Cruising the Rhine Gorge

The Rhine River begins in the Swiss Alps and flows for a total of about 815 miles, in a northerly direction from Basel until it reaches the North Sea in the Netherlands. The Rhine is the most important river in Europe for commercial purposes and you'll see this by the amount of freight ships plying its waters. the river has been used for shipping since Roman times, and it is because of this that we find so many castles and castle ruins in the Rhine Gorge between Koblenz and Rudesheim. Some of Germany's most important cities are located along the river such as Dusseldorf, Colgone, Bonn, Koblenz, Mainz, Wiesbaden and Karlsruhe.

No other river in the wold has a greater concentration of castels or castle ruins that in the Rhine Gorge between Koblenz and Ruedesheim. Steep slopes, many covered by vineyards and dotted by castles, are accompanied by picturesque villages like Boppard and St. Goarshausen. "Loreley Rock" occupies the narrowest and deepest point of the Rhine. There are many stories about the Loreley, particularly about "Lore", the daugher of Father Rhine.