Another easy day as we wind down the bike tour. Just past Sankt Goar we stopped at the Lorelei, a large rock outcrop over a sharp bend in the river. Back in the day this was a tricky section to navigate due to shifting winds, currents, eddys. and some shoals. One legend is that Lorelei was a young woman who, despondent over faithless lovers, threw herself off the rock to her death. She subsequently took the form of a maiden with long blond hair, singing softly from the rock to distract sailors and lead them to distraction and death.
So many old towns and castles along this section of the Rhine.
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| This one is on an island in the middle of the river |
This old tower is right by the cycle path at the edge of a village. The painting is on a nearby house.
Early afternoon we took a ferry across from Bingen to Rüdesheim am Rhein: 30 km for the day. We were expecting someplace smaller and quieter but it turns out this is a major tourist stop. The clerk in our hotel said they generally get 3-4 million visitors per year (Ashland was at about one-tenth that number pre-Covid). We are in the heart of the Rhine wine region, and there are wine shops, wine bars, and tasting rooms everywhere.
The vineyards start right above the town and run as far as the eye can see.
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