Alzey

When we decided to take the car over to Lenno this year I decided I would make it a fairly leisurely trip down South, so the trip would be part of the holiday. The ferry arrived at Ijmuiden on time after a very calm crossing, even yesterday's slight swell was no longer in evidence. Prior to disembarking we had an excellent breakfast, and were finally clear of customs at about 10:30.

For the first day we went as far as Alzey, a small town in the Rhine river valley, not far from Frankfurt. I think this was a drive of about five hours. I had booked at a small B&B in the centre of the town. The hotel had been refurbished a year or so ago. Everything was very modern and absolutely spotless. It would be hard to find fault with anything, apart from the weather. It was quite a bit warmer than Aberdeen, but with a slight rain in the air.

Alzey is in the heart of a wine producing area. It appears to be a very prosperous little town and the architecture is very interesting. It looks like I would expect a German town should look. We had a walk around the town, the centre is largely pedestrianised. It was a also a public holiday so the shops were closed. This is perhaps fortunate as there are some very nice shops. Scattered around the town there are various statues. Amongst the largest was this horse wanting a drink from the fountain. For some reason the horse is carrying a mandolin, and we saw this symbol around the town centre. I may not have understood correctly, but I got impression that during the wine festival there is a tap dispensing wine from the fountain. Not today though.