Cruising the Danube from the Black Sea to the North Sea
April-May 2023: Day 26

Rudesheim, Germany

Introduction

A Chu-chu train took us into the city and dropped us at Siegfried’s Music Box Museum. Then we walked a short distance to the cable car that takes you up to the Lady Germania Monument. Lovely Spring day but there was a chill in the wind. Then we walked back down from the monument, through parts of the town now full of tourists from several cruise ships and finally back to our ship. Mid-afternoon we entered the Rhine Gorge, passing many small villages, castles and cathedrals. About 4pm we entered the Lorelei, the narrowest part of the Rhine. We kept an eye out for the Lorelei statue as we sailed past.

Siegfried’s Music Box Museum, Rudesheim

This private collection has over 400 self-playing music boxes, from small boxes and barrel organs to large devices that replicate an orchestra. One even had self-playing violins. Phots do not do it justice, so there are several short videos of the devices.

Lady Germania Monument

After the musical boxes we walked the short distance up the street to the entrance to the gondola that takes patrons up the hill. Our Scenic Jade boarding pass was accepted as a ticket and after a short wait in the queue we were off up the hill. By the time we came down an hour later the queue was right down the street.

The Rhine Gorge and the Lorelei

Back onboard we headed north and into the Rhine Gorge, the narrowest part of the Rhine waterway. Here the river flows swiftly through a narrow gorge. In the past many ships have run aground here, with the captains blaming a siren named Lorelei for wooing them. Today there is a traffic light system so that only one ship at a time enters the Lorelei. At the northern entrance is a statue of the Lorelei herself.