As well as less hassle at Passau it also makes for a much easier journey today and tomorrow.
Our overnight hotel tonight is in Wurzburg, a city I haven’t visited before.
As we don’t have too far to go today I am going to come off the motorway at Koblenz and drive along the Rhine Valley to Rudesheim, where we shall stop for lunch, before rejoining the motorway to Wurzburg.
We depart Bruhl at 10:00 and the later start seems very much appreciated amongst the group.
We are also blessed with another lovely sunny day.
An hour after departing Bruhl we leave the motorway and drive into Koblenz, crossing the Mosel as it flows into the Rhine at Deutches Eck (German Corner), a landmark of Koblenz that is now dedicated to peace.
Crossing the Rhine we travel alongside this magnificent river on the eastern side passing through pretty villages and stunning scenery.
I adore driving this road, especially on a beautiful sunny day, as there is always something to see and it is an hour and twenty minutes of pure pleasure. Not really work is it! These are the kind of days I still drive for and still get excited about even though I’ve been coming here for over twenty years.
We arrive in Rudesheim by 12:20 and I drop the passengers off in the town before going on to the coach park to park. Normally I would go straight into the coach park as it is not too far to walk back but we have a couple of people walking with sticks.
We are staying here for a couple of hours.
I have a walk around town taking a few pictures and make my way to the wine tasting company we use to say hello. Sadly they are shut so I wander back to the coach.
The man who takes the wine tasting is called Adolf and he starts his talk with the wonderful line – “My name is Adolf, you may have heard that name before!”
After a quick sandwich and coffee I pop into the tourist information for some bits and pieces and then proceed to leak profusely back at the coach. It really is very warm and being a little portly I am feeling it! I must lose some weight. Some chance this week on a full board cruise!
I pick the group up at 14:15 and follow the Rhine towards Mainz and the motorway south to Wurzburg.
I haven’t been to Wurzburg before and am looking forward to seeing a city whose name I have passed many times on the motorway.
I put my trust in the sat nav and she doesn’t let me down, taking me directly to the hotel which is situated close to the centre of the city.
On the way in we passed some majestic looking buildings including the Royal Palace that is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is not dissimilar to the Palace of Versailles.
Once I have unloaded folk and luggage I drive off to park a couple of minutes away and stroll back to the hotel. I was going to have a walk before dinner at seven but have decided to go for a walk after as Chelsea are playing Valencia this evening and I may find a bar with it on. That is an optimistic shout with two German teams also playing tonight.
At dinner we have a few people with dietary requirements and so the waitresses can see who they are they are given small coloured discs by their cutlery! I can understand this in a busy restaurant but amongst a group of 21 people, with nobody else in the restaurant, it seems a little strange and not really needed.
After dinner I go for a walk and am impressed by Wurzburg. As well as lovely buildings it has a nice feel about it, especially on the bridge Alte Mainbrucke where lots of people are enjoying a glass of wine from the wine bar at the beginning of the bridge. They are all standing along the bridge chatting and enjoying the warm evening. A lovely atmosphere.
No chance of the football though!
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