Along the Rhine river - from Mainz to Koblenz

Our next stop was Mainz where we met Irina and her beloved count Youri. We also completed the most important mission of our journey by delivering to Irina an industrial quantity of lyutenitsa, sausages and cheese from Bulgaria :-)

The two then gave us a tour of Mainz, which was founded in 13 BC by the Roman general Drusus. After that we went to the popular wine house "Zum Beichtstuhl" where we had a bottle of Rhine wine and a delicious meal. The place is always busy, so you must make a reservation (tel. 06131/233120).

The next day we made a journey along the Rhine river. For 30km we followed the scenic gorge between Bingen and Koblenz. This stretch is dotted with 12 castles built during the middle ages by greedy lords to racketeer the ships.

A legendary place is the rock of Lorelei, where Rhein is at its narrowest. Lorelei was a local beauty who used to sit on the cliff abover the river, combing her long blond hair. The view of sexy Lorelei must have been a huge distraction to the captains for many ships had crashed into the cliff.