ma of the Siebengebirge (Seven Hills) where many legends were born.

The festival season begins with a Carnival before Lent. This is followed by a Women’s Festival in May, and the crowing of the Fountain Queen. In September, illuminations and fireworks light up the river in a glorious spectacle of the

Summer along the Rhine is fun time. For almost five months in the year there is sunshine, and people make the best of the weather. Winter’s drab colours are stowed away. Women and girls come out in bright dresses. Men hang up their overcoats and discard their galoshes. Walking, cycling, boating, rowing – there is tremendous movement of young and old, in their pursuit of the pleasures of summer.

The communities that live along the Rhine have a Mediterranean temperament. They are relaxed, easy and raring for fun, but by no means lazy. The river Rhine the largest European waterway, originates in Switzerland, flows through Germany and crosses into the Netherlands, where its tributaries flow into the North Sea. The part of the river that courses between Koblenz and Cologne is called the Middle Rhine, and stretches for about 126 kilometers. German, French and English writers have captured the beauty of this stretch in songs, poems and stories. On the banks of the Rhine are picture book villages, vineyards clinging to the mountain slopes in neat green lines, brooding broken down castles, ancient Gothic cathedrals, and History itself. Standing on a cliff on the east bank, one looks down on the incomparable panorama of the Siebengebirge (Seven Hills) where many legends were born.

The festival season begins with a Carnival before Lent. This is followed by a Women’s Festival in May, and the crowing of the Fountain Queen. In September, illuminations and fireworks light up the river in a glorious spectacle of the “

ere is tremendous movement of young and old, in their pursuit of the pleasures of summer.

The communities that live along the Rhine have a Mediterranean temperament. They are relaxed, easy and raring for fun, but by no means lazy. The river Rhine the largest European waterway, originates in Switzerland, flows through Germany and crosses into the Netherlands, where its tributaries flow into the North Sea. The part of the river that courses between Koblenz and Cologne is called the Middle Rhine, and stretches for about 126 kilometers. German, French and English writers have captured the beauty of this stretch in songs, poems and stories. On the banks of the Rhine are picture book villages, vineyards clinging to the mountain slopes in neat green lines, brooding broken down castles, ancient Gothic cathedrals, and History itself. Standing on a cliff on the east bank, one looks down on the incomparable panorama of the Siebengebirge (Seven Hills) where many legends were born.

The festival season begins with a Carnival before Lent. This is followed by a Women’s Festival in May, and the crowing of the Fountain Queen. In September, illuminations and fireworks light up the river in a glorious spectacle of the

nd, flows through Germany and crosses into the Netherlands, where its tributaries flow into the North Sea. The part of the river that courses between Koblenz and Cologne is called the Middle Rhine, and stretches for about 126 kilometers. German, French and English writers have captured the beauty of this stretch in songs, poems and stories. On the banks of the Rhine are picture book villages, vineyards clinging to the mountain slopes in neat green lines, brooding broken down castles, ancient Gothic cathedrals, and History itself. Standing on a cliff on the east bank, one looks down on the incomparable panorama of the Siebengebirge (Seven Hills) where many legends were born.

The festival season begins with a Carnival before Lent. This is followed by a Women’s Festival in May, and the crowing of the Fountain Queen. In September, illuminations and fireworks light up the river in a glorious spectacle of the

retch in songs, poems and stories. On the banks of the Rhine are picture book villages, vineyards clinging to the mountain slopes in neat green lines, brooding broken down castles, ancient Gothic cathedrals, and History itself. Standing on a cliff on the east bank, one looks down on the incomparable panorama of the Siebengebirge (Seven Hills) where many legends were born.

The festival season begins with a Carnival before Lent. This is followed by a Women’s Festival in May, and the crowing of the Fountain Queen. In September, illuminations and fireworks light up the river in a glorious spectacle of the

ma of the Siebengebirge (Seven Hills) where many legends were born.

The festival season begins with a Carnival before Lent. This is followed by a Women’s Festival in May, and the crowing of the Fountain Queen. In September, illuminations and fireworks light up the river in a glorious spectacle of the “Rhine in Flames.” The “Bonner Summer” includes dancing in different costumes and dance tournaments. There are Flee Markets and Fairs. The emphasis is on fun and merry making.

In September, the Wine Festival is celebrated with great gusto. It is the last festival before autumn sets in. The vineyards along the Rhine are supposed to be the most northerly in the world. They grow on the steep slopes of the hills, embossed into the flanks in green horizontal lines.

It was the Romans who first brought wine into Germany. There were times in history when people flocked to watch Germans drink themselves under the table. A medieval legend says that a Roman aqueduct was built from Trier to Cologne to transport wine and not drinking water.

Bacharach on the Rhine owes its name to Bacchus the Roman God of wine. An old ditty says, “It’s in Bacharach on the Rhine that you’ll find the best wine…..”

Outside the cathedral at Speyer, stands a stone basin dating to 1490. Every time a new bishop was consecrated, the basin was filled with wine so that the people of Speyer could celebrate. Having experienced the heady power of wine, Karl Simrock the 19th century poet, admonished his son, “Mark my words son, do