Our hotel is in the heart of all things in Rudesheim and just a minute or two walk from the Rhein River, yet it was an incredibly reasonable 109 Euros per night, and that included breakfast. We didn’t have even two minutes to walk around town as I had a lot of writing to catch up on, and the lighting from the overcast sky wasn’t as conducive as I might have hoped for to capture some images of this historic town. So, from shortly after 8:00 until nearly 10:00, we had a nice slow breakfast of various Brotchen and plenty of coffee. The only thing left to do was return the key for the wine barrel and check in to our other room.

I read Google Maps wrong, and instead of 3.2 kilometers to walk between Rudesheim and Geisenheim, it turns out that stupid Google gave me miles while I was here in Germany, so we had 5 kilometers or 3.2 miles.

We’re walking a slightly different route that took us by new photo opportunities, which only added to our travel time. The orchard on our right was full of pears, as far as we could tell.

But when we found an open gate, we took the opportunity to trespass so we could gain a closer look at things. Lo, and behold, apples; apples that said, pick me! Not that we stole anything, but there also were no signs that said it was verboten.

Oh, shall we help ourselves to a pear, too? We don’t mind if we do.

The walnuts we picked were still too green to enjoy, but as I picked one, we didn’t know yet what we were looking at until we peeled it open, exposing its brain.

We arrived relatively early to Haus Engelhardt, and as with yesterday’s festivities, things began with popping the cork on a fresh bottle of sparkling wine. We also took a moment to look at yesterday’s photos to ensure Vevie and Hanns were okay with the images of them that were going to appear here.

Vevie shared some old photos with us, with this one being from roughly 1948 around the time she would have been 13 years old.

This photo is from about a dozen years later, around the time she was an extra in the movie, “The Burning Court.”

Reminiscing about old photos, Hanns brought out his driver’s license from 1958 when he was finishing his formal studies.

Of course, we talked our heads off until the point nothing immediately in town was open, including the pizza joints so it was off to Bootshaus (Boat House) restaurant that opens at 12:00 and closes at 10:00 p.m.

We were last here just a couple of years ago as Vevie invited us to this exact restaurant. This will be Hanns’ first visit.

And, of course, another bottle of sparkling wine was in order.

With a heavy downpour, we just continued to sit riverside and enjoyed a coffee, waiting for a pause in the rain so we could hurry home before the next cloud burst.

While the sky threatened us with thunder in the distance and heavy dark clouds, we continued forward.

While these few posts will be short on written details, the moments of the day were jam-packed. So much so that it’s been seriously difficult to find the time to write notes of the days; this here is being written on the train back to Frankfurt the next afternoon. The minutiae of things are not important; suffice to say, there were possibly hundreds if not thousands of smiles shared.

Sure, I shared a photo of the Rheingauer Dom yesterday, but it was in the sun while ominous heavy clouds loom overhead to offer a slightly different view of the same church.

From the front door of the apartment, this is the view heading towards the Rhein River we’ve now walked on many times; well, at least more than a few.

While Father Hanns offers goodbyes from the Engelhardt balcony, we’ve moved downstairs to start our walk back to Rudesheim.

It’s been quite touching to see and feel how much Vevie is appreciating Caroline’s company. Sure, she enjoys my company, too, but those two have a bond that is so obviously special that it has become charming. I only wish we could visit with Hanns, Vevie, and Jutta weekly, while Helga would be too busy for such a frequency.

We thought we’d be gone in a second until it occurred to us that we could have a Spaghetti Eis right here in Geisenheim before dinner and not spend a penny at one of the Eis Cafes in Rudesheim. So, a short dessert break was taken. I’d like to point out the tragic, awful even, thing about eating outdoors at cafes and restaurants in Germany: the ever-present cigarette smokers who give little concern to those around them who might be eating. We didn’t escape a couple of smokers here at Eiscafe Pillot.

Now, with the biggest obligations of the day finished, we can resume our meandering.

As we already noted the pears, apples, and walnuts on our way to town, we were now looking for other things, such as weeds.

Then there was this slug I might have stepped on had I not known better about watching where to walk.

Another view of the Hindenburg Bridge with a bit of the old roadway visible.

How strange this is to us Americans where very little of the indigenous people’s history of North America still exists and of the religious fundamentalists who populated and erased the Native American’s presence, their mark only really starts to show up on the landscape after the Civil War. But here in Rudesheim, you have a people celebrating the founding of their town that was established back in 1074.

This is Drosselgasse, which slices through the old town and is the focal point where many visitors head for the famous local libations, including a popular coffee with a kick and the region’s wine. Our dinner was taken around the corner and up the street where Caroline was hoping to try a specialty of pig stomach stuffed with various ingredients that were supposed to be featured at the Stadt Frankfurt, but it wasn’t to be as it wasn’t on tonight’s menu. The best we can figure is that this is a seasonal item.

Here we are in the Eispfad (Ice Lane), which is the narrowest street Caroline and I have been on. Walking shoulder to shoulder is not possible unless you are 5 or 6 years old. After getting to our room, nothing is possible aside from sleep; we are exhausted, although even in that state, I think our smiles betray the level of exhaustion we are operating at. Tomorrow, we have a stop to make before heading back to Geisenheim for a last short visit.