Monday 9th June Boppard on the Rhine Germany To Grindelwald (Sharryns post just I have put it up for her!)

Boppard is a village on the Rhine. The village has been adapted to cater for the large number of tourists who now visit. There are Bed and Breakfasts or Zimmer as it is said in German everywhere. Souvenier shops and restaurants take up much of the rest of the town. In saying that it is a lovely spot and would be recommended.. There is always something happening, a barge or four passing, a river cruise boat pulling in or one of the 750ish trains passing each day. Although that all sounds very busy it appears very laid back, old men playing cards on a table in the park and a couple more on a giant chess board.

We have become very accustomed to a slow and leisurely morning. This is made all the better by the quality of the breakfasts at Haus Wellar in Boppard. They are outstanding. Bread of at least three varieties, meats, cheeses, eggs, yoghurt, fruit and fish as well as jam, cream cheese, quark to be enjoyed with orange juice and coffee. Haus Wellar is a very old 14 room bed and breakfast which is perhaps a little tired but that is made up for in hospitality. We enjoyed each of our three days/nights there.

After a visit to the information centre we took a train to Emmelshausen. The track to Emmelshausen winds its way up the hill through some beautiful forests and over an old stone viaduct. This train is the steepest normal train in Germany and has been made been made a historical/national icon. Peter and Gill both decided that this would be a good town to get a hair cut and to be honest it was a good choice especially for Peter who is now not continually saying “I must get a hair cut”. Garey and I wandered around the shops (there were not many) and we caught the train back to Boppard an hour after arriving. We had planned to catch another boat down the Rhine so that we could see what was down there and could then say we had been both ways. Unfortunately this was not to be as the only one that went up was late in the day. Not to worry we had Peter and the Navman so following the Lonely Planet set off. We went to Koblenz which was the next town but as we were now small town people we did not stay and went on to Cochem. This is a traditional looking town which was also on the Rhine. It too has a chair lift which we had to try. Gill, Peter and I ventured up and Garey chose to visit the town. The view was worth the trip and the castle on the opposite hill was just as you see in postcards.
We meandered back along what we assumed was the Rhine, Garey and Peter were sure we were wrong as the water volume was not enough and where were the barges. Alas they were right! It was the Mosel which is a tributary to the Rhine. The grape vines are planted from the road directly uphill or mountain as the case may be. They have a type of miniature rail running up the hills between the vines, we assume to take the workers back up. The entire area is very very steep but it does not appear to deter people from planting grapes. The wine industry on the Rhine is huge.
We finished the day with a fabulous meal at a small restaurant in the back streets of Boppard. It appears that one of the staple meats in Germany in pork and you can buy it cooked almost anyway you choose. The food was beautiful (I did not have pork) and we had three courses for an excellent price.

Tuesday on Road to Grindelwald
After yet another fantastic breakfast we were off on our longest driving day of our trip. Boppard to Grindelwald in Switzerland. We all agreed we could have stayed longer in the Rhine area as it is a beautiful area with plenty to do but we needed to move on.
Peter drove all the way which was approx 540km. We stopped for diesel, toilets and lunch. Yes we ate again! Once again we called into a small town about 45 min on the Germany side of Basel. Small towns are great. Gill and I had a lovely salad and Peter and Garey had goulash. For 6 euros and 50cents Peter and Garey got three courses, salad, goulash and dessert. Excellent value. Once again we were on the road and before long in Switzerland. At the border we were stopped and had to pay 40 francs for a road tax. This would have lasted us a year but unfortunately we are only here 4 days. This is still cheaper than some of what we paid in tolls last trip and the roads and tunnels are worth it.
We met Nicole at her parent’s chalet and she let us in and showed us where everything was. It was so good to see her again. This time she was accompanied by Maggie her very good friend from New Zealand and Shaun, her new boyfriend from Australia. Nicole had arranged for us to go ‘up the mountain’ for dinner. Well up the mountain was exactly what she meant. Peter described it as a “bloody good rally road.” It went up the side of a mountain; we had to stop twice for self opening electric fences and twice for cows. The restaurant was lovely and we had traditional Swiss food. The owners were very friendly as locals usually only frequent as the road is not open to tourists. We felt a little like we were in their lounge. The views were outstanding as you would expect as we were 1,904 metres up and looking straight across at the tallest mountains in Europe. Another very memorable day!