Today started with a stop in Rudesheim and a tour of a vineyard with a wine tasting and a gondola over vineyards. Rudesheim is a very quaint town with approximately 7,000 citizens in the heart of a very robust wine area. Following the wine tasting we were able spend some time in the town shopping before returning to our boat.
We were scheduled to leave the dock at 2:00 for the most scenic segment of the trip through the Rhine Gorge to Koblenz and the viewing of dozens of castle’s along the way. Before we could get away the Captain informed us that the river was closed because of the discovery of an unexploded WW II Bomb dropped by American aircraft in the area between the two towns. The river has been very low on water due to a lack of rain and another cruise boat saw the bomb located in an area that was exposed because of the low water. In approximately 2 hours we were able to leave as the Bomb Squad was able to disable the bomb and it was once again safe to travel.
The Rhine gorge was the most scenic section of the trip to date with a castle located every several miles along the way. Check out the SmugMug site for photos showing the castles and German landscape that is the best viewing during the cruise:
http://ljl-photos.llanie.com/2015-Europe-RiverCruise/The-Rhine-Gorge/

We arrived in Koblenz between 6-7 PM, just in time for dinner. Tomorrow we will cruise to the German city of Cologne, which is the 3rd largest in Germany.