What a fantastic day! It started with a walking tour of Boppard with a few lazy snowflakes, so of course after our introduction to the town, we headed to the cocoa shop for hot chocolate with chili - that's chili powder sprinkled in the cocoa! Topped with whipped cream, it was quite good and warming.

Then some serious shopping at the Euro Store, like the Dollar Store back home - we needed ear muffs, and gloves and a Siberian hat for Darrel. Found a neat egg piercer that's guaranteed to make perfect hard boiled eggs if you pierce the egg before boiling. Strolling the streets, I found a Pandora charm of a little hedgehog for my bracelet that will always remind me of this trip because all the knick-knack shops have hedgehog toys. Also I had to buy SebaMed face wash and lotion, a local creation that our guide, Ria, swears by - ecologically and physiologically the best for our skin.

We then met Ria in the town square for my dental appointment with Praxis (Dentist) Dr. Kiossok. What a neat experience! (Never thought I'd say that about a dentist appointment!) We walked in with Ria acting as translator, but when it came to the forms to fill out as a new patient, she was stumped. Allergies, medications, health conditions? It all seemed impossible to translate, so we left them blank, filling in only my name and today's date. Well, we even got one of those answers wrong - seemed they wanted my birth date!

When I went into the exam room, the doctor, who thankfully spoke perfect English, asked my health questions, and fortunately, I had no serious concerns for him. He examined my tooth (or lack thereof), and said he could fit a temporary cover over it, but couldn't guarantee it would even last the duration of our trip. But he could do a permanent fix in about 20 minutes for 150E. So I told Darrel how much it was if he needed to get some money out of the ATM. Unbeknownst to me while in the dentist's chair, Ria lent him the 40E he was short! She is a wonder. But of course, we paid her back immediately upon return to the boat.

Meanwhile Dr. Kiossok began his work. My chair tilt back, bib wrapped around my neck, and then I noticed a television. I asked him if all his patients get to watch tv while he worked on them. No, it's there so the patient can watch him work! I saw my tooth before he began and after. A little shot of Novocain (because I am such a chilcken) and in no time, I was walking out, all smiles. (photo) No pain, just like a normal tooth. Wow! And the best thing? Our insurance with the travel company will reimburse us!

We returned to the boat for lunch and it set sail back up the Rhine, the most picturesque part. Castles, one after another, lined the river and our program directors took turns telling us stories about each one, and the history of the little towns we sailed past. We even learned the legend of the Loreley (Lorelei in English) and she paid us a visit, trying to lure our captain on the rocks. Actually it was Steven dressed up as a "mermaid" in wig, makeup, even painted toenails! He wore huge balloons in front and, with all the prancing around the room, they became uneven, one up and one down. We were screaming with laughter as he pranced and sashayed around the room, looking for the captain. Hilarious. He is such a character. But Steven had more in store for us.

As dinner approached, it became time for our Port Talk, a little information about our next port of call. The surprise - we were scheduled for a stop in Speyer tomorrow, Steven told us we were going "off the gird", and instead of sailing directly there and arriving in the middle of the night as scheduled, we were pulling into Rudesheim tonight at 8:30 to visit a biergarten, then setting sail once again at 11 p.m.

What a riot! We walked into town dressed like Eskimos - 50 in a group. People in the cafes and restaurants we passed probably wondered what boat we just got off! We went to a fun place, already in full swing - oompah band wearing lederhosen, accordionist and beer! We sang with the locals, some danced the polka and the chicken dance. Sang "Roll out the barrel" in German or English, it didn't matter.

As we sail tonight, our clocks turn back, so we will gain one more precious hour on this wonderful cruise.

TOMORROW: Speyer, Germany and a home-hosted kaffeeklatsch.