# 1 Mainz Germany and the Rhine River Cruise

Mainz Germany and the Rhine River Cruise

This is the beginning of an 18 day tour of Germany, Switzerland and Austria with a Danube River Cruise from Vilshofen to Budapest.

We flew into Frankfurt Germany where we met our driver who immediately took us to Mainz where we had the day to ourselves to tour and explore.  Mainz is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.  It is situated on the Rhine River. 



Photo from our Hotel Room in Mainz

Same photo only reflected off our Hotel

The Rhine from the Hotel



Also the Rhine in Mainz - sorry about the sun!

Just wandering around on our own we saw the Gutenberg Museum, the museum of the history of printing, and the Mainz Cathedral, a 10^th century sandstone Romanesque cathedral. 

 The Fastnachtsbrunnen, a fountain comprised of more than 200 whimsical bronze figures which celebrates the festival Carnival season. Some of those ‘whimsical’ figures might give some people nightmares I think!  The fountain is located in the middle of a grand court surrounded by several lovely buildings.

 

We saw in a distance the towers of St. Peter’s Church, one of the most important rococo buildings in Mainz.

 

As we were walking around on our own we saw many lovely buildings and views; Below are some of the views we enjoyed.

 In the evening we met the rest of our fellow travelers, many of whom have become great friends, and enjoyed a lovely dinner together while getting to know each other.

The next morning we all boarded a water craft to tour the beautiful scenic Rhine River.  There were stunning vistas, tons of hillside castles, terraced vineyards and villages of timber framed houses, along with many steepled churches.  We also cruised by the well-known Lorelei Rock rising vertically from the waters of the Rhine and named for the siren ‘Lorelei’ who, as the story goes, bewitched sailors passing by.  Enjoy the photos!

 

Lorelei Rock, photo on left and next two photos.

More to come soon 😉

Jan 🌷🌷🐾🐾