Rhein River Trip

3 - 9 AUGUST 2015

Elaine, Millie, Kinsey, Melody, Randall

Randall, Melody, and Kinsey Cluff and Millie Goesch (Melody's sister) came to Frankfurt for a visit after their student study abroad in Great Britain. We hadn't seen them for a long time. They are friends from San Diego and Southern Virginia University days. They stayed with us and we had a very nice time going places and seeing things. On Friday we took the train to Rudesheim on the Rhein River and took the tour boat down river to St Geor. Got lots of pictures of castles; too many to put in this blog.

     The boat trip begins at Rudesheim near where the Main and Rhein Rivers merge. The river flows north, and the boat makes several stops at various tourist places along the way.

Lunch at St Geor

The river gorge is steep and in many places they have terraced the land and put in large vineyards for grapes. The Germans have to have their wine! Small villages and towns can be seen along the river's edge, and large, imposing castle ruins show along the higher hills and ridges. Highway 42 follows the river's eastern edge and Highway 29 follows the western edge all the way to Kölln and beyond. The river is imposing with a swift current, green and a bit muddy in appearance, although nothing as muddy as the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers that I saw when I flew to SLC the other week. Some of the castles are still occupied or are museums, and others are obviously uninhabited ruins left over from the days of chivalry and feudal kings. 

   

Melody and Elaine

 Randall is a professor of Literature at Southern Virginia University. He was instrumental in getting me to come to SVU back in 1998 to serve as dean of students. We stayed three years and returned home to Provo in 2001. At the time I felt that I should pursue further my work with addiction training, writing, and lecturing. It was not an easy decision to leave Virginia and return to Provo. I'm still not positive that it was the right decision for us to make, but when I think of the blessings of a mission to Hawaii and being there for my mother in her last years and being bishop at BYU singles ward, and now our mission to Frankfurt, as well as Elaine's work

Stephen and Randall

at the MTC in Provo which she has loved, I think it was a good decision and I don't have any regrets.

     During our day outing I picked up 3 new missionaries to work with. I have my cell phone with me 24-7 and mission presidents are able to reach me anywhere and anytime of day. It was a busy week overall because I was trying to get time to be with our guests, but had several calls to make. Two sisters whom I have been tracking are headed home on early releases. There may even be a third, depending on what the mission president decides to do.

   

Tuckered Out!

 I am conducting church meetings this month (August) in Offenbach. I also am teaching our senior Book of Mormon class this Wednesday. We are studying Alma 23-25 about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies and their covenant to never again use their weapons of war. 

     The photos below are of castles along the Rhein. I don't have time to indicate the names of these castles, but will try to do that at a later time.

The Rhein

Vineyards along the Rhein