Bacharach, Rhine River Valley

After seeing this little town from our river cruise, we knew we wanted to come back for a visit.

Joanne was disappointed that more shops weren't open.

Dave and Chris Koegler were our tour guides as they have come a time or two previously. 

Mussels were a MUST according Dave K. and they did not disappoint.

The hillsides, no matter how steep were covered with grape vines.

Trains, barges, campers ... it's a happening place to be.

Another view of the Rhine River as it shows off its value to commerce and agriculture.

Chris and Dave Koegler have become good friends in the short time we've been here in Frankfurt.

A "work around" as Dave calls it. 

Is that a buffalo coming for Dave? Good thing he's wearing his camo hat!

So many antlers. Really? They didn't waste an opportunity to mount whatever "game" they came home with. 

A look inside day-to-day family life. Look around the room ... oh, the stories to be told.

These cast-iron doors were so fascinating. They were so ornate and really caught our attention.

This hearty sunflower found her spot to beautify this little corner of the world.

As we drove up the hill away from Bacharach, we wound our way up into some beautiful scenery.

This little shroom caught our attention and we both thought it was blog worthy.

Dessert and Sunsets ...two of our favorite things in Frankfurt

Eis Christina was introduced to us early on.

A short train ride away is an ice cream shop that is a favorite among the missionaries here. 

The chocolate spaghetti was delicious!  

We never tire of the beautiful sunsets we can see from our ninth-floor apartment.



In our wanderings around our Frankfurt neighborhood we discovered this street. Crazy huh?

Frankfurt Temple Dedication

Saints from all over came to participate in this memorable occasion after four long years of renovation.

We felt very blessed to have been given tickets to participate in the re-dedication of the Frankfurt Temple 

inside the temple, rather than in the local meeting house. 

The Spirit of God with the Hallelujah chorus was very moving.

 The Andersons have been living right across the street from the temple for the past six weeks, waiting for their apartment at Portstraße 11 to be finished after some repairs.

We were walking back to their apartment when we saw the photos being taken with Elder Uchtdorf and the Area Presidency. It was pretty cool to be in the midst of one of the Lord's Apostles.

This picture is from the Church website. Look to the left of Elder Uchtdorf's head ...

Dave's head is peeking out. The next picture was taken from where we were standing ... 

Rhine River Valley Castles, Castles and more Castles...

The Rhine River flows from the Swiss Alps into Germany and is one of the country's biggest rivers.  For many centuries it has been the means of moving cargo up and down the river and an important water highway. Our adventure this weekend was a river cruise up taking us through some beautiful countryside.

The Rhine River Valley is home to numerous vineyards and a thriving German wine business. All along our trip we saw vineyards with their amazing Fall colors.

The Medieval Germans loved to build castles. The sheer number of castles we encountered

 in this stretch of the Rhine River was amazing. 

We thought it was an interesting contrast looking at the camp trailers with the castles looming in the background.

Barges like this one moving containers or other materials are a common
sight.

 Even the train tunnels got into the castle theme.

This barge is home on the river for the operators with living quarters, recreational toys and their vehicle.

Our cameras really got a workout on this trip.  We had so many pictures to choose from.

Being on a mission with Joanne is really WUNDERBAR!  

The wind picked up on the return leg of the boat ride and it filled up my jacket pretty well or was it my lunch of Venison Gulash I had at the half-way point?

Elder Clark Davis and Sister Shelley Davis from Brigham City, Utah, were our traveling companions.