Rhine River Cruising and a Little City Called Freiburg

The next morning we got up and drove one hour south to Bingen where we were to take a cruise of the Rhine River. We sailed two to three hours down the river passing wine valleys, churches, castles, and fortresses. It was rainy outside so we didn't make it onto the sundeck, but there was a Subway inside the boat which we found to have a great view of both sides of the Rhine and an excellent source for lunch. The cruise made several stops along the way through places such as Bacharach, Oberwesel, and St. Goar. When we first got onboard, the boat was not even half full. By the time we reached St. Goar, the boat seemed to be close to reaching maximum capacity. At one point, our little section seemed to be filled with Chinese and Indian travelers. An hour later, it was run over by UK schoolchildren who were excitedly taking pictures and forming their own gossiping circles. When we reached Koblenz we departed from the cruise, and set off in search of a train station to take us back to Bingen.
On our way to the train station we went by a little eatery selling döner kebaps. It is similar to a gyros in that you could fill it with lambs meat or chicken and a variety of sauces and vegetables. The meat is sliced directly from a rotating spit.
When served, it looks something like this....



I had my first and it was really good and very cheap. Chris would have you know that it is much better than anything from Pita Pit.
After our brief stop we went ahead in the rain towards the train station which was maybe a mile from the dock. We found a train that would take us to Bingen while making nine stops along the way. There was some confusion because after going on the train and checking the posted route it turned out there were three stops in a row made listed under Bingen. We weren't sure which stop was the correct one so that was kind of fun :) It wound up being the second stop, and we even passed the parking lot where we had left our rental so we were 100% positive on this. It wasn't too far of a walk either which was nice.
When we reached the car we had a 3 hour drive south ahead of us before we reached our destination of Freiburg (im Brisgau). During the drive down we were also able to try out our new wheels and I got to see what 120 mph felt like. Luckily I was in the hands of a very capable driver, and for the record, it was perfectly legal as there are often places with no speed limit posted. It was still pouring rain when we checked into our hotel, so Chris had me wait in the lobby so he could run out and find an umbrella for me. He was in a very chivalrous mood because I offerred to come with him, but he insisted I stay. I think he was concerned that he might be the cause of a potential bout of pneumonia as I had just recently changed into dry clothes and had been thoroughly drenched the entire day. I contented myself by looking at pictures in German magazines and attempted to read a technology article as it had the only words I could recognize. Soon he returned with two umbrellas and the evening festivities were resumed.
Freiburg is a college town and we both found it very enjoyable. Chris had been there previously and he said he had very fond memories of it, and enjoyed the sociable laid-back atmosphere. There were lots of young people there and a very nice downtown area to wander in and find places to eat and drink. An interesting note is that the city center has streams flowing down the side which you have to be careful to not fall into. (See below)



This could be very dangerous for a klutz and an easily distractable person such as myself, but I wound up navigating the roadways with little difficulty.
We found an excellent German restaurant (my favorite thus far) to stop and have dinner in. Along with dinner, we ordered some fine wine and I had my first authentic spetzel, yummy German egg noodles usually served with a sauce. Let's just call it the mac 'n cheese of Germany as mine was served with cheese. Chris had some white asparagus ordered with his meal and that did taste like macaroni and cheese as they had it coated in a creamy cheese dressing and it was very tender. Obviously I was thrilled at this point and I'm sure you can guess what made me like the restaurant and food so much.
We found a bar nearby the restaurant that was playing the Mexico and France game on the televesion. It was very crowded, but it had the atmosphere we were looking for and we both enjoyed some beer as we watched the game. Chris and I were cheering for Mexico, but we just assumed the locals might be rooting for France as you are so close to the country from where we were. This however was not the case at all. As soon as Mexico scored the first goal of the game, the patrons filled the room with thunderous applause and cheers. You would have thought it was Germany playing and not a country from a different continent. Such is their hatred for France apparently.
Another thing to mention about the bar is that the bathroom has lots of mirrors which Chris found amusing and I didn't care. Every bathroom in Germany is a mystery to me including the multiple ways they have created to possibly flush a toilet (levers, hand waving motion detectors, the opening of the stall, turn knobs, etc.). But that is another story.
When we did make it back to our hotel room, which happend to be right next to the train station, we caught the end of the game and went to sleep. You would have thought with all the noise the engine made and the rumbling of the train on its course we would have woken up several times. Something about German food, wine, and beer is the best sleeping aid a person can have.