This morning we were up very early to catch the tram to the Hauptbahnhof & then a train to Rüdesheim am Rhein (just over 1hr away).
Rüdesheim is BEAUTIFUL! Waking from the train station to the tourist information office you pass Brömserburg Castle (top left below) which was the property of the Archbishops of Mainz from the early 10th century until the beginning of the 19th century. During the 12th century they converted the old fortress into a castle residence. The 2m thick walls repelled every attack. Only the SE part was destroyed during the Thirty Years War. The castle was inhabited until 1937. Today it is home to the Rheingau Wine Museum. Boosenburg Castle (bottom left) whose tower dates back to the 9th century & is the town’s tallest building. It is privately owned & not open to the public. As well as a number of lovely streets filled with all sorts of tempting treats. Graeme bought himself a hiking stick, at last.
We had tickets to take a tour with KD Rhine River Cruises from Rüdesheim to St Goarshausen & back. The stops along the way were: Rüdesheim, Bingen, Assmannshausen, Lorch, Bacharach, Kaub, Oberwesel, St Goar & St Goarshausen. The guy who sold us the cruise said this was the best part of the Rhine so we hopped aboard.
OMG it was cold! It was also too beautiful to go inside & miss all the photo opportunities. This is only a very small selection of stunning sites we saw on the 1hr 50 min cruise. 
We got off the boat at St Goarshausen &, noticing very little to see or do here, wondered why on earth we were here & not at the previous stop, St Goar, where there appeared to be plenty of cafes & shops. I can only imagine that in our Zombie state on day 1 we had imagings of climbing Loreley. Unfortunately a very bad massage in Bankok airport rendered Graeme in pain for most of our trip so hiking the Loreley would not be an option today. 
We did however walk slowly along the river to the Loreley which is a legendary steep rock, 132m high. The siren Loreley is supposed to have lured passing sailors to their death, as described in Heinrich Hein’s well-known song (that I had never heard). When water levels fall, you can apparently still see the hazardous reefs of the Seven Virgins. According to legend 7 hard hearted virgins were transformed into rocks there.
It was amazing to see the way they had decorated the train tunnel entrances & of course Graeme had to explore any open door leading under the tracks. Just past Loreley we can upon Bernies Blues Bar where we had quite a pleasant lunch before our hike back to the boat. While we waited for the boat to pick us up we noticed a car ferry that travelled between St Goarshausen & St Goar. If we had been a little more mindful on arrival we might have taken it to St Goar to do some exploring there. Oh well, we live & learn, eventually.
It was a little warmer on the cruise back & just as beautiful to see the sights from a different angle while Graeme slept after our long walk.
We arrived back in Rüdesheim in time to take the cable car over the vast vineyards to the Niederwald Monument, a 38m tall figure of Germania adorned with imperial crown & sword that keeps watch over the river & the vineyards. The monument was completed in 1883 & symbolises the re-establishment of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/71. The view was truely awesome.
We had a wonderful dinner at the Restaurant Café Stadt Frankfurt in Rüdesheim, after waking out of the Seilbahn Cafe as they were very rude to us for asking questions trying to understand what was on their menu. After dinner we made the long journey back to our hotel in Frankfurt determined that we would be back tomorrow to explore Rüdesheim further. 
lifeisanadventure850 