Nuremberg. We were not sure we wanted to go on this excursion but are glad we did. The guide John Jenkins a Welsh man who had just become a German citizen the previous day, a philosopher and ethicist he has so much knowledge about Hitler and the National Socialist Party. We were taken to the Colosseum designed to show the greatness of the German Empire. The reflection in the lake was supposed to show how big and powerful the Empire was were we're very lucky as th...

A quiet morning cruising along the Main River. It was enjoyable sitting on the deck in the sunshine watching the countryside float past. We are still in Franconia and going into the Main Danube Canal at Bamburg which has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site. Our port in Bamburg is in the dock area and not part of the delightful towns we have previously docked at. We had another excellent guide who led us through the cobblestoned streets to Bamburg Cathedr...

Rothenberg surrounded by a city wall is very charming as was our guide Victoria. All the streets are cobblestones adding to the charm. One of the specialities of this Franconian town is snowballs sold in bakeries. Shaped like a snowball it is pastry twisted and then coated with chocolate or cinnamon and icing sugar. The chocolate one was good but cinnamon one was tasteless. A much tastier speciality of the area is the schnapps. Plum is 25% alcoholic content, pea...

Today we had a more active excursion a ride from Fruedenberg to Wertheim 27 km of very flat paths along the riverside. Our German guide Udo was so excited to welcome us. His son lives in Australia and he has travelled there in a "Wicked" van he wanted to know where we all came from to tell us he had been there. There were plenty of stops along the way. We got to try alcoholic cider that they water down with mineral water as it has a high alcoholic content. Tasted...

Everyone was up on deck early as we were sailing through the Rhine Valley. Rising out of the mist of the you could catch glimpses of the most amazing castles right at the top on the hills. Some dating back to 1616. It gave off an almost aerie feeling. The ingenuity of the builders can only be imagined. We suppose there was no OHS. The slopes leading up to the castles are dotted with vineyards and we passed many villages with quaint houses down in the valley or...