Where is the Princess?

Stolzenfels Castle

Middle Rhine

On my last post, I left off with our traveling south from Koblenz...appropriately named Going South. Clever, huh?

We continued our journey south to see some of the 40 castles and fortresses that still exists along the Middle Rhine.  The Middle Rhine is one of four sections of the river. Actually there are more than 40 castles and fortresses in this section according to some sources....those say correct number is 48. ("po-tate-o... po-tah-to",... it's still a lot of castles and fortresses) The Middle Rhine runs the length  of the river between Bonn, Germany and Bingen, Germany.  One of the most expedient ways to see a lot of these, would be to take one of the Rhine cruises. However, if you are there in December, you have to check to see what cruises are available. Many of the tourist cruises end on October 31st.  We chose to drive the distance so we had the luxury of stopping where and when we wanted.  Today, I am going to talk about just two stops.  I fear that I am already past the point of boring you with our itinerary.

Thought Number One: Stolzenfels Castle

No sooner had we left the city of Koblenz heading south...thinking our next stop would be in Boppert when we saw the prettiest castle sitting up on the bluff...which of course meant we needed to scope it out.

According to Europedia, the Stolzenfels Castle is open to the public everyday of the year for tours.  What I quickly determined is that Europedia is as accurate at Wikipedia...which means that I wasn't horribly shocked to see:

We, however, weren't deterred from walking around.  While my photography skills don't do justice to how pretty the setting actually is...it truly is  no less than spectacular. (My husband's camera does a bit better job capturing the richness of the colors but neither can capture the true beauty of the place.) There is a winding trail that goes up to the castle past a chapel and a gate house.  

A little background about the castle:

• The castle was built in 1259 as a toll station on the Rhine until 1412.
• It was occupied by several countries including Sweden in 1632 and France in 1634 and 1646.
• The French destroyed much of it in 1689 during the Palatinate Succession War.
• After the defeat of Napoleon, the town of Koblenz demanded ownership and gave the ruins to the Prussian Prince Royal, Friedrich Wilhelm.
• In 1836 the castle was restored to it's original glory.

 Thought Number Two:  Bacharach, Germany

After making stops in several towns along the way, each being more charming than the last, we pulled into Bacharach and parked next to one of the old fortress towers. 

My husband had been to Bacharach a couple of other times prior to my arrival, so you will notice some differences in the pictures. The day, I arrived,  the town had Christmas markets in the streets.

Bacharach has two very prominent tourist draws. One of them being the ruins of an ancient chapel. The Werner Chapel, unfortunately,  has a tragic story attached to it.  The chapel was first built in 1289 to honor a 16 year old named Werner of  Oberwesel who was murdered. The murder was blamed on the Jewish community and the accusations brought with it a number of crimes against the Jewish population.

The chapel remained uncompleted and was further damaged by the French when they destroyed Stahleck Castle that was located just up the hill.

What remains of Werner Chapel, however, is the architectural skeleton of what is some of the most enduring examples of Gothic art used in design of buildings.

The real attraction to the area is the Stahleck Castle that sits further up onto the hillside.

Background of the castle:

• There is no clear evidence when the castle was built but it is believed to be around 1135 AD.  
• The castle was sacked 8 times over the course of its history leaving it in various states of ruin.
• It was finally beyond repair when the French destroyed it in 1689. The French not only decisively destroyed the castle but also, destroyed Werner Chapel as well.
• In 1909, the castle footings and remaining walls were stabilized so work could begin to rebuild it.
• By 1925 it was rebuilt  incorporating the remains of the original structure, with the help of Erst Stahl.  His intent was to  rebuild it in it's original "spirit".  The newly rebuilt castle was intended to be a hostel. 
• During the First and Second World Wars, the buildings were taken over and used by the Third Reich for various reasons including an indoctrination camp for the young men of Germany.
• It returned to a youth hostel in 1947.
• Today it houses over 42,000 overnight stays a year. The 168 beds are nearly always reserved.

So...that is where, I will leave off for today.

Next week, I will show you Amsterdam.



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What You Might Have Missed

Here it is another Friday and I am so worried that you might have missed all the bizarre, inconsequential, stupid, main-stream news this week because of the Network News Loop. Here is my theory,  the networks pretape the stories that they believe to be the most interesting, put them on a computer that just keeps looping them over and over and over....

 Pre-recorded news for the week of April 17-24

I know these three stories are of great importance especially the upcoming nuptials but to be fair to some of the other events that are happening, I thought I might bring you up to speed.

Just to keep you IN THE KNOW here are a few things you might have missed.

1. Homeland Security has done away with the multi-level, multi-colored warning system.  In the case of emergency, you might actually want a working knowledge of this one.  Well...really...I can't give you a working knowledge of this as I am not sure how it is going to work BUT this is what I know.

The old system is no more.   The old one that you see on the right,  is history.   Just forget you ever saw it.  I realize that this old one might have had a certain amount of confusion surrounding it, as the government changed the levels 16 times in the ten+ years since it's inception.  However, it was kind of pretty as systems go; as least as far as systems that are designed  to stamp our city or town with an expiration date.

But, alas, progress.  We now have a new system.  ARE YOU READY?

                                   IMMINENT
                            ELEVATED

There you have it.  The complete new system to let us know our level of
immediate danger.  I am so relieved that this sure-fire system was designed  (probably took thousands of hours of planning) just so we could all sleep peacefully  at night.

I do have just a couple of itty-bitty little questions though.

Now according to the plan when we get one of these alerts they are supposed to let us know exactly what the danger is.  The press release tells us that it will be area specific and they will use Facebook and Twitter in the execution of getting the warnings out to us.  So here are a few of my questions.

A.  Do I need to become a follower on my Twitter account to Homeland Security? AND because I am me, will I stay focused enough to read Homeland Security's tweet before I read Sarah Silverman's or Funny One Liners?
B.  Can they stick to the 140 characters or less on any emergency that impacts my living longer than my current age? (which remains a mystery) Also, note that I have run a couple of tests on my Twitter account to the right, to make sure my Emergency Tweet Broadcast System is working effectively.
C. Do I need to press the "Confirm as a Friend" button on my Facebook page to make Homeland Security my friend?
D.  If I am in elevated danger does that mean I stand a fighting chance of protecting myself versus what the word imminent implies,  MY ASS IS TOAST?
E.  If the old system got changed 16 times what is the realistic change count for this one?
F.  What if the people "from no place in particular" don't know what the words elevated or imminent mean? Are they automatically doomed? Maybe you could put in parentheses behind elevated  (things aren't looking good) and behind imminent (oh, sh**, hope you have all your affairs in order!).

I am hopeful that Homeland Security will get back to me on this quickly but I have my doubts.  The first release of the new system was on January  27th but the public was notified last night. (April 20) Of course, this could be that I didn't notice a tweet.

2.  Another news release for this week....The Dept. of Transportation is enacting new rules for the airlines to help protect consumer rights.

Here are a few of the key points. 

All fees that are associated with the price of your ticket have to be prominently disclosed.  So, all taxes and government fees will show up on the price of your ticket.  No guessing about the extra costs.  This is nice.
The only down side I see, is that now that ticket that used to show as $250.00 then later became $295.00 when you actually paid for it, starts out as $295.00.  No more surprises.  You get the kick to your private parts over with quickly so you can move on with the rest of your day.

Also, airlines have to prominently display all the add-on costs that are not directly associated with mandated taxes and fees.  Those little incidentals like baggage fees, meals, a place to put your legs, a blanket, a pillow, earphones for those that choose not to try to lip read the movie, (providing you are on a flight that has a movie..really you are expecting a lot  for your $1122.00 round trip fare, aren't you?)

Now here is one you might like.  If they lose your luggage, you get the fee that you paid to bring a suitcase with you, returned.  (Really, what were you thinking that made you want to check a bag  in the first place?   With that kind of backward thinking, I am not sure you deserve a refund.)

Also,  if you get involuntarily bumped from your flight you will be recouping $650 -$1330 depending on how long you are delayed.  I did notice that the article I was reading to acquire all this  information said that in the past you could  get $400-$800 for being bumped. What?  Who did?  I have gotten bumped  before and never got a dime.  I think there must be a system that I am not aware of. I suppose I needed to check out their web site at www.ifyournotageekyoudontdeserveourrespect(dot)com.

For a more thorough understanding of all the new bonuses you get to pay for when you fly, here is a nice little article that talks about the fun financials of flying. New Rules for Flyers

Couple little quickies that are flying under the radar as far as news goes.

3. Rod Blagojevich's trial started Wednesday.  For any of you that watched Rod on Celebrity Apprentice, you already know the real entertainment value associated with this trial.  It has nothing to to with Illinois politics, which is notoriously good for some laughs but more the fact that as reality stars go, that Rod is totally fun to watch. (Just think of Moe in the Three Stooges)
4. The Phallological Museum in Husavik, Iceland got it's first human penis for display.  The "Penis" museum is excited at it's latest acquisition. They received the donated pickled penis (say that 3 times really fast) after waiting for 15 years for a donor to actually deliver on his promise. The museum curator Sigurdur Hjartarson, said this rounds out the extensive collection of phalluses from numerous other mammals including whales, seals and bears (oh my)

So blogees, there is a little news to tide you over till the news loop changes. Have a Happy Easter for those that celebrate the holiday. 


No tie in on the video today.  Just for fun.




The Good for the day....Here comes Peter Cotton Tail, hopping down the Bunny Trail, Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its way....



The Bad for the Day...The penis that was donated (albeit pickled) was that of a 95 year old man. I am thinking that is bad.  Probably not in the best shape of it's life.



The Weird for the Day.....A passenger on a bus in Argentina was arrested after authorities were tipped off to the fact that he was smuggling 444 snakes, 186 turtles, 40 lizards and one armadillo in assorted pieces of luggage.  Creepy...snakes on a bus.  Sound like a movie sequel to Snakes on a Plane. But why just one armadillo?