We arose early because of the heat and decided to take a stroll along the river bank (The Main River – Frankfurt am Main). Despite lying on the river, Frankfurt really wasn’t doing much to impress me. We eventually fold the old town – a square surrounded by Tudor/ Germanisch style half timbered houses. That screamed tourist photo op. Only problem was that there had been some kind of Ironman comp on the weekend and this was the finish line – hence there was staging and portaloos to be packed up on our visit. One of the things you notice about Frankfurt, like a number of the other industrial cities we have visited in Germany’s industrial north-west, that much of the architecture in the inner cities has its genesis in the concrete and glass era of the 50s and 60s. And like many other industrial cities, many of these buildings are crumbling into a ghetto. These buildings sit jarringly next to 500 year old historical buildings and the modern glass and steel sculptures that define the city’s reputation as a centre for business and industry.

We stopped in the very touristy central plaza for frühstück (breakfast). Our beginners German was enough to make out the menu – Dan had the American breakfast – eggs, bacon, cheese and assorted breads. I had the frühstuck full – one egg and an assortment of cold meats and cheeses, also with assorted breads and preserves. I had the milk coffee because it was the only one that suggested it didn’t come with cream. It did. Our breakfast was enjoyable enough and not too expensive for a tourist area – under 10 euros each. It is a curious thig about the conservationist Germans that they have so much packaging with a breakfast. This is a country that powers itself to a large degree from wind and solar farms and that goes out of its way to have divided recycling bins in public spaces. And breakfast trays inevitably come with a mountain of small packages – butter, margarine, cream cheese, and at least three types of jam. After breakfast we decided to escape the heat and head north to take in a Rhine River cruise.

First stop on our journey was the quaint tourist village of Rüdesheim which basically exists because of the kitschy ye olde German shops on a small cobblestoned laneway that runs from the hill above the town down to the Rhine River. There is also a cable car that goes up the mountain so you can take in a view of the winery vines from above. While the vines running up the hillsides of the Rhine are quite spectacular, there are plenty of pretty vineyard views at home. We had just enough time to take a stroll along the kitschy cobblestoned street before we boarded the boat (of course). (Down in Oakland – The Transplants – The Transplants are a side project from members of Rancid and Blink 182 that make simple electronic music – predictably the beats appeal to me. This is one of their lesser known efforts.)

The boat trip from Rüdesheim to Koblenz along the Rhine costs about 40 euros and takes about 4 hours or so but is a fabulous way to while away an afternoon. The boat is comfortable – there’s the choice of hanging out on the top open air deck or the civilised option we chose on such an incredibly hot day – downstairs in the restaurant safely ensconced in air conditioning enjoying a few local brews and a Riesling or two. There may also have been a cherry ice cream sundae as well. Proper warm preserved black cherries with vanilla ice cream (and some kind of chocolate extravaganza for Dan).

When you tell people you are coming to the Rhineland, they all tell you that what you shouldn’t miss are the castles of the Rhine Valley. Just like the Christmas markets that sprawl out across the country in December, you can’t take a trip along the Rhine without seeing at least 30 or 40 castles. From crumbling relics of the middle ages to lovingly restored fortresses, there is a castle around every turn. The voice over on the boat that points out (some of) the castles and gives you a bi.t of history is in about four different languages so there isn’t really any silence on most of the journey. Some standouts along the way include the only castle on an island in the middle of the Rhine, which served as a gatehouse (and tax collection point) for those wishing to traverse the river, the two castles side by side next to the famous micro-brewery in a monastery which belonged to two feuding brothers, and the castle that also serves as the headquarters of the German Castles Association.

There was also Loreley Rock, which serves some important function in German mythology that I don’t clearly understand and which hosts a number of concerts in the summer. The importance was emphasised with some stirring German patriotic song (the kind you expect to be accompanied by hand on heart) is played at full volume as the boat passes by. Even without the castles, the Rhine Valley is quite spectacular – the green hillsides are peppered with towns and villages with three story pitched roof houses standing to attention saluting the river below. The river is still used as a freight corridor with plenty of barges carrying containers, coal and fuel along the industrial corridor. We also saw one of those cruise boats for old people they advertise on late night telly. One of the guys on the boat sat outside at the front of the boat the whole way. Unfortunately his zen journey was probably interrupted by me jumping outside every five minutes to snap a photo of some castle or other. He was a braver man than me – It was quite windy out there. (Walk Away Renee – Billy Bragg – spoken word – Billy brings his down to earth look at the realities of life and love in this bones and all spoken word version)

One of the other curious sights you see along the banks of the world heritage listed Rhine valley is caravan parks – loads and loads of caravan parks. Needless to say the villages that come to the water’s Edge are a more picturesque, if slightly less interesting, moving landscape. Speaking of the world heritage listing, I was a bit surprised to see what looked like a quarry near one of the castles along the valley. We also spied people and puppies going for a dip in the river to cool off. A highway and a train line run much of the way along this section of the Rhine but it is a much more pleasurable experience to enjoy it slowly in the comfort of a boat if you have the time.

It was late afternoon by the time the boat pulled in at the Koblenz wharf. Koblenz is an old Roman town – there is even a gondola that takes you high across the river to the fort on the other side. We had mused earlier in the day about having dinner in Koblenz and walking around but it was still 36 degrees when we got off the boat and we didn’t have it in us. We wandered down along the river, which felt a bit like wandering through a historic university campus on the Thames, except that there were people picnicking by the river and going for a swim. It was about two kilometres to the Hauptbahnhof where we jumped a train heading back to Frankfurt.

We wound our way south along the same part of the river, this time weaving through the towns we had passed earlier on the river. It was an interesting different perspective and quite a quick return journey. By this time we were quite tired from the heat and the residual jetlag and were looking forward to getting back to our (now hopefully air-conditioned) hotel room. The train system had other ideas and it was back to the Frankfurt airport station for us. Eventually we made it back to the hotel. It was 8:30pm by now yet outside it felt like it was still about 5pm. To correspond with the very short days in winter, the days in this part of the world are so much longer in summer – the summer twilight of the literary fiction of my youth. I look forward to one day visiting Scandinavia and the midnight sun. We were so exhausted and the air-conditioning was such a relief that we showered and laid down for a rest and awoke at 5am the next morning. (The Road – Frank Turner – this is a tune about travelling far and wide and it always fills me with the spirit of freedom – there is something about the tune itself that just speaks of jumping on a train and crossing continents. Like a ail version of the Triffid’s Wide Open Road that speaks of Australian road trips on a variety of levels)