The Rhein River at sunset.

This photo was a papparazi moment. Jamie and I have defined our pictures and some of our moments as "blogable...or unblogable"...this one just seemed too funny.

The Rhein today just isn't a tourist attraction (although there are alot of us), but was and still is a very popular way of transportation. To give you an idea of the size of the barges on the river, the tractors are full sized. Way back in the Middle ages the castles were used not only as a fortress but also used to extort tolls on the ships coming through the Rhine. The Rhine is the 3rd largest river in Europe.

This big piece of rock is the Lorely, which has a mythical legend of a siren that used her singing to bring sailors out into the currents and then to their subsequent deaths.

The Rhine isn't just all castles and romanticism...this is also wine country...and about 2/3 of the wine in this country comes from this region. The Rhine valley has almost a Mediterrean climate and is also able to grow olives, almonds, and lemons.