The Bonn Town Hall is where President John F. The city was the provisional capital of West Germany from the years following World War II until Germany’s reunification in 1990. We cruise to Bonn, where the tour features the Baroque city walls, Romanesque Basilica and Beethoven’s home, now a museum. It’s an imposing, monolithic structure high above the Mosel River, offering a glimpse into life in a huge castle as well as lovely views of the river below. The next day, we’re in Cochem, and our walking tour features a walk-through of Reichsburg Castle, originally constructed in the 11th century, burned during the 1689 War of Palatine Succession and rebuilt and converted into a summer home in the late 1800s. On day 9 of our 15-day cruise, we make port in Trier, where a walking tour of the city takes us by the Roman Emperor Constantine’s massive Basilica, erected AD 310, and pass the imposing Porta Nigra (black gate), a huge gateway built AD 200, the largest surviving citygate from Roman times. The winemakers note that the vineyards are neither irrigated nor fertilized, and seasonal Romanian vineyard workers hand pick grapes, climbing up the steep, rocky hills. Here, we’re hosted to a winery tour, deep in the wine caves cut into the side of the rocky valley. An optional tour took us to Marksburg Castle, a 13th century fortress unchanged by war or reconstruction.Īt Koblenz, we detour off the Rhine and head southwest up the Mosel River through a rugged valley, with vineyards planted in the most precarious locations, some on 65-degree slopes! We anchor in Bernkastel, one of the prettiest villages in the Mozel Valley, with its sister town, Kues, on the opposite bank. We soon made port in Boppard, the historic center of the Middle Rhine Region, a UNESCO World Heritage site, famous for its Rhine Promenade and the lofty white towers of the Church of Saint Severus. We soon pass the imposing 440 foot rocky point where Germanic legend holds that an enticing siren - Lorelei - wooed sailors to destruction on the reef below the rocks. We are in central Germany in the lovely Rhine River Valley, where we gaze on countless historic river towns, the forest changing from green to yellows and reds, and centuries-old castles atop many of the precipices. The cruise is a “last-minute deal“ on Grand Circle Cruise line, allowing us to stretch our travel dollars. This week’s installment reports on the second week of our Romance of the Rhine and Mosel River cruise aboard the River Harmony, a 330-foot, three-deck European river cruiser carrying 140 passengers and crew of 36.

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