Day-11-Mannheim-Karlsruhe
Saturday - Mannheim/Karlsruhe
We docked at Mannheim briefly this morning to let people off for their daily excursions. Went to Heidelberg and viewed the castle. Hiked around outside in a nice steady rain. My head stayed dry in the new hat. Found out that draining the pool and converting it to a flower garden is not a new idea. Back in the eighteenth century the new queen didn't like the castle, so the king drained the moat and converted it into an English garden for her. The also, down in the cellars have probably the biggest wine barrel in the world. I think the big one was 70,000 gallons, wooden barrel. The locals paid their taxes in wine which all went into the barrel. Went walking in the market and then back to the ship. Sailed on in the afternoon to Karlsruhe. We were then trucked about 30km to Rastatt for the evening. We visited the palace and had a 'dining experience' there, in what was probably the entrance hall. Following that we had a short tour of some of the castle private rooms. They were amazing. Original wall hangings, tapestries, paintings and furnishings. Absolutely stunning. We then assembled in the 'Family Gallery' for a short operatic presentation. This turned out to be the highlight of our tour so far. Was very, very good and the venue was simply stunning. Back to the ship, late supper and sailed on.
We docked at Mannheim briefly this morning to let people off for their daily excursions. Went to Heidelberg and viewed the castle. Hiked around outside in a nice steady rain. My head stayed dry in the new hat. Found out that draining the pool and converting it to a flower garden is not a new idea. Back in the eighteenth century the new queen didn't like the castle, so the king drained the moat and converted it into an English garden for her. The also, down in the cellars have probably the biggest wine barrel in the world. I think the big one was 70,000 gallons, wooden barrel. The locals paid their taxes in wine which all went into the barrel. Went walking in the market and then back to the ship. Sailed on in the afternoon to Karlsruhe. We were then trucked about 30km to Rastatt for the evening. We visited the palace and had a 'dining experience' there, in what was probably the entrance hall. Following that we had a short tour of some of the castle private rooms. They were amazing. Original wall hangings, tapestries, paintings and furnishings. Absolutely stunning. We then assembled in the 'Family Gallery' for a short operatic presentation. This turned out to be the highlight of our tour so far. Was very, very good and the venue was simply stunning. Back to the ship, late supper and sailed on.
