March 16

 Day 6

THE BEST day of any Rhine River cruise itinerary!  We began the day by driving about 30 minutes to Marksburg Castle outside of Koblenz.  We made the big hike to the top of the hill and met our guide for the more than one hour walk around of the more than 800 year-old castle - the only one on the Rhine that was never conquered or damaged/destroyed.  It was my fourth time touring it and it was as fascinating as any other time.  One very interesting note.....we have had such good luck with the weather as all the inclement weather has come when we were either in a hotel, on board the ship or on a bus.  As we were walking around the castle mid-tour, the sun was shining brightly and for about two minutes we had a mixture of sleet and snow fall on us.  What?  True story :)

Marksburg Castle from our ship

The outer gate and the tunnel to enter the outer area

The rugged entrance to the castle & all the coats of arms of all owners of the castle

Cannons overlooking the Rhine

Panoramic view of the Rhine from atop the castle

The "open drop" toilet from the outside & the inside

NOTE"  People sat and continued talking during the meal (long robes hid everything!) AND the door looked from the inside to prevent invaders from climbing up through the open toilet to invade!

Lots of dark stairways & passages!

Panoramic view of the Rhine from inside the castle walls

We were back on board at about noon in time for lunch and within an hour of finishing lunch we had the narrated scenic sail through the Rhine River Valley, a UNESCO site.  I told our program director Jen afterwards that this was my fifth time sailing through here and today was THE most entertaining version we've ever had.  She was great with her animated story telling and interjecting music during the sail.  Just a great day!  Enjoy the castle pics....

The first castle of the day - seen from the road on the way to Marksburg