The Rhein

One of the things I wanted to do while visiting Germany was to take a boat tour of the Rhein.
My cousins graciously went along with us, I'm so glad they were able to make the trip too!

We had a such a wonderful, relaxing day.

Enjoy these amazing sights.

When we loaded the boat, we were amazed at how close the villages and castles were to the river.

There were trails and pathways along the river...what a wonderful way to experience all the beauty.

This is a shot of the top of the boat where most people were seated. The boat made several stops as people came aboard or exited...another form of Germany's transportation system.

We kept our spot up here for most of the trip. It was the perfect place for grand views.

There was even entertainment for small children!

There were a few other modern boats, but overall it was a very quiet ride.

Wouldn't this be a wonderful way to travel for a few days or more?

Village markers

Ehrenfels Castle Ruin

Rheinstein Castle 

This is one of my favorite shots...the castle and modern transportation.

Amazing.

Reichenstein Castle

 Notice the RV camping trailors...

Sooneck Castle

Furstenberg Castle Ruin

The striping on the hillsides are vineyards or other vegetation.

This gives a perspective of the width of the river.

Pfalzgrafenstein Toll Station

Train tunnels

According to German legend, there was once a beautiful young maiden, named Lorelei, who threw herself headlong into the river in despair over a faithless lover. Upon her death she was transformed into a siren and could from that time on be heard singing on a rock along the Rhine River, near St. Goar. Her hypnotic music lured sailors to their death. The legend is based on an echoing rock with that name near Sankt Goarshausen, Germany

"Lorelei" Encyclopedia Mythica. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/lorelei.html

Her statue is hard to see...she's sitting on the rock.

Rheinfels Fortress

Maus Castle

Marksburg Castle

Stolzenfels Palace

Elector's Palace in Koblenz

Our tour had sadly ended, our stop was quickly approaching.
It was an amazing, unforgettable day.

For more information on the castles along the Rhein, click here

**if you're a perfectionist like me and notice the spacing is off, i tried...for about an hour... for some reason blogger isn't taking my editing...ugh.

Rudesheim, Germany

We took a river boat ride from Rudesheim to Koblenz, Germany.

 

 The blue line on the map above is the Rhein. Rudesheim is on the Rhein by Geisenheim. We loaded the boat there and slowly cruised to Koblenz. It was a beautiful day.

This post is about the beginning: Rudesheim. It was a lovely little village, set up to serve tourists. It had shops, restaurants, and wine tasting.

It was a joy!

There were even cable cars.

Museums.

This was the famous pedestrian street, laden with shops and restaurants.

Lots of Cuckoo clocks.

Hummels.

Restaurants.

Such attention to details.

Next post: the Rhein and castles.

Stay tuned!

Hallo!

Just stopping in for a minute to let you know that I'll be posting again very soon. I've just flown back from a trip and I have a bit  of "jet lag." Hopefully I'll be 100% after a bit more sleep!

Bonn, Germany

Cologne, Germany

"The Dome"

See you soon!

A Little Transformation...

Our patio furniture was in need of a little attention:

Look at the bottom of the seat...my son went right through it! When we purchased this set, the salesperson said that the "slings" could be replaced when needed. Hm...

I found a great site online: chaircarepatio.com.

There were very specific instructions for taking off and the installation of new fabric. They even included a video with helpful tips.

In the first picture, you can see that the chair{s} needed repainting. Our area can be a bit windy and these guys have tumbled over more than once.

So Krylon to the rescue. It was so easy and covered very well.

...highly recommended...

Chair Care Patio sent fabric swatches to try and the selection was very close to the original fabric.

Within 10-15 days, the new slings arrived... they were a perfect color for the existing umbrella and a great match with the new paint. {whew!}

Following the directions, my husband was able to install the fabric fairly easy.

I'm linking to Susan's Met Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch. Drop by for a visit for loads of inspiration!

Glossy magazines...on a Friday afternoon.

I'm sure that glossy magazines aren't good for the environment.

However, they are sure fun to look at, especially on a Friday afternoon.

 After a long week at work, sometimes you just have to take a minute or two to breathe.

I won a subscription for Victoria Magazine a year or so ago and love leafing through the pages and all the loveliness.

If had twin boys, I would love this room:

The blues and creams are so calming...

I'm sure it wouldn't stay this way, especially with boys, but it sure looks dreamy.

And do you get this delivered free?

It's put out by Lowe's and has really neat ideas and tips.

Everything they photograph usually comes from their stores.

This front entry looks so inviting, the mums are gorgeous!

And the back patio...I love it.

I'm soooooooo ready for fall and cooler weather!