Rhineland Memories Poem by C Richard Miles

Far too early in the morning, I bypassed the breakfast room.
Trotting through the pavement puddles, I traversed through cold Cologne.
On that wretched, rainswept morning, worries trickled through my brain:
Would I make the railway station? Would I catch that waiting train?

Rushing past the tall cathedral, stretching, yawning, I ploughed on.
Dreaming spires made no impression; I had set my mind upon
Starting on my great adventure, though the weather wasn’t fine.
Was the riverboat awaiting further up the River Rhine?

So I bought my one-way ticket, looked for platform number ten;
Then I spent some pleasant minutes peeking at the town again.
Tall and proud, the vast cathedral supervised the iron lines.
Then the engine entered slowly, for my destination, Mainz.

As the train, transcontinental, tracked its way to Budapest,
I relaxed inside my carriage, catching up with wonted rest.
Now the sleek electric engine hauled the coaches up to Bonn,
Once head of divided nation, since the nineties now made one.

As the day began to lighten, fortified by cups of tea,
Rural panoramas brightened, which I had desired to see.
Bonn’s majestic civic buildings grandly gathered in my sight
And I glimpsed my first Rhine Castle, perched so proudly on the height.

They remained the strong leitmotiv of that long, enchanting day
In their varied incarnations, as they lined my scenic way.
Now the gorge began to narrow, cliffs surmounting river bends
As I gained the midpoint city: ancient riverport, Koblenz.

Narrowing more, just like a funnel, as we passed the Lorelei
River cliffs were pierced by tunnels underneath the threatening sky.
Reaching Mainz, I rose, alighted, sprinted, zigzagging through town
Past where Gutenberg had printed, as the rain came sheeting down.

Through the streets of painted plaster, garnished grey or pretty pink,
I approached the Rhine embankment to where, waiting on the brink,
Stood the kiosk where I purchased, at an inexpensive price,
Film and tickets for my journey, hoping they would turn out nice.

Gazing at the bridge so lengthy: engineering masterpiece
Spanning the fast-flowing river, with its sense of grace and ease
Made me marvel at the early mediaeval workmanship
As I crossed the flimsier gangplank to the safety of the ship.

Once inside, I ordered breakfast, as I wasn’t keen to skip
All the scenery that waited to be viewed upon my trip.
Crusty rolls with fresh-churned butter, complemented with sweet jam
Satisfied my aching hunger, with boiled eggs and schinkenham.

Though the storm had not abated, strengthened, I climbed up the stair
Seeking for some precious shelter on the deck, exposed and bare.
Luckily I had protection, thanks to my dawn-chorus start;
Wrapped up warmly for the weather, I soon heard the engine’s spark.

Casting off, we gathered motion, bolstered by the rushing Rhine
Brimful, surging like an ocean, all the way to Rudesheim.
Trees and bushes all were buried underneath the seething stream
Since the rain in floods had fallen, all that season’s soggy spring.

As the Schlosses rose refulgent, gracing hillsides near and far,
I beheld the gap-toothed forest, in its breach a cable car
Carrying visitors, exploring, up to lofty vantage points
Overlooking marshy meadows, on their early morning jaunts.

On the left, the pale-pink cliff face, topped with stolid steeple proud
Rose above the town of Bingen, where the bells clanged clear and loud.
Just before where landscape narrowed, as we reached Rhine’s rocky gorge,
On the hillsides, furrowed vineyards watched the splashing waters surge.

Past so tiny Assmannshausen, shorter than its mouthful name,
Sailing swiftly round the corner, sunshine stopped the driving rain,
Giving me some needed respite, though the scenery so fair
Caused me to forget the weather, of the rain quite unaware.

In the middle, on its island stood the mighty castle Caub
Sailing like an ocean liner, on that rock so small and drab.
Though it seemed that it would founder in the furious, flooding tide
It disdained, with calm composure, raging Rhine, with stoic pride.

As the cliffs around us crowded, blocking out the cloud-wracked sky
Trees and bushes decked the rockface as we spied the Lorelei
Whereupon the native Germans burst out in spontaneous song
Sung for that seductive Siren fabled from lost ages gone.

Up the river struggled barges, bearing lumpy loads of coal,
Fighting with the flooding current, guided grimly to their goal
By their grumpy, growling captains underneath their dripping caps
Whilst their craven crews had scarpered to the safety of the hatch.

Next our boat was in a battle with the all-subduing force
For we had to cross the river, at right angles to the course
As we crossed to St. Goarshausen from the village of St Goar
With the engine at full throttle, giving out a lion’s roar.

I was halfway through my journey, when the ship docked at Koblenz.
Many passengers alighted, bade farewell to new-found friends.
Hungry now, I ordered luncheon: Wiener Schnitzel, noodles, wine
I sat munching, penning postcards to send home, to pass the time.

In Koblenz there stand two castles high above the river wide
One of them is a youth-hostel, on the sloping mountain side
Where tired ramblers stalled and stumbled, breathless after wanderings.
And the other is a castle, formerly the home of kings.

After lunch, the boat weighed anchor, filled again with visitors.
As the Rhine meandered, massing, passing on its way the towers
Built by those fierce, warring brothers fighting o’er that maiden bride,
Still the pouring waters smothered banks and footpaths in its tide.

As the bridge, from film remembered, which was once at Remagen
In the war, was now dismembered, I tried hard to imagine
How the mighty arches spanned the Third Reich Rhine so wide and clear
When that bridge, now just a memory, had become that bridge too far.

Rain returned now, with a vengeance, even forcing me to flee
Down below in chintzy comfort, squinting through portholes to see
Daunting Drachenfels so darkly dominating baroque Bonn.
Jaunting gently under bridges, still our riverboat rolled on.

Now the countryside expanded, fields and floodplains filled my view.
Cogitating cattle wandered, calmly choosing cuds to chew;
I devoured their cooked relations, spicy tasting Peppersteaks.
Apple Strudel followed closely, finished off with chocolate cake.

As the evening dusk now darkened came the sight of old Cologne.
Standing stark, the high cathedral spires and bridges built in stone
Welcomed me back to the city which I’d left before the dawn
But a sudden squall obscured and conjured them to sites unknown.

Had a malevolent magician spirited my dreams away?
Was there to be no happy ending to that captivating day?
But, as soon as it had started, stormy weather left the stage
And the painted panorama poured back on the pictured page.

Hoving in up to the haven of the mooring bumped the boat
And reluctantly I lingered, longing to remain afloat,
Till another drowning deluge made me dash to my hotel
Where I slept and slumbered, dreaming of that day remembered well.