1/15/89 Sunday - drive along the Rhine river

1/15/89 Sunday – Up around 7 am - this was getting to be a habit! By 8:30 I was on the road again with Lou, with Rita and Mitch following. We drove along the Rhine river, through the Netherlands and into Germany, where I had to show passport to cross the border. The banks were closed so we could not get additional money; we had to make do with what we had on us. We had breakfast in a restaurant over the highway, then drove down what I nicknamed “Castle Alley”. It was wonderful! All along the way I kept thinking "Randy should be here now!" Normally tourists can go through some of the castles that overlook the river, but unfortunately it was too late in the season now. So we didn't even drive up to most of them, but just admired them from the road. We did drive up to one to walk around the outside. 

The grounds looked a bit abandoned; perhaps they are better maintained during the season.

Nearby was one of my favorite things, an old cemetery. I would like to say I didn't go into it out of respect, but the truth is, there was a fence. 

Outside the fence was an unusual monument with life-size figures in front of a very large, enigmatic figure. I couldn't decipher what this represented.

We stopped for lunch in German/Greek restaurant, where I had breaded pork chops, quite a bit like what my Mom used to make. They still have cigarette vending machines on the corners here. More driving and loving the scenery, followed by dinner at Bagets, where I had a waffle with fruit and cream. Rita dropped Mitch off before heading back; he lives in Frankfurt, around 1 hour south.