Boppard, Germany

My genealogy vacation tour has officially begun. The flight from St. Louis to Charlotte was uneventful, and we had a nice flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt, Germany. I never sleep on international flights, so the time does not pass too quickly for me. The woman sitting next to me had a cough, so every time I would start to dose off her cough would startle me awake. I just hope it wasn't contagious. Going through customs was a non-event. The agent barely glanced at me and asked no questions. From there we collected our luggage. There were seven of us from the tour group on the flight, so we all met up at the luggage carousel. Once we secured our bags we headed to the train area to meet up with the rest of our tour group. That consists of Kathy and Matthias and three additional travelers. Once our train tickets were validated we boarded our first train.

We had to change trains once, and I don't know what the station was called.

Once at the Boppard station we took cabs to the hotel, not because it is far but because we had all of our luggage to deal with. Kathy was not lying when she told us to try and keep our bags light, because schlepping them on and off the trains, and up and down the stairs is a chore. Because I have books as gift items, my bag is nearly 45 pounds. Dealing with it myself to and from Switzerland later this week should prove interesting!

Our hotel is the Baudobriga Rheinhotel, and it is located right along the Rhein River. The staff is extremely nice, and I am enjoying my view of the river. The room is small but has everything I need. Except a way to make hot tea, which I would really appreciate as I woke up at 5:00 this morning. Breakfast is not until 8:00 so I will have to wait a bit yet. Following check-in I emailed home to let folks know I arrived safely, unpacked a few things and then headed out for a nice, long walk along the river. Even though it was cloudy, with a light sweater on I was comfortable. Back at the hotel I found some of our group on the veranda going over the packets Matthias has put together for our home town visits. Then it was time to eat dinner, which was wonderful. I was in bed by 9:00 after being awake for 31 hours. Following breakfast this morning we are boarding a boat for a cruise on the Rhine River. I am eager to see all the castles along the hillsides.

 

View from my room

House built in 1787

 

Not sure if this is a house or what