Last night, exactly one year from seeing the Lt. Dan Band at Ramstein, Emilee and I took a USO tour to Bingen, Germany for the Rhein Aflame cruise. Rhein Aflame...what is it? It's a short cruise down the Rhein, passing by many of the castles, starting right before dusk, and continuing on until just before midnight. The ship made one trip down past the castles and back again, then just idled the engine the rest of the evening, just in time for the fireworks to begin. The fireworks came from various castles. First one castle, then the next. There were supposedly 50 other boats/ships on the water idling just like us. I can't say I saw 50, but will say I saw a whole bunch in front of us and a whole bunch in back! Emilee and I bought a bottle of wine from the local vineyards and split it. Later we had schnitzel and budernudls (noodles). It was the perfect temperature outside, not too hot and not too cold; just a bit of a breeze. The sky was clear and the moon almost full, so it was a stunning view.
When we finally did board the boat, Emilee and I procured a topside table to have a great view! Our American friends chose a table on the middle deck. Because our table was empty except for the two of us, another couple asked if they could sit with us. This couple was German and I had no problem with someone joining us....It's the European way. That is, until the gentleman got up and came back with an ash tray. When he did, I indicated, with sign language, that I really preferred he not smoke. He kind of laughed and made a comment about "You Americans pioneered smoking, and now you are against smoking." I laughed right back and said, "Yes, in America, smoking now is not tolerated much." Sign language: a thumbs down. I was instantly regretting my decision to 'allow' this couple to sit with us, thinking that we were now going to be the objects of his derision. However, it did not turn out that way and we had a very enjoyable and informative evening with our German table companions. We found out that the Rhein Aflame was done completely for the tourists, that Italy, particularly the very southern part, was THE place to visit, we learned much about the history of the area, and we learned that we should be entitled to our reservation fees back for any train trip that has been delayed more than 30 minutes. Hmmm...May have to try. But I am not sure I want to challenge a German.
Even if the evening was just for the tourists, on this night, many Germans became tourists, too, just for the night. (Click on title of this post to take you to my Flickr photos of Rhein Aflame.)
The Story
We were Bus #3, leaving from Pier #4, at 5:00....That's how we were to remember it...3, 4, 5. We arrived shortly after 3:00, so Emilee and I walked around Bingen, then had dinner at an Asian restaurant. (VERY good!) Then we made our way to Pier 4 to board at 5:00. Long story short....we boarded around 7:30. In the meantime, we sat at an outdoor cafe with an American family whose father/husband was at Ramstein T.D.Y. for seven months. The mother/wife and her two kids (one a new HS graduate, and the son was out of school 1 year) were visiting Germany for 1 month. They were on their third week here. It was an enjoyable visit! Then we thought the boat was arriving, we lined up, not our boat. We did this three times.
When we finally did board the boat, Emilee and I procured a topside table to have a great view! Our American friends chose a table on the middle deck. Because our table was empty except for the two of us, another couple asked if they could sit with us. This couple was German and I had no problem with someone joining us....It's the European way. That is, until the gentleman got up and came back with an ash tray. When he did, I indicated, with sign language, that I really preferred he not smoke. He kind of laughed and made a comment about "You Americans pioneered smoking, and now you are against smoking." I laughed right back and said, "Yes, in America, smoking now is not tolerated much." Sign language: a thumbs down. I was instantly regretting my decision to 'allow' this couple to sit with us, thinking that we were now going to be the objects of his derision. However, it did not turn out that way and we had a very enjoyable and informative evening with our German table companions. We found out that the Rhein Aflame was done completely for the tourists, that Italy, particularly the very southern part, was THE place to visit, we learned much about the history of the area, and we learned that we should be entitled to our reservation fees back for any train trip that has been delayed more than 30 minutes. Hmmm...May have to try. But I am not sure I want to challenge a German.
Even if the evening was just for the tourists, on this night, many Germans became tourists, too, just for the night. (Click on title of this post to take you to my Flickr photos of Rhein Aflame.)
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