Korbach to Limburg, and Bingen

We visited the Edersee - the dam here was built in 1914 and breached as part of the Dambusters raid in 1943, creating a hole in the wall 230 feet by 72 feet, causing extensive flooding.  The lake of the dam holds 44,000 million gallons of water, and the majority of this was released when it was bombed.

Next stop, Kloster Haina, a large Cistercian Abbey complex, unexpectedly encountered in the maddle of a wooded valley.  The abbey iteslf was built in 1188 and dissolved in 1527: its patron, Philip der Grossmutige founded a hospital, which still provides psychiatric care, and there is also a forensic lab and a school, as well as a forensic museum (sadly, no information in English). The church and abbey complex are open to the public, and the church itself is beautifully preserved, and atmospheric.

Slightly bizarre aire for the night - a car park next to a Motorhome Dealership forecourt. Free to park, 3 Euros for electric.  An industrial estate with pylons and a motorway nearby, yet suprprisingly quiet.

Along the Lahn and the Rhine, to Bingen.

This section of the rivers Lahn and Rhine is stuffed full of picture postcard views and chocolate box castles. Turn the corner, and there's another one. On a hill, in a valley, in the river, they don't mind where they build them.   Today was the first time ever we were turned away from a ferry, trying to cross the Rhine to Boppard. We think this was because Boppard was very crowded with a special market and waterfront stalls.  We carried on and passed the Lorelei rock, where legend says a siren lured sailors to their deaths with her song and her beauty: (more likely, the pilot had too much to drink, and didn't see the sandbanks!)

A brief stop at Bacharach, really pretty, and we also saw the "Goethe", a paddle boat (bus) service of the Koln-Dusseldorf line.

We set sat nav for Bingen, and Minnie tried to get us under a 2.6m bridge: (we are 2.9m).  There had to be another way, and we soon found it and the lovely aire beyond it. Nice staggered spaces and all facilities included.  We cycled into Bingen and went to the Museum am Strom.  This was a slightly strange (if interesting) mixture of the Life of Hildegard von Bingen, 1850's interiors, Roman surgical instruments (excavated locally) and other items including a model of a 1400's  crane.

The Rhine today is a safe navigation, but back in the middle ages it was considered more dangerous, and navigators were employed to run alongside the boats, giving signals by hand, then later using coloured flags, to indicate the dangers of the river.

The Mouse tower, a small castle on an island in the middle of the Rhine, has a couple of differet legends attached to it, but in both, Hatto II, Despotic. Bishop of Mainz, was eaten by mice in the tower in 970.

We saw the old crane, (1400's ) on the way back:  what an attractive landmark!  The Basilica was closed: (several pages were given to it in our guide book.)

In the middle ages, Bingen had 14 towers and gates, and citizens who guarded them were given certain priveleges, including free beer.