Rüdesheim
April 29, 2026
At the end of the cruise through the gorge, we stopped at Rüdesheim. We rode gondolas to the top of the hill to visit a monument. On the way we had views of the vines whose grapes produce Riesling, of the town, and of the village across the river. When Elvis was in the Army, he rode Gondola 76 during his visit.
The lion represents the Federal State of Hessen. During the American Revolution, the British employed Hessian merecenaries.
The Niederwald Monument was built to celebrate the 1871 unification of Germany.
In the evening we returned to the town and had a tour and demonstrations of mechanical musical instruments.
The real violins have one string each. The mechanism does the fingering of notes, and the circular band does the bowing.
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