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St. Goar is a quaint little town along the Rhein/Rhine valley. It sits along the river flanked by grape vineyards and cliffs. It is overlooked by Castle Rheinfels, the only castle to withstand Louis XIV during the 17th century. After the bombing of WWII it was used as a quarry for the town below.

What didn't make it through the blasts, possibly now withstands the force of clinking glasses. The process of beer steins made from local quarries was demonstrated to the tour in a small shop which also specialized in cutlery. Beer and knives. . .hmm. The shop was unexpectedly a good bargain for the quality of product. Even better: the driver stashed our souvenirs in a special compartment under the bus, so we weren't expected to carry them round the whole trip.

St. Goar is home to the worlds largest winding coo-coo clock. It's a rather peculiar site to see. Though its only about three feet tall, it hangs over a shop worth visiting for it's ticking. A bunch of us were looking for an alarm clock, though they didn't sell any with indiglow.

The town is rather small and aligns itself to one main street. There are restaurants and shops, mostly visited by families of tourists. For the kiddies, and OK some adults too, a trip to the teddy bear shop could make a hero out of you. Sometimes it's nice just to have a pillow with personality when your away from home.

The Rhine valley is famous for white wine, and the tour gathered to duck down into one of the cellars to learn just how this is done. After our guide explained the fermentation process, we began the tasting. The color, scent, and taste of four different wines gave us a good idea of what life is like in the valley. Each white was increasingly sweet, and a taste of the rare concentrated Ice Wine left us feeling like we had just visited a candy shop.

We left the town on a cruise down the river. Of the thirty castles on the Rhine, including the famous"cat and mouse" castles--Katz and Maus, we saw about half. Not bad. The captain seemed to know our guides and treated the rest of us like old friends as well. Heck, he turned his vessel over to us, if that isn't trust. . .