by Glynnis Hayward

Created on: September 13, 2010   Last Updated: September 24, 2010

My head is spinning with castles and fairy tale villages.  It's August and river cruising in Europe on a small, flat-bottomed ship that accommodates a maximum of 150 passengers, feels close to heaven.  The weather is variable so I'm prepared for rain or shine, but regardless, summer is warm and the best time to go.  Sitting on the sun deck atop the ship, watching vineyards on either side with

castles frequently interspersed, or stopping at towns and going on guided tours, I sense the history of the region.  These castles were built for defense through the ages, as well as protection in feudal times.  The Rhine was a trade route and tolls had to be paid to feudal barons; that was how life was back then whereas now we tourists pay the way.  Ah, the 21st century is probably more luxurious on this ship with good company and excellent meals, but I enjoy flights of fancy into the past, seeing castles and notable historical points like the Lorelei.  These legendary rocks were perilous to many ships that strayed too close, lured supposedly by the Lorelei maiden on the rocks.  Nowadays the course of the river has been altered and she no longer is able to do her damage. I still see her there, cast in bronze and  forever surveying the spot where she caused havoc.  No problem for us though. 

The Rhine, Moselle, Rhone and Main Rivers are rich in history and folklore, but are also exceptional wine regions famous especially for Riesling and other white wines.  That's another reason to visit and by exploring the region by boat, you don't have to drink and drive!  Leave it to the captain and crew to get you safely along the river, or through 37 locks if you travel the Main River and enter the Main-Danube Canal to reach Bamberg, a well-preserved medieval city founded in 902.  It's fascinating to watch the locks fill and empty, standing right behind the wheel house as you do so.  I even touched the lock walls.  

But back to wine tasting and Rudesheim on the Rhine River.  After a day's sailing, passing the famous Katz and Maus Castles and numerous quaint towns, we stop mid-afternoon to visit the winery of Herr Dettinger and sample the Riesling made by his family for centuries.  My mind boggles at how they harvest the grapes on these steep slopes where the vines grow.  Herr Dettinger jokes that they need to have one leg shorter than the other!  I suspect that after a lifetime of

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