Miltenberg and Cookies

Sat 5 th May

Today saw us cruising down the "Main river" toward Miltenberg after a leisurely breakfast we sat in the club lounge at the back of the boat and enjoyed the passing scenery .
The small villages are fascinating each with its own charm, they are surrounded by vineyards that grow on the steep slopes along the river , it is so steep that the wine growers are reputed to have one leg longer than the other in order to carry out their work.

After a while it got a bit noisy in the lounge we adjourned to the cabin where we lay on the bed looking out the large window and both of us went to sleep for an hour or so .
Its  so relaxing on this boat as it travels there is hardly any sense of movement the occasional bump as we traverse one of the seemingly endless locks.

After lunch we docked at the village of Miltenberg the weather was cooler but the rain that we had earlier cleared up and we wandered into a town that is full of half timbered houses standing at various angles , small alley ways all leading away from the river invite you to explore .
There is a ruined castle at the end of a very steep cobblestone path that allow a wonderful view over the village and one can only admire the the way the buildings were constructed on the steep slopes before the days of mechanical aids .
The shops were displaying bargains on the racks out the front and the ladies descended on them in a shopping frenzy but in the end the only Crackers made a purchase of a very nice vest that makes him  look like the Burgermeister.

During the afternoon we had a demonstration on how to make a vanilla cookie and yours truly was invited up on the stage  only to don a very skimpy apron and rubber gloves and to mix the ingredients for the cookies.
 "Brigitte" our host told the story of her life from when she was a small girl growing up in a nearby village , how she almost became a nun and eventually marrying an Yankee GI who was a Baptist . The story was told in an enthralling way and the cookies become only a small part of the entertainment .
Eventually I was rewarded for my efforts with a cake of chocolate and a Franconian kiss by an "almost Nun "as well as having  Bridgette sing me a love song accompanied by lots of laughter from our fellow travellers.