Visit to Germany - September 2000
For the fourth year running the Club arranged a visit to Europe by coach, on this occasion a 5 day tour of the Rhine district of Germany staying at the Hansa Hotel, Koln Hurth, a few miles south of the City of Cologne.
The trip was supported by 45 people, mostly Club Members and their wives. An early morning ferry from Dover allowed sufficient time for a brief lunch stop at Diest in Belgium and then on to the Hotel which we reached in good time for evening dinner.
Our first
full day was
taken up with
a visit to
Boppard
(left).
After time
for
sightseeing
at this
delightful
Rhineland
town and
lunch at the
Bellevue
Hotel we
boarded a
Rhine Cruiser
for Oberwesel,
near the
famous Loreli
Rock, to
witness the
Rhine in
Flames
celebration,
an
extravaganza
comprising 80
illuminated
boats in
procession,
floodlit
castles,
bonfires, and
culminating
in fabulous
firework
displays on
both banks of
the River
with musical
accompaniment.
After sailing
back to
Boppard we
boarded our
coach
eventually
returning to
our hotel at
1.00 am.
On the
second day we
visited
Monschau, an
attractive
valley town
in the Eifel
Region, and
the forests
and lakes of
the region.
An afternoon
stop was made
at Lake Rur
for tea and
to enjoy the
superb view
of this large
lake, a
watersports
paradise.
Our final full day was spent in Cologne (Cathedral Cologne shown left above), touring the City by bus or horse and carriage, boat trips down the Rhine, and to enable the ladies to indulge their passion for shopping.
En route
for Calais to
board the
ferry for our
return to the
UK, we made a
stop at 
Mons
in Belgium,
famous for
its role in
World War1.
Our intended visit to a hypermarket had to be cancelled when we encountered a French farmers' blockade near Lille necessitating our returning to Calais by a circuitous route.
This was the only slight blemish on an otherwise very successful trip enjoyed by all concerned.