19 AUGUST 2000 will be remembered both in Germany and in the US.

Why are these people smiling???    read on ......   Its worth your time!
 

Désirée & Tarp recently took a trip to Harxheim, Germany for the annual Weinhofefest,

 and the Weinhofefest Balloon Race.
  Désirée & Tarp flying high over the vinyards near Harxheim

 
While there we took a riverboat cruise down the romantic Rhine river.  The Middle Rhine is one of the most beautiful areas in the world.  The boat trip from Bingen to St. Goar takes approximately 1 and 1/2 hours.  From Bingen north the Rhine Valley becomes a 400 meter deep gorge for over 60 kilometers.  The sides of the gorge are sometimes sheer, with an occassional near vertical drop.  There are many steep terraces along the river that are set with vinyards.  Nowhere else along the Rhine are castles found in such clusters.  To read more about the Rhine River Gorge and see maps of the region visit:  http://www.loreleyvalley.com/rhine-maps/index.html


 
 

DIE LORELEY

 

One of the most famous landmarks on the Rhine is the famous Loreley Rock.  The Loreley Rock  rises almost perpendicular to 133m (or 399feet) above the water level on the right bank of the rive Rhine. It stands near the village of St. Goarshausen and across the river from St. Goar.  The Loreley Rock was made famous all over the world by Heinrich Heine's "Song of Loreley" set to a very enchanting music.
 
 


Lorelei rock by St. Goar and St. Goarshausen on the Rhine from the opposite side's view of Maria-Ruh by Oberwesel-Urbar. In the background castle Katz (cat).
 
 

Every culture has its legends and the Loreley Rock has several.

One legend tells:
In the evening as darkness descends, a beautiful young maiden by the name of Loreley, sits on the rock combing her long golden hair and singing a haunting melody. Sailors on the river Rhine who look upon her are captivated by her beauty, and forgetting where they are, head towards the treacherous rock, and lose themselves(drown) in the depths of the river. This has been the tragic fate of many ships and sailors.

Another story about Loreley is:
Some people say that Loreley really lived. She was loved by lots of men because she was very beautiful. But she only loved one knight. But one day he had to go to war. The other men wanted to marry Loreley, but she was not interested in them. She only thought of her knight. Many men killed themselves because they loved her. Soon the people started to believe that she was a witch. Loreley was very unhappy.
The Archbishop of Cologne felt sorry for Loreley and decided to send her to a convent. On the way to the convent she wanted to stand on the Loreley-rock to look at her knight's castle for the last time. While she was standing there, she saw the knight in a small boat on the Rhine. She shouted his name. When the knight heard her, he forgot about the rocks, crashed onto them and drowned. Loreley jumped into the Rhine because she wanted to be near the knight. Nobody ever saw her again.

A NEW LEGEND:
The Romantic Rhine took effect and a  new Loreley legend has been born.  An event took place that many people thought would never happen.  While passing underneath the Loreley Rock, Tarp gave Désirée a rock.  She said yes and the smiles and toasts began!  It is really true and here are the photos to confirm it.

   The first smile!

  Just what she wanted - a  ruby engagement ring.

More smiles as they get off the boat.
 
 

Toasting the engagement by the Rhine in St Goar, Germany, with friends Susan & Dan and Bruce & Bea.
 

 
Alfred Mathes announces the engagement at the Weinhofefest Balloon Race awards brunch in Harxheim, Germany.
 
 

No wedding plans have been made yet.  Just let us enjoy this part first.  Stay tuned for further details.  We will let you know when and where the party will be.
 

Désirée &  Tarp
 

 email:   Désirée - dreddick@att.net
              Tarp - thead@headballoons.com
 
 
 

If you want to take a romantic boat trip down the Rhine yourself check out:
http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/rhine-cruise/lorelei/

To learn more about ballooning over the beautiful vinyards of the Rheinhessen click on these links:
http://www.headballoons.de       or        http://www.freiballon.de

And if you want to see a live web cam of the Loreley Rock click on this link, http://www.topin.ch/de/loreley/default.asp?lang=e 
 
 

UPDATE - Desiree' and Tarp were married on March 31, 2001

Click here if you want to see the wedding photos and wedding invitation page.