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| Hotel Boat Rhine Valley |
Our long awaited holiday after 2 years of Covid eventually arrived.
It was an uneventful flight except for the guy behind coughing and sneezing all night!
Thankfully, we were all obliged to wear our masks during the flight.
So off we headed very early to find our accommodation in Lorch. We soon hit a snag as the road to Rudesheim was closed. So our driving in circles trying to get onto the correct road turned out to be a 4 hour exercise! So much for German efficiency! Or perhaps, our inefficiency!
We did eventually find the village after driving a hellava long way thru a forest. Totally exhausted and ready to sleep after stocking up at the local Rewe supermarket.
The Middle Rhine Valley stretches for approx.65 km from Bingen & Rudesheim in the south to Koblenz in the North. The terraced slopes have vineyards, the villages are interesting and the castles go back a thousand years - some now just ruins. Traffic on the Rhine is constant - barges, hotel boats, sightseeing vessels. It's a fascinating sight daily.
Our first day dawned sunny and bright with a high of 28degrees forecast. So we set off to find the pleasure boat dock. We found one in Kaub but the chap could not really explain the routes in English, so we opted for tickets to St. Goarshausen. It's a lovely short cruise and we were feeling very jealous of the Hotel Boats!
The famous Loreley Rock is just that - a huge rock! The river narrows to 130 m wide at this point and the legend lives on.
We popped into a pleasant restaurant Rheingold in the village of St Goarshausen.
It made for a friendly and welcoming lunch spot and a very different cheese sandwich. Tons of cheese on top of Rye bread with olives, onion and some tomato. A large Konig Pils went down well. After lunch a drive to just before Koblenz. We tried to find a castle to visit but were not successful.
Day 2:
Such a fun day today! We took the car ferry across the Rhine to the other side for a day of exploring. The castle in the river is called Pfalzgrafenstein - this has a 5 sided tower and white walls. Built as a Toll Station originally.
Our next stop was the beautiful village of Bacharach with the entrance thru city walls into a village that appears to be from a bygone era. The Altes Haus goes back to 1368. Imagine! It is now a restaurant.
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| Altes Haus Bacharach Germany |
The Postenturm Tower is high up on the hill and offers amazing views over the town and the Rhine. The hills behind are covered in vines - mainly Riesling. The ruins are Wernekapelle - the roof collapsed in 1689 after the French blew up the castle.
The church is St Peter stands tall and proud.
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| Bacharach Germany |
We drove past quaint villages until we decided to stop in Boppard. This town has a lovely walk along the river, flowers, lots of trees and a gent with a truck, water tank and hose. He was watering all the geranium boxes along the river!
We decided to try some German pizza at Ristorante Pizzeria Albona. A very friendly chap fetched us an English menu and was most obliging to make our pizza with a thin base. Watching the endless traffic on the Rhine is fascinating. The daily count passing Boppard is approx 300 per day! 300 millions tons of goods are transported every year! And then the trains run frequently with goods as well.
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| View of the bend in the Rhine above Boppard, Germany |
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| Sesselbahn Boppard - Germany |
Next up was an amazing ride in a chairlift Sesselbahn Boppard. Boppard is called "the Pearl of the Rhine" and it is easy to see why during this 20 min ride over vineyards and thru forests to the top of the hill.
Paragliding also happens from the top and there are bike trails and hiking trails.
Our drive back to the ferry crossing was the end of a magic day!
Day 3:
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| Bingen - Rhine - Germany |
The day dawned cloudy, with a very cold wind. So we took the car ferry across the Rhine (great fun) and then a drive to Bingen. Bingen is a large town where old meets new. There is loads of construction happening in the old industrial area on the river. Very smart looking apartment complexes. The promenade walk was just what we needed with some beautiful flowers and trees. Chairs are provided and we saw many couples, families or singles relaxing with a book and just enjoying the tranquillity. And the pavement cafes were fairly busy as well.
The roads are pretty narrow but driving is fine - we just don't understand the weird cement bits sticking out into the road? Perhaps to slow down traffic?
The car ferry at Kaub is always busy Euro 6.50 per trip. It's quick and efficient.
And so ends our trip in this beautiful part of the world. We have not got tired of gazing out of our apartment and seeing the constant stream of boats. It's been amazing!
Perhaps too short a stay as so much more to do and see!
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| Rhine Valley Germany |
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| Postenturm - Rhine Valley Germany |
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