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 eg...

We have gone about as far as the boat can go on the Mosel, so in the middle of the night, we turned around and headed back down the river, passing the same town, but will be stopping at new ones. Just in the past two/three days I finally felt adjusted: sleep normal, digestion good, feet fine, back strong, and today, a tooth broke! Good news, our insurance covers the dentist bill, but who wants to see a dentist on their vacation? - one who doesn't speak Englis...

We moored overnight in Issel, a very small town with a couple of houses, a church and a cemetery. We could go ashore of course, but Steven cautioned us to be sure to be back aboard befor the boat sailed at 5:45 a.m. I felt it shove away from the shore, and fell right back asleep. Two hours later, I woke and jumped up to get ready, thinking breakfast would be served for only another 45 minutes! In pulling the drawer out from UNDER my bunk, the whole thing ca...

What a wonderful little town! We woke to a cool and foggy day, just the perfect day along the wine region of the Mosel. The cool temperatures and moist air make for the most perfect conditions for the Reisling grape. After breakfast, we took a walking tour into Bernkastel, seeing the castle in ruins at the top of the mountain in the mist. The streets are narrow, with a tower at the waterfront, once part of the city wall and now part of a church, a lock fo...

Now we are on the Mosel River, quite different from the Rhine. It winds in and out of mountains, grape vines yellowing on the hillside. Swans greet our boat at the mooring. It is a foggy morning. The little village of Cochem is nestled in the river valley. The Mosel takes a big bend here, like a horseshoe. At the top of one mountain stands the Reichsburg Castle, built in 1000 AD (photo in the fog). Much of it was later burned, and for 500 years, it sat e...