Party Night On The Rhine

When I left you last night, we had found a Guest Haus combination with a restaurant/bar overlooking the Rhine to stay in for the evening. The bartender/host/server/owner gentleman pushed two long tables together and we ordered dinner. It was certainly an "old-style" German-looking place (whatever that means). I had sauerbraten tonight with red cabbage. It was good but not nearly as good (to me) as the sauerbraten served in Evansville, IN at Gerst Haus.

Okay, so here begins the story. During dinner we had a couple of bottles of wine opened on the table and were enjoying it when an older man burst through the door and asked everybody if they wanted to go up to the castle with him to a wine-tasting. Damion, Crystal and Wayne decided to be adventurous while Bridget and I stayed at the bar/restaurant. We'd had a LONG day in the car and traipsing up mountainous hillsides to tour castles.

They were gone for a VERY long time... an hour or maybe even two. MUCH later they came back in the door followed by a group of 10 or 15 other "new" folks, all singing and laughing and having a great time.

It seems that they just "moved" the wine-tasting down to the now- bar only .

Crystal was certainly enjoying her wine here. She's a fun, pretty girl.

This man, it turns out, had a very colorful past. He and his wife were from the EAST. And before the wall came down, he had his own television show. He also was a musician and proved it by singing through the night. The rose in his hand is actually a microphone. He was staying there for the weekend and had a concert coming up that weekend. At one point in the night he went to his room and retrieved copies of his CD (which he autographed for us) and gave them to us. I have already packed the CD away and cannot for the life of me remember his name. But the CD was about Nordic-Walking. Apparently he had lost over 100 lbs. after he took up the sport and then recorded songs to walk to.

This was the proprietor of the place and no, I don't remember his name, either, but he was a great host to all of us. Of course, making some money at the bar all night didn't hurt his mood.

The lady with the bright red hair was the wife of the musician. By the way, I saw a LOT of hair dyed this color in Germany. After a while I got used to seeing it, but no, I wouldn't consider it.

This man was a chemistry professor and he and his wife had come to stay there for the concert weekend as well.

This is the "famous" couple. Apparently time has caught up with them, as it will us all if we are fortunate. They were a unique and happy couple and I am glad to have met them and spent time with them.

Ah, this was my room for the night. It was certainly not much to look at, but again, it was very clean. AND my window overlooked the Rhine River. I didn't sleep much that night as I couldn't tear myself away from the window and the river traffic.

As we prepared to leave the next morning, some of the other guests even helped with my bags. Six flights of stairs and no elevator was not easy. I saw very few elevators in all of Germany but LOTS of steps wherever I went. Our celebrity brought his accordion and serenaded us all the way to the car and out of the parking lot. Our other new friends and guests there were all waving good-bye from the balcony.

What a night! And one can never have too many friends!

Until next time!