The Rhine River, Germany

[Andy]

I was fortunate to attend Photokina this year, in Cologne, Germany. Even more fortunate to have Ivar join me after the show, for a bit of weekend shooting on the Rhine River, and the Pfaltz National Park.

First stop, Cologne at Night:

The Cathedrals dominate the skyline of Cologne. This first shots just as the sun was setting...




And later, after dark:


My hotel was near the main railway station, The Hauptbanhof:




The nightlife is pretty busy.



Well, after the show concluded, on Saturday afternoon, we begun our Journey down the Rhine Valley. I had as my wingman, Ivar Borst and we just had a ball. They let you drive *really* fast in Germany

Here's our SmugMobile for the weekend




Me at 200kph


Not to far from the City of Koblenz, down the Rhine, we encountered the first of the many many Castles that line the river. So many, it's hard to count them. It's a visual treat, really. The weather did not cooperate though, and this was our only really fair weather shot of the weekend - most everything else was shot under grey, flat conditions - though with such beauty, it didn't dampen the good time we had!



We stopped for lunch in the little village of Boppard...


Turns out, it was "Wine Fest" and there were winos from all over Europe there, to celebrate Folks kind of spontaneously burst out into song - music - dance. This guy on the squeezebox was really good!





This group was quite animated. It was really cool to see people singing, dancing, just having a blast for the sake of the grape!


And a bit later we came upon the Dutch contingent:


We found yet more castles, here are a few views:








One thing that was truly amazing, notice the grapevines - they are growing them all up and down the Rhine like this, on the steepest hills you can imagine..



Hopefully Ivar will add some pics to this cool weekend Journey Thanks for looking!

[ellykoggle]

Beautiful pics!

[digitalpins]

yes those are beautiful pics, the castles built right on the side of the hill along with the grapevines is awesome

[grannyrobin]

A granny can so easily imagine herself walking down one of those streets you show. I love that!
-Robin

[Dee]

I liked the church with the birds flying and the setting sun tucked in the corner. And wow, what a modern looking train station!

I was wondering if you'd rent a Mercedes and hit the limit of the car's speed on the autobahm -- hehe, you did!

Love the crowd scenes too!

[saurora]

Neat shots, Andy. Of course the cathedrals are absolutely amazing. I love the hustle-bustle of the crowd in the night-life shot. Did you get a shot of Ivar's white knuckles while you were driving?

[jsedlak]

WOW...

Awesome shots Andy...

[jthomas]

Great series Andy. Wonderful pictures and an enjoyable story.

I first made this drive in 1963 (yes, 43 years ago - shows what an old f*** I have become ).

Nice to see that it still looks pretty much the same - at least the castles and vineyards are still there .

[ivar]

Hi guys, these are a few already, I have not had time to process them, these are all straight from the camera. I will change them soon.

Boppard, along the Rhine:






Amphibian car in Bingen:




Part of the party crowd (see Andy's post)






German graffiti:



A night shot from the church in Filsen:

[Jayhawk1993]

Great Pics Andy! I don't know if I should thank you for sharing the great pics or if I should be mad since my wife and I have been dying to return to Germany since we last visited in 2002!

We were so fortunate to have spent time in Germany. One of our favorite places is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. If you're bored, here's the link to some of our pics--nothing as incredible as yours, but i think we captured the quaint essence of this small medival little town.

http://ashmore.smugmug.com/gallery/1837461/1/92309956

Mica

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk1993

Great Pics Andy! I don't know if I should thank you for sharing the great pics or if I should be mad since my wife and I have been dying to return to Germany since we last visited in 2002!

We were so fortunate to have spent time in Germany. One of our favorite places is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. If you're bored, here's the link to some of our pics--nothing as incredible as yours, but i think we captured the quaint essence of this small medival little town.

http://ashmore.smugmug.com/gallery/1837461/1/92309956

Mica

Oh yeah: http://ashmore.smugmug.com/gallery/1837461/1/92309804

[Mickey57]

Hi Guys:
As many others have stated, these are beautiful photos. I really like the night photos. We have not been back to Germany since 2000. We did a one day Rhine cruise at that time. Funny...my pictures didn't look like this .
I will show these to my wife....that ought to get us back there quickly.

Thanks for sharing

Dan

[ian408]

Very nice. Did you stop and visit many of the castles?

[Bob&Glennie]

Hi Andy, finally had a little time on Thanksgiving Monday (Canadian) to do some lurking. I love your photos but the one thing that stands out is the refreshing lack of hydro and telephone poles and wires. Is this sort of distraction typically absent in Europe or did you have to work your compositions to avoid them?

Glennie and I live in the most beautiful city in Canada but when I go downtown instead of out to the countryside and try to get my head out of "landscape mode" and into "city mode" I find that the cityscape is so busy with "junk" that I can't photograph it in a way that brings out the beauty and character that I see in this city.

Bob

[marlof]

Originally Posted by Bob&Glennie

lack of hydro and telephone poles and wires

hydro? telephone? wires? explain the concept...

Nah, just kidding, in these parts much of the wiring is done underground. So no obstructions in your images.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Bob&Glennie

Hi Andy, finally had a little time on Thanksgiving Monday (Canadian) to do some lurking. I love your photos but the one thing that stands out is the refreshing lack of hydro and telephone poles and wires. Is this sort of distraction typically absent in Europe or did you have to work your compositions to avoid them?

Glennie and I live in the most beautiful city in Canada but when I go downtown instead of out to the countryside and try to get my head out of "landscape mode" and into "city mode" I find that the cityscape is so busy with "junk" that I can't photograph it in a way that brings out the beauty and character that I see in this city.

Bob

and some crops:

[Andy]

Originally Posted by marlof

hydro? telephone? wires? explain the concept...

Nah, just kidding, in these parts much of the wiring is done underground. So no obstructions in your images.

but lots of windmills!

[marlof]

Originally Posted by Andy

but lots of windmills!

Yeah, Germany is famous for them! Nice shots, both Andy and Ivar. I only pass through that area, going from my country to my brother's place in Northern Italy, but it looks like it's nice enough to make a little stop there the next time.

[Nikolai]

Very cool,
thank you for sharing your adventures with us!

[schmoo]

Hello Andy and everyone! I just joined after being a Smugmug member for a couple of years, and I am REALLY loving these photos. Germany is my favorite international destination so far, and I am completely blown away by your photos. I love how you started in Köin, especially as the Döm was the chief reason why I went last spring, but never got to see it because we had to cut the itinerary short. I think that your photos make it as beautiful as it possibly can be and I don't feel quite as sad now that I'm seeing them here.



I really am looking forward to seeing more photos from you and everyone else!