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Nestled in the heart of Europe and its timeless history, Silver Cloud goes where no superyacht has gone before.
by Jonathan Crawford
photography by Alex Dreyfoos & Jonathan Crawford
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10/01/2005
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Below the castle by river’s edge was a quiet, sleepy village
comprising a few small houses and buildings that seemed to have evaded the
passage of time altogether. The couple’s intense concentration on Schloss
Stolzenfels was broken by the sight of another castle, Burg Lahneck, on the
opposite shore and then, again, by yet another castle in the distance. The
scenery moved with the fluidity and drama of a movie.
Alex Dreyfoos recalled that one of his favorite parts of the
river was the gorge at Lorelei, a section of the river that narrows to a scant
370 feet, squeezing the broad waterway into a tumult of swift and
counter-flowing currents. According to German legend, a beautiful maiden named
Lorelei threw herself into the river, distraught over a faithless lover. In the
afterlife she returned as a siren perched atop the cliffs here, leading many
unwitting sailors to calamitous ends on the treacherous rocks with her melodious
songs. While the curse of Lorelei has long since vanished and the river has been
rendered navigable, Dreyfoos admits he was, nevertheless, seduced by the
awe-inspiring 400-foot-high cliffs of the tight gorge.
Long eulogized in word, music and painting for its tranquility and
inspirational beauty, the Rhine River has been the ideal subject for many
artists, from Lord Byron to Brahms to Turner. According to Dreyfoos, an avid
photographer, "The beauty of cruising the Rhine was that we were surrounded by
scenery. On other cruising grounds you can take note of the scenery from a
distance or from limited angles, on the Rhine the scenery literally envelops you
whole," he said. The owners and crew of Silver Cloud agreed that, if ever
there were a locale to typify the ideal European Old World, the Upper Middle
Rhine region was that place. In recognition of its unique landscape and vibrant
culture, the Upper Middle Rhine was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in
June of 2002.
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