Great Rivers of Europe - 4

Hi, Following our afternoon cruise up the Rhine we stopped at Rudesheim and went into town.

Ruthe spotted this really funky clock as we walked toward the restaurant where we would have dinner.

The streets were narrow and the town was quaint.

After dinner some of the guests took part in some entertainment.  Here each woman has a bell which she would ring when the director pointed to her.

On May 5 we docked in Frankfurt and went by bus to Heidelberg.

This is the Bridge Gate to the Alte Bruecke, or old bridge, across the Neckar River.  It was originally part of the city wall.  The bridge was built between 1786 and 1788.

Across the river from the old town I spotted what looked like an older excursion boat.

Wherever we went in Germany there were these very interesting signs outside of businesses (above and below).  The first two photos in this post show two more.

The sign above advertizes a candy claimed to be developed in the area called Student Kiss.

Europeans seem to be ardent landscapers, even if it is just a window box, and the Germans are no exception.

At one time in its history the Church of the Holy Spirit found itself in need of additional funds.  It solved the problem by renting out stalls along its ground floor to merchants and food stands, a practice which continues today.

Here are two views from Heidelberg Castle.  In the view above the Church of the Holy Spirit is surrounded by the old town.  The Old Bridge is in the view below.

The castle is a ruin.

This is one of the many downspouts taking water off the castle's roof.

On our return to Frankfurt we departed.  Frankfurt has some very low bridges so all of the structures on the rear deck are lowered to deck level as is the pilot house.

The Captain peers out through a hatch in the pilot house as he navigates up river.

The Frankfurt skyline retreated behind us.

This interesting sculpture sat in the river off a park.

Here is one of the 68 locks we passed through on our trip.

Thanks for looking.