Alsace and the Rhine

We cruised a small portion of the Rhine River, stopping along the way in some of the very scenic medieval German cities and towns. The portion of the river we were on, from Strasbourg (France) to Koblenz, is about 190 miles and goes though the scenic Middle Rhine Valley with its many castles.

We were scheduled to go up the Moselle River from Koblenz to Cochem, but the water levels were too high for the boat to go under some bridges. For this portion a group of us decided to go there anyway, but by train, while the boat awaited in Koblenz. 

The Rhine is a major river of Europe and begins in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms the Swiss-Lichenstein border, a portion of the Swiss-Austrian and Swiss German borders. Further downstream it defines much of the France-Germany border before turning westward through The Netherlands where it eventually empties into the North Sea. It is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Danube. It is very large and carries commercial barge traffic as well as a lot of tour boats.