A Rhein Drive

I could blog all day about the Rhein river (and I have before).  Vineyards, castles, forest, and quaint villages dot its banks, making it a delightful day out.  This time around, we decided to stop first in Rüdesheim am Rhein.  A touristy wine town, the cable car up to the Niederwalddenkmal is a fun trip with great views.

After Rüdesheim, it was castle time.  Driving on the north bank of the Rhein (and heading west), we saw no fewer than 13 castles on the way (from the car- we'd tour one later).  We crossed at Sankt Goar using one of the auto ferries that frequent the area (there are no bridges crossing the river between Mainz and Koblenz).  As the driver, I could snap photos only when we stopped, so my sampling is inadequate (but gives you an idea).

After the ferry, it was a quick stop in Bacharach, a nice little town with a famous chapel (that's mostly destroyed; not sure why it's a big deal.  Ask Rick Steves, he loves it).

Then, on to Rheinstein- my favorite castle in the region.  Though small, I love its perch (transitioning seamlessly from rock to finished stone) and how it has a little bit of everything (chapel, knight's hall, etc.).

We ended our day trying to get a picture of Ehrenfels.  Through the power lines . . . oh well.  We finished with a fantastic ice cream treat in Bingen.

Total driving time was 1.5 hours- not bad for a beautiful day out.

High Time for Heroes (Mary Pope Osborne)

Jack and Annie, the magic tree house kids, are in for another adventure.  This time, to help Merlin, they must travel back to Egypt to meet Florence Nightingale and learn her secret of greatness.  There's only one problem- Florence doesn't think she is anything special, and has no idea what the kids keep saying about her being a famous nurse and all.  How can they convince her, and how can they learn what it takes to be great?

My kids love the magic tree house series, so I thought I'd read one (I read book 51).  It was a good story (basically historical fiction), and I see why my kids like it.  But I had an ulterior motive- I had the German translation, too, and read them both side-by-side to improve mein Deutsch.  It was a good experience:
- I learned that the 8-10 year old reading level is just right for me.  I understand quite a bit, and could use context to learn the rest. 
- I also came to appreciate the difficulty a translator faces and how that impacts those of us learning a new language.  I found minor (or major) differences in many sentences.  Sometimes, just an adjective would be dropped.  Other times, sentences would be changed completely.  The titles are good examples- the American "High Time for Heroes" becomes "Adventure in the Valley of the Kings."  And the German version stars Philipp and Anne.  So the learner cannot assume that the sentences will be translated verbatim (though the overall gist is similar).  You must know enough German to not be thrown by that.
- I learned a lot of past tense.  Most of my German training to date has been present tense, but naturally stories are written differently. 

The differences between translations made me think.  Why would the translator make simple changes, like omitting a descriptive word here (or adding one there)?  Is it because a German wouldn't describe things the same way?  Or because the German equivalent was far too wordy (or complex) for a book for kids?  I'm glad I did this; I may do a few more.

Rating: A

Reichsburg Cochem

Time to start catching up on the backlog of travel posts.  A few weeks ago, we visited Cochem with some friends.  Cochem is a pleasant town situated nicely on the scenic Mosel River.  Its imposing castle offers wonderful views of the river, town and vineyards.  We parked in the southern end of town and took the castle path up (see pictures below).  We took in the sights until the next English tour (offered frequently during the summer).

The castle tour, lasting 40-60 minutes, gave a nice overview of the castle's (and owner's) story.

Once done, we hiked another path back down, and soon found ourselves in a quaint village packed with shopping and eating options.

Afterwards, we drove on the Mosel for a way.  It feels like a less busy (but no less beautiful) Rhein, and is a great day trip.

Spider-man: Far From Home

Eight months after Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker and everyone else are putting their lives back together- enjoying those who returned from 'the blink' and dealing with those ramifications.  He's just a normal kid who wants to enjoy a school trip to Europe and tell MJ how he feels about her.  But he can't catch a break; when elemental creatures threaten the Earth, Nick Fury enlists Spider-man to help a strange new hero (Mysterio) stop them. Can they prevail, or is Spider-man not yet ready to step into the void left by Iron Man?

In April, the MCU concluded an epic 22-movie arc.  This movie is the first in the next phase, and it felt- perhaps appropriately- like somewhat of a letdown.  How could it top what came before?  Endgame was suitably climactic and world-changing; familiar faces left for good, and the franchise future is unclear.  Thus, Far From Home is appropriately titled.  There are some solid aspects to the film, like looking at struggles familiar to Spider-man (as he wrestles with his identity and calling).  The story had some twists, good humor, and things typical in the MCU.  The main message- about people's need to believe and willingness to believe anything- was thought-provoking and relevant in today's age.  But overall, it feels like the MCU is, for the first time in years, far from home, a bit lost in the wake of Endgame, and looking for a direction moving forward. 

Rating: B

5-Minute Marvel

Today's review is of the 2018 release, 5-Minute Marvel.  For 2-5 players, it takes 5 minutes.

Overview
This game is quite similar to 5-Minute Dungeon.  It's a cooperative, real-time affair where each player plays cards from their hand with symbols matching those on 'monster' cards to overcome them and move on.  As you have a set hand size, once you play a card, you draw another to replenish your hand. You have to get through a set number of cards, and beat the final boss, before five minutes are up.  As the games are so similar, see my Dungeon post for pictures and more explanation.

Marvel differs from Dungeon in only this respect- here, each player has two decks of cards.
- One deck is formed from a common pool of cards, shuffled and distributed equally before the game begins
- One deck is specific to the hero you're playing (Spider-man has a deck of ~10 cards with his logo on the back, for example)
When you need to draw a card, you choose what deck to draw from.  The hero-specific cards are generally more powerful, but fewer in number, so use them wisely.

Review
I like this mildly better than its predecessor.  At its heart, it's the same game, but I like the common pool of cards (in Dungeon, each player get one predetermined deck based on the hero they choose) supplemented by smaller hero-specific cards.  Dungeon's one-deck approach can create a problem, since each hero's deck has a focus.  If players choose heroes with similar foci, they'll struggle mightily.  Marvel fixes that with a common deck.  The theme is cool, too.  If you have to pick one, pick this one.

Rating: A