It was another lovely day, once the fog lifted between 10.39
and 11.00 am.
I had my usual in-suite breakfast and then finished loading photos into my blog before heading up for lunch at the Bistro. After lunch I headed ashore for the bus trip around the Mosel Valley and a wine tasting. 
Two buses were used but one would have been sufficient. We headed for the village where the wine tasting would take place. It was a lovely drive mostly beside the Mosel and our guide explained much of what we saw.
He, in his seventies, told us he was working picking grapes for the last three days, very hard work. The vineyards on the stepped hills are picked by machine while in the flatter areas the grapes are all hand picked. He told us that he does no know what the future holds as the young people do not want to work in the vineyards, it is too hard!! His English was not very good as he had not used it much for 50 years, he could be understood with the drivers help from time to time!
Five of the villages we passed through have protection against floods as this area of the Mosel is prone to flooding in late winter. 
The road actually ran along the top of the flood bank in one village. It was a very pretty drive with lots of lovely villages and not a patch of wasted ground with vineyards as far as the eye could see. There are apparently 9,000 hectares of vineyards along the Mosel and 7,000 owners.
We arrived in the village of Lieser for the wine tasting at a gallery, the actual cellars were moved further along in the village a few years ago but we did get an opportunity to explore the old cellars after the tasting.
We tasted three wines, the first was a dry white, the second a medium dry white (named Delicious, lol) and the third an off dry, or sweet, Riesling.
The Mosel is famous for its Rieslings and wine growing in the region goes back to Roman times. at one time, the growers were not allowed to produce any red wines and it is only in recent years, since about 1985, that this was changed.
I bought a bottle of Delicious to take back to give to my second cousin, I am sure she will share it, lol!
We then headed through some more villages and up to a Panoramic viewpoint. by the time we climbed up to it, we were at 970 ft or 297 m, the river is at sea level! the views were magnificent.
We were above a bend in the river so could see both ways. there eere many villages with their church(es) dotted about, lots of vineyards and the trees had such a variety of colouring.
We had plenty of time for admiring the view and taking photographs before we left to see a Roman Press. Up to six male slaves would get into the main tank, after having their feet washed by the women, and press the grapes with their feet. 
The liquid would run off into a side tank, this produced the best wine. The remains were then put into a press at the back and the control, similar to a corkscrew, woud be turned by other slaves to squeeze the grapes again. 
The wine was not as good and was a cheaper variety, they would also add water to it to provide refreshment for those working!
The wine presses would always be built close to the river.
We then drove on to a second viewpoint by a hotel. Again we had some glorious views made all the better by the sunny day. 
The guide from the other bus came over to ask where I was from, lol, she was from Liverpool, she came out here 40 years agao and never left! She told us that this is the best time of the years to visit, once the leaves have dropped, it looks grey and bare. The snow only settles on the hill tops not down in the valley, they just get floods there.
We then drove back to the boat as the sun was beginning to set and we caught some spectacular views. Back on board, I went up top to watch us leaving Mehring and we almost immediately went through a lock. The water dropped a considerable distance before the gates opened and we could travel on our merry way.
I showered and met up with Jana and Dale for dinner, a very pleasant affair, I had the German Beef Roll, it was very tasty. i had some of the mint trifle for dessert, it was very tasty but ther was too much. I finished with a Mexican Liqueur coffee. We exchanged email addresses and Jana told me they were hoping to cruise the riveer between Memphis and St Paul and she woud let me know when.
I went up top and we passed through another lock, then it was time for bed with much rocking and rolling as we passed through many locks.
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