St. Goar
Germany
Km 557
After our walking tour of Bacharach, Richard drove us north to St. Goar. Stephanie took us down Main Street, pointing out highlights and places to find a bite to eat before we climbed up to Burg Rheinfelds. We found a simple place and fueled up for our hike. We had a bit of time to kill, so we looked in some of the shops. I was undecided if I was going to bring home a cuckoo clock and my dad was interested in finding a grandfather clock. Nothing had my name on it, so we ventured on.
I kept hearing Miracle Max say
Have fun storming the castle
Yes, I watched The Princess Bride one too many times. It was time to hike up to Burg Rheinfels, so we set off instead of taking the minibus. We live in Northern Illinois where there are no mountains and very few hills. We both did some training before we left, but Dad worked out in the morning and I did mine after work. Dad didn’t have as much training with hills, so we took it slow, heading up with a couple of stops to catch our breath. When we made it up, we were able to enjoy the view of the town and the Rhine.
CAstle Rheinfels
One of the biggest castles in the area
But it is a castle in ruin now. We met a castle guide who told us stories about battles, prisoners and life in the castle. We got to get our flashlights out and check out the tunnels and foxholes. At the end of the tour, while in the big cellar that held the castle food provisions, our tour guide played the guitar and sang a song about a blacksmith. I was very impressed with his playing and the warmth of his voice. Not to mention how well the acoustics were echoing in the space. You can hear for yourself by clicking the button below.
Rhine RIVER CRUISE
WE GOTTA GET BACK TO BACHARACH!
After the castle tour, the group went on a Rhine River cruise. We saw four of the robber- baron castles, the Lorelei and lots of charming scenery on our cruise back to Bacharach. Rick calls this stretch the best of the Rhine. Dad and I enjoyed some fine dark beers on the journey. I was talking to Carol, a fellow tour member, about the funny trees. She figured out that many of these trees were excessively trimmed. The large photo to the left is Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, a toll castle on Falkenau Island. Gutenfels Castle in the upper right is now a hotel.
We traveled down the romantic road to see