Captains log 1/07/13 we leave lovely Switzerland and start our drive up to saint goer, a small wine area in the Rhine vally. After being very unsuccessful in Switzerland trying to find a knife to add to my collection I'm told there is a big selection where we are headed. My breakfast was a black coffee, I just can't deal with s***ty 2 euro breakfasts anymore, I'm done. I fought the good fight but I can't take it anymore! We head traveling, the usual array of talking and laughing on the bus with the odd joke about Sam aka "f***ing Samos" tea potting about in the isle way. We make a quick stop at a German truck stop, we have Burger King. It's really sad that its cheaper, nicer and most likely better then the stuff they serve. I know I'm ranting about food here but seriously when I get to Ramsey's and Hestons I'm going to be over the moon, it also doesn't help that I've finished one cooking book and into another one! Anyhow back on the bus for another small drive, we start watching jack and the giant slayer but never get to the end, average film at best. We get to the Rhine and this place is amazing! It's got the Rhine river running though the middle with hills and moutains on either side. The hills have rows and rows of vine yards all over them, a very pretty site. We got off and go to the stein and knife shop. Ok seriously this place had 3000 different steins and a whole room full of Wushtof knifes. I didn't need the Amsterdam red light district, I was already in my own little shady area! :) sad to say that the three items I was looking for they didn't have, and I had to wrestle the idea away from Bella that buying me a 600 euro Wushtof ikon white block for my birthday wasn't a good idea! I got my stein, and we headed to a boat cruise! A nice little trip up the Rhine, spent sipping on beers and talking rubbish with Lis! She likes us! Getting slightly pink from the mild German sun, it was over too quickly. Pondering what would happen if we just stayed on the boat and drunk some more beers :)! We went to the hotel and checked in, it's a small old hotel, but shrug. I was slightly stressed when we got in and our bed sheets were wet, fun fun. We went down for dinner, basic broth, Schnitzel, and some wired apple pie thingy, oh well was decent. It was time for our wine tasting! And to try "ice wine" a very rare type of dessert wine only made in Germany and Canada. To make this wine they need 10 consecutive days of under minus -7 degrees during the very late harvest. They pick them all by hand up the hills and make the wine why the grapes are still frozen. It's very sweet and very nice, apparently getting better with age! Ill be saving it for the wedding ;)! Ok back to the wine tasting, Liz takes us to this very dark 1700s style wine room. It looks like a rape dungeon, it's cold and damp and lit by candles, very cool. We settle down and get 4 types of wine to try, all white. They were ok, the late harvest Riesling was the nicest but we have so much alcohol I couldn't get more then the ice wine. We finished up and hit the bar for some UNO and some late night drinkies. Liz never told us but the bar has a shot record set by Contikis. It's 2256 shots in one night. The shots are these gross sugary apple vodka things. There not very nice, plus we weren't even in the mood for a big night so we don't even bother attempting the record. Plus after about 8 of them it made me feel gross..... I only needed to do another 48 and I had done my part. Bella slipped away early because she had a headache but I stayed up with Elliott and hamburlger playing cards and slowly increasing Elliott's beer drinking abilities! The DAM tomorrow! :)