Another early (and rather damp) start today. Our coach took us down the Rhine to Boppard, including a ferry crossing.We got a coffee and picked up some lunch in Boppard:Then waited for our boat:We then headed upstream to St Goar:

We had a bit of time before our next boat, so had our lunch and a short walk along the river:

Once on the next boat, we continued upstream past the famous Lorelei Rocks:

A few beers later, we reached Assmannshausen and walked back to the hotel.

We had an English language tour booked here this afternoon – after a bit of confusion where we went to the wrong museum…

A very interesting tour of various mechanical musical instruments collected over the years:

A very interesting tour. Afterwards, we caught a little bus back to Assmannshausen which wound through the hills. Unfortunately it was pouring with rain by now, but at least the bus stop was right by the hotel.

We had a free day today, so decided to go to Rüdesheim, the next town along the River Rhine.

There is a chair lift right opposite the hotel, so that saved a lot of climbing!

It was quite surreal floating over back gardens and vineyards before heading into forest.

From the top, we followed a semi-guided walk through the forest.

At several points, the were viewpoints over the Rhine:

We found a geocache and failed to find a second one as it seemed to be down in a quarry.

Then we came to a large monument erected overlooking the Rhine:

and a temple:

Now it was time to go down to Rüdesheim, this time by gondola.

After all that, it was time for a beer and some lunch:

We were close to the railway line and it was encouraging to see so much freight.

A travelling day today. A bit of an early start as our coach driver was concerned about roadworks delaying us. It turned out that he was late instead due to other roadworks…

Anyway we reached Hildesheim in plenty of time to find our train was an hour late.

Nearer the time, the delay increased and our train eventually arrived over 2 hours late. All our seat reservations seemed to have mysteriously disappeared as well, but we did find some seats OK.

We spotted what we think was a hydrogen powered train at Frankfurt:

At least the train from Frankfurt to Assmannshausen ran every half an hour, so we were soon on our way.

Then a short walk to the hotel:

The town is on the Rhine, and we watched the boats going past as we enjoyed a beer:

After lunch we, walked to Wernigerode Model Village, but ended up taking a rather long route there.

Interesting models of various buildings in the area, and several model railways to make things more interesting:

We had a free day today so climbed up though the woods to Wernigerode Schlossberg.

You can see it in the background of the photo above. A bit of a climb but great views:

The inside was interesting, but few English explanations.

From there we carried on up the hill through the woods to Agnesberg and found a geocache disguised as a bird box:

From there, we descended back down to Wernigerode and found a bar for lunch.

After we’d finished eating, they asked us to move as they needed the table, so we enjoyed a complimentary beer in a rocking sofa instead!

After a cup of tea in our room, we set off to find supper.  We had a beer at a local restaurant earlier in the week, and spotted that they served pizza. It being Saturday, what choice had we??

The pizzas were excellent, and required a walk afterwards.  We found the town square, which was very attractive.

We then ambled back to the hotel by a circuitous route.  We found a flower clock.

And so to bed.

Time to head for the hills today. We walked to the local station and caught a narrow guage steam train to Brocken:

The first bit was through the town, then a brief pause at a station before we started climbing through the forest.

Many of the trees are dead due to a beetle infestation, but new conifers have been planted.
After circling the summit, we finally arrived, and found beer and bockwurst for lunch:

We then had a walk along a nice path that went around the summit:

And all too soon, it was time to catch our train home:

After changing trains part way down, we were back in Wernigerode with a short walk back through the town.

On arrival here, the first task was beer and lunch.

We found a lovely quirky bar built around some ruins and enjoyed a wheat beer with our our Panini’s:

We then had a wander through the picturesque town to a nice park:

We then climbed up to Schlossberg, with some excellent views over the town:

And some nice gardens:

There’s a large church at the top, so we had a look:

Then a stroll back through the town, another quick beer and back to the hotel:

We got on a coach to Alexisbad in the Harz Mountains. We had a bit of time before our train left, so had a pleasant stroll along the river:

Then our train pulled in, took on water and reversed:

And then we were off, winding through the hills and valleys:

Finally arriving at our destination:

An exciting short ride.