We arise quite early, have another nice buffet breakfast in our hotel sunroom and head off to the Altstadt to catch the funicular rail back up to the castle. On this occasion, we opt for entry to the castle. The ticket price of only 4 euro includes a 1 hour English guided tour of the interior of the castle and entrance to the Pharmaceutical Museum. All fascinating. We return to hotel around 3pm and opt for an afternoon of rest as we are starting to feel a little ...

Today is easy to blog. Instead of taking the funicular railway, we decide to do what you do when in Germany, a cruise on the Rhein (Rhine). I think I will quickly have to concede that I cannot hope to not recycle the same superlatives for our experiences. So as to not sound repetitive, on this occasion, I will let the photos provide visual descriptors for our day.

Leave Worms and catch train to Heidelberg, changing at Mannheim. Once again, all goes smoothly and trains, as usual, run to perfect schedule. From Heidelberg station, we walk around 1.4 km to our accommodation, the Hôtel Elite. Another gorgeous hotel with a sizeable 1940s room with bedding for our whole family, 2 queens and a single. After settling in, we head to the Altstadt area, which extends for around 2 km. This old university city was NOT targetted by ...

We regretfully depart Mainz and head to Mainz Hbf (main railway) and validate our Eurail pass, which will be our means of transportation around Europe until 10 Jan 2013. Our first usage is the 1013am train to Worms (pronounced V-or-ms) and travel in style in 1st class. Takes only 26 mins as no stoppages and train is powering alone at approx 160k/m. After only slight confusion, locate Hôtel Boos. Very quaint and main foyer looks like an entrance to a castle. Room...

A difficult start to the day for moi as I am feeling unwell. Force myself into gear and we explore other areas of the city, concentrating around the main railway station, Mainz hauptbahnhof. Again spend time exploring the Lidl supermarket because we simply adore exploring foreign supermarkets. Once again, we are made to realise how high the cost of living is in Australia. In Germany, cheeses like Edam or gouda will set you back only around $5 a kilo, vitamin tabl...