Landfall: Romantic Rhine
Jonathan Crawford
10/01/2005

Entering from the North Sea, past Rotterdam, Arnhem and the rest of the Dutch lowlands, past Düsseldorf, along Wiesbaden, through the Vosges and the Black Forest – traveling south more than 500 miles while rising some 800 feet in elevation – Silver Cloud cruised into the very heart of Western Europe on the back of the legendary Rhine River. The dock at Basel, Switzerland, signaled the river’s navigable end. These ancient waters had never held forth a private luxury yacht. In storybook fashion, the 115-foot Burger Silver Cloud had breached one of the yachting world’s few-remaining cruising frontiers. Originally launched as Grindstone in 1985, Alex and Renate Dreyfoos purchased the vessel in 1996 and launched an 18-month refit that added 15 feet to her overall length and provided a cockpit for water access. The extra length allowed him to reconfigure the flying bridge deck as well, and he added wing stations to ease docking.

Top: Silver Cloud cruises south past hamlets and history cradled in the verdant Rhine River valley. Photograph by Alex Dreyfoos & Jonathan Crawford. Bottom: Sites along the Upper Middle section of the waterway include the statue of Germania looking down on the town of Rudesheim, ancient Tudor architecture. Photograph by Jonathan Crawford. (Click images to enlarge)

In June 2001, Alex and Renate joined Silver Cloud in Basel to embark on one of sailing’s most storied journeys through one of Europe’s most beloved regions. The first port, Lahr, in Germany’s fabled Black Forest, is a day’s journey from Basel. The stop allowed Renate to become reacquainted with her hometown before resuming the 500-mile journey down river. Known as the Upper Middle Rhine, this 40-mile section of historic watercourse embedded deep within the continent is perhaps the most celebrated and romanticized section of the 820-mile-long waterway. From the city of Bingen to Bonn, it descends deep into the Rhenish Slate mountains, creating dramatic gorges and valleys. Nestled in this cloak of history and nature, the Dreyfooses found a world of tranquility and romance – a world not normally found on megayacht "must-do" maps.

Turning the river bend at Rudesheim, another new world came alive and they celebrated the moment by playing a recording of Schumann’s inspired work, "Rhenish Symphony." At Rudesheim the couple discovered a lush emerald valley punctuated by bright Tudor hamlets dotting the riverside; beyond, swaths of vineyards terraced up the steep slopes. In the distance, they discovered the silhouettes of castles standing sentinel on ridges and hilltops overlooking the Rhine.

Photograph by Jonathan Crawford. (Click image to enlarge)

The village itself seems as if it has, over time, slid down the steep embankment and come to a precarious stop just on the water’s edge. The provincial charm of narrow, cobblestone alleys, stone castles and half-timber houses – their flower boxes bursting with radiant red petunias, – matched the elegant presence of Silver Cloud at dockside.

Rudesheim’s famed party street, the Drosselgasse, was awash with tourists and resonated with the cacophony of German "oompah" bands. Surrounding the town were rows and rows of grape-covered undulating hills on which Germany’s famed Rheingau region has built its worldwide reputation for Riesling wines.

Map by Patti Thornton. Bottom photograph by Jonathan Crawford. (Click images to enlarge)

While Renate busily explored the town, her husband navigated on foot through all the merrymaking of the Drosselgasse on a mission to find the Niederwald monument, or "The Watch over the Rhine." He located a cable car to shorten his journey up above the Rheingau vineyards. At the monument he found a statue of a mythic, brazen Germania with her sword in one hand and crown in the other. The statue commemorates the German unification of 1871 and is a testament to national pride. More than 800 feet above the river, the monument’s plaza afforded him an unsurpassed view of this idyllic region.

Boasting one of the world’s greatest concentrations of castles, the Upper Middle Rhine held endless enchantment for the owners and crew of Silver Cloud. In the distance, by the town of Braubach, the sun glinted on a yellow speck on the near-plumb riverbank. As Silver Cloud drew closer, the yellow speck grew into the looming silhouette of an enormous castle. Schloss Stolzenfels, perched on a lone precipice rises into the air from a dense, green copse of trees. Now a museum, the castle began as a small fortress built in the mid-13th century by Archbishop Arnold of Isenburg for the purpose of collecting illegal tolls from boats sailing up the Rhine. From the flybridge, the Dreyfooses enjoyed contemplating the intricate craftsmanship of the castle’s rising spires, turrets and archways.
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.