River cruise... on the river

We woke to the sound of faint scraping, so I hopped out of bed and took a look. And saw nothing but concrete. Cool... we're in a big river lock! So we got dressed and headed up on deck to take a look. Mark and Cindy were already there; she was walking the track.

Coffee at the forward beverage and pastry bar, sat and talked, getting better acquainted with the Leavenworth folks who came along on this tour.

Today, we're on the river. Lots to see, other boats, more locks, the pencil-thin freight boats... and my favorite castle of the whole trip.
. . .

Last night we sat on deck, with a few bottles of wine
among us, and a very helpful waiter who checked on us.
As the evening wore on, so did our circle of chairs grow larger.
 It was a magical place, through the blue hour and into the darkness.

This lock at 5:00 in the morning was pretty cool.
It's huge, like the locks on the Snake River back home.

We carry a kitchen herb garden on the upper deck

The water levels are almost matched up, and day is breaking.

And away we go.

No problem getting under this modern cable bridge

No, this isn't my favorite castle... but the old city walls are pretty cool

We saw lots of these fishing cabins along the shore

The river is full of sandbars...

... and skinny cruise boats

This is it, my favorite castle along the river.
It was really hazy today... I could brighten the colors, but couldn't get blue back into the sky.

As we approached, the battlements of an older castle appeared

And then, the old castle, with catacombs carved into solid rock

The stone walls lead from the newer castle to the old, and down to a tower overlooking the river.
When I zoomed in, I could see people walking around on the castle.

Not exactly sure how you get to this tower;
maybe through a catacomb?