Staying at Bacharach as our base, we devoted a full day for exploring the left bank of the Middle Rhine Valley by train. This was the legendary Rhine Gorge of UNESCO World Heritage fame and, I thought at the time, a fitting climax for our second-last day in Germany. I didn't take into account the fact that it was SUNDAY ... but I'll talk about that later.
We already had a glimpse of the Rhine's picturesque landscape as we floated upstream on the KD ferry, but this was our last chance to get intimate with its charming small towns. So we finished our characteristically hearty German breakfast at Ursula's guesthouse, boarded the convenient Mittelrheinbahn and arrived in 15 minutes at Sankt Goar, a town slightly larger than Bacharach yet equally sleepy on a holiday morning.
Halfway between Koblenz to the north and Bingen am Rhein to the southeast, Sankt Goar once controlled one of the narrowest sections of the Middle Rhine along with its sister town Sankt Goarhausen, merely 250m away on the opposite bank. For years the local government has proposed a bridge across these rapid waters, but as of 2014 the tiny Loreley Ferry remains the only way to cross ... just as it's been for centuries past.
This strategic location naturally sprung a collection of medieval castles on both shores throughout history -- the comically named Burg Katz and Burg Maus on the Sankt Goarhausen side, and the stern and masculine Burg Rheinfels on the Sankt Goar side. This was exactly what we came for -- the largest and arguably most impressive castle ruin on the Middle Rhine, perching on a sheer cliff above the busy shipping lanes.
What remains today is but a mere shadow of the mighty Burg Rheinfels from the middle ages, reduced to crumbling ruins after being blown up by the French in the late 1700's and subsequently quarried for its wealth of quality cut stones. But even with half of the castle destroyed, enough of the 13th Century turrets and ramparts remain to witness what a serious piece of business this must have been.
It's easy to spend half a day just exploring the maze-like tunnels and ramparts, and trying out various instruments of medieval punishment. As a side note the Burg also features one of the most fascinating public washrooms anywhere ... with a hand-operated water pump for faucet and an old copper pipe for hand dryer.
If you're really fascinated with castles and want to enjoy Burg Rhinefels as your backyard, the castle does operate a private hotel right outside its front gate. While its view of Sankt Goar is splendid, I must point out that there are cheaper castle-hotels in the region such as Burg Stahleck at nearby Bacharach, Burg Liebenstein at Kamp-Bornhofen or Burg Arras on the Mosel.
We hiked back down to Sankt Goar right at lunchtime and headed straight for the cluster of traditional Gasthofen around the town square. My terrible reading knowledge of German barely deciphered enough of the hand-scribbled daily menus to spot one of my favorite seasonal ingredients ... frische pfifferlingen, or fresh chanterelle mushrooms. Autumn is a great time to be in Germany.
Prices at Hotel am Markt were reasonable for its prime location on the waterfront, directly across the Rhine from lovely Burg Katz. To the right were the piers for ferries and pleasure boats on the Rhine, and a two minute walk uphill led to the town's tiny unmanned train station. It doesn't just get more convenient than this.
Amazingly this was only the first time that we came across chanterelles in the form of a creme soup ... all our previous encounters were in the form of sauces on top of main dishes. This was certainly nowhere as magical as a Boletus mushroom soup we had earlier at Heidelberg, but it's fresh, wild-picked and still notches better than any creme of champignon.
My wife's broiled trout came out as perfectly charred as one can ever ask for. As I remember the flesh had a slight muddy taste, meaning that the fish was probably farmed rather than caught. That said, I don't think anyone could complain about the price of 12.9 Euros for an expertly cooked fish with a side salad, on a town square facing the Rhine.
Arriving last was the seasonal special of Schweinebraten with Chanterelle mushrooms. While I'm never a huge fan of German pork roasts, there's just something about the woody flavor of wild fungi that turns mediocre dishes into memorable ones. The portions were generous as usual, and now we're quite ready to move to the next town and walk off those extra calories.
Bill for Two Persons
| Creme of Chanterelles | 3.9 Euros |
| Broiled Trout | 12.9 Euros |
| Schweinebraten with Chanterelles | 14.9 Euros |
| Glass Rivaner-Kerner x 2 | 5.8 Euros |
| TOTAL before tips | 37.5 Euros (CAD$52.5) |
We walked back to the unmanned train station, hopped on the Mittelrheinbahn again and arrived at yet another unmanned station 8km upstream. Every town along this stretch of the romantic Rhine seemed to be crowned with its own medieval castle on a hilltop, and Oberwesel was no exception with the colorful Schoenburg adorning this section of the river gorge.
What elevates Oberwesel above all its peers along the Middle Rhine Valley is its remarkable collection of defensive towers, scattered along remnants of the old town walls dating from the 1200's. Surrounding the town are hills after hills of the region's prototypical vineyards that outputs some of Germany's best Rieslings and Spatburgunders.
A few towers are open to inquisitive hikers and offer excellent views of the town, while others remain private properties of the townsfolk. We even saw one fitted with a doorbell and occupied as a residence, possibly of a family who has dwelled in parts of the wall for centuries. This is a community with a long history -- a number of churches survived from the late Middle Ages and some private houses date from the Renaissance era.
We walked along sections of the extant town wall facing the riverfront, turned uphill after the round turret of Ochsenturm and went for a short hike along upper edges of the town. We could have hiked up to the Schoenburg for some afternoon tea and an inside look at yet another castle-hotel, but we're quite content to stay within the town and enjoy the folk architecture.
The historic Market Square of 18th Century timber-frame houses would have been a lively spot for people watching, except almost EVERYTHING in town was closed on this day, including all stores and most restaurants. It was then that we realized ... it's Sunday in a region of the world where observance of the Lord's Day is taken literally. The only two stores open were an Italian ice cream parlour, and a Turkish Donerhaus that sold us a life-saving bottle of water.
As quaint and fascinating this little town was, it was time to move on to a busier place for some more sightseeing and, if we're lucky, last minute shopping. Armed with our regional train daypass (Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket) we hopped on the Mittelrheinbahn yet again, this time heading north towards the regional hub of Koblenz.
We previously traveled through this stretch of the Rhine by ferry and by local train on the Right Bank, and this train ride on the Left Bank afforded some more great views of the castles along the route, including the white and stately Marksburg above the town of Braubach. I still prefer the KD ferry as the best way to see the Middle Rhine, but I also appreciate these local trains for their frequency and speed for day-trips.
We arrived at Koblenz to find just about EVERYTHING being closed on Sundays. That's everything including the major shopping centres and supermarkets, hence no last minute shopping for us. We'd just have to be content with rummaging through the old town en route to the one sight we didn't want to miss, the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel at the famous Deutsches Eck.
Just about the entire Koblenz gathered around the Deutsches Eck on this Sunday afternoon, basking in the early autumn sun and enjoying the waterfront view of both rivers. This place used to be THE symbol for aspiration of national unity in West Germany, but a quarter century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it now seems mostly a place for family outings and biergartens.
The surprise entertainment of the day was an informal gathering of local residents in 19th century attire, laces and top hats and all, made even more impressive by the backdrop of the Ehrenbreitstein castle and stately mansions across the Rhine. We had dinner at an unremarkable restaurant serving modern German food (should have gone back to the Alt Coblenz we came across earlier!), but made it up with some excellent gelati down the street.
In 45 minutes we're back at Bacharach by the trusty Mittelrheinbahn, wrapping up a full day of sightseeing along one of Europe's great rivers. We couldn't help comparing these towns on the Rhine with those on the Mosel which we just visited several days ago. The Rhine has become legendary mainly for the sheer number of medieval castles on every defensible hilltop, though in truth I actually prefer the intimacy of the Mosel's quaint small towns and the visual impact of its frighteningly steep vineyards. But most of all, both valleys are among German's best wine regions, and I wouldn't mind revisiting both during harvest season.
