Bacharach

Day six already, but only the fourth in Europe.
The food has been the most pleasant experience, very few disappointments. Yesterday, Monday, was a travel day. AB was not happy with the room change in Haarlem. Worried about ghosts, etc., and had an issue with the smell, neither of which were a concern for me. As a result her sleep was shortened, and I was woken on a regular basis. Something about plastic on the matress?

Transportation connections and concerns have been resolved fairly easily. The DB train schedule and purchasing option online is outstanding. Going to see if we can print ours out tomorrow to avoid problems. Will pick up the car in Strasbourg. Last train for me for a while.

Monday:
Cloudy, windy, rainy at times. The train we were supposed to catch in Amsterdam was in Utrecht...fun, had to really pay attention to the platform changes. Cologne was wet and since it was Monday nothing was open museum-wise. The Cathedral is still big. Decent lunch, found some sandals for the summer. AB almost got a bag, but settled for an umbrella, red with white polka dots. Train from Koblenz to Bacharach was delayed, but had a Weiss beer in the station which was tasty. Train down the east side of the Rhine was pretty, so says AB. I agree. Armin from Pension im Malerwinkel was there to pick us up in the rain. Great place. Too late to get dinner anywhere except a pizza and kabob joint which turned out to be very satisfying.

Tuesday:
Bikes for 6 euro a day. Road to St. Goar (14 km), thought about a trip to Burg Eltz, but too far to ride on those seats, the bus wasn't running, and the train was not an option. Went to plan C, which worked out for the best, ferry to St. Goarshausen, a frustrating time trying to buy a ticket at the station which was unmanned. We squared it away with the conductor who was kind enough to sell us a ticket for five personnes to Braubach, or so we think. Regardless, it was cheap and we hiked up to Marksburg Castle where we did a tour with the first half in German (w/ a book in English we couldn't follow), and then the second half was in English as our guide switched people from our group. Truth be told I liked not knowing what was being said. AB says she liked learning. I do too, but it was nice being a stranger in a strange land, if only for a moment. The tour was great, reversed the trip, ate some street meat before making the ride back to Bacharach. Good meal tonight, again. Going to look at the church ruins, and perhaps the castle which is now a youth hostel.

Colmar/Strasbourg tomorrow. Isenheim here we come.

AB hurt her jaw, finger, and sits bones today. We can't really figure out the jaw thing.
I'm fine.