three
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2008
1
10
40
Trip End
Sep 24, 2008
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Thursday, September 4, 2008
From: Jourdain, Steve
To: 'sjourdai.molly@travelblog.com'
Sent: Thu Sep 04 02:10:39 2008
Subject: Tour day three
Sj - sent from BB. Gonna be short. Not much to blog. Day three was mostly driving to Bacharach Germany. We did stop at a village that had been constructed as a replica of how life was in the Netherlands in the 1600s. It rained most of the time we were on the bus. We got in to Bacharach about 4;30 pm. We checked in to the hotel Kranenturm. Certainly the oldest hotel I've ever stayed in - the structure is part of the orignal city wall - circa medieval times whenever they were. Apparenty when visiting areas with so much history, the dates flow like water, quickly passing through the fingers of my mind. At least I rember that the Romans came first.
Quick tangent- I'm sitting on the bus typing this on the tiny little BB keys. We are driving through the idylic Rhine valley abundant with those quaint little towns and vineyards on every, very steep, south facing hillside. It's an overcasr morning, but not dreery at all- it's more medieval and perfect for the overall setting- all acompanied by Bach on the very impressive bus speaker system. Yes Bill, you would be in heaven.
Back to the Kranenturm Hotel in Bacharach. 16 rooms on 4 or 5 stories - no elevator. Heidi and I score a room on the first floor. Our tour guide decides to make Don live up to (and Judy suffer for) Don's "not too old at70" speech. ; )
We had been forewarned about the tour's willingness to sacrifice some comfort for location and this hotel is part of that bargain. Our rooms has a bed, small desk and armiore and a very tiny retrofit 3/4 bath. I can almost turn comletely around without buumping in to anything. The floor is raised to accomodate modern plumbing making the headroom in this niche a little sparse. Every time I turn around in the shower, my (admittedly large) posterior bumps the shower control and shut off the weater. I decide military showers aren't such a bad thng. I should also mention that our room is about 15 feet away from a train track that serves around 100 cars per day. Surprisingly, the electric rail system combined with triple paned, sound proofed windows and 3 feet thick stone walls does a remarkable job of noise reduction.
1 good thing about the room. MINI BAR!!! I have a Bitburger Pilsner in my hand within 5 minuted of arrival. I believe the "Bit" stands for 'bitter', I don't like this very much. No doubt Nick is thinking "coulda told ya he wouldn't like Pilsner". I switched to Maisel's Weisse Heffeweissen as my hotel beer staple. It's tasty if a little cloudy and almost 'chewy' (I believe I've just coined a new beer descriptor). The hotel matron assures me that this local brew is gaining prominence. I wonder what happens when the cloud settles... Do I need a spoon? Must drink quickly.
After cheking in, we walk around all 20 square blocks of Bacharach - more super old buildings, more narrow, cobblestone street and quaint little shops. It's cool, but I know I'll appreciate it much more when we do the walking tour tomorrow. They have a castle here. We don't visit this one, but apparntly it has been converted to a youth Hostel. One of the first 2 or 3 youth hostels ever established.
Dinner is at the hotel. Sauerbratten, some red cabbage dish (very vinegary) and a potatoe dumpling (read 'fist sized ball of starch'). Lots of gravey for everything. The meat and Heffeweissen are pretty good.
After dinner...
Devastation!
The gelato shop is closed
I stagger back to the room (aka train station) weeping gently
Comments
Rottenburg
You guys are probably getting close to Rottenburg. Remember to see the Torture and Punishment Museum, Steve. You'll love it.