We awoke to a cool morning and the sound of rain on the roof! It was supposed to be a fine day, whats going on…oh well, one thing you cant control is the weather, you just have to roll with it.
We bade farewell to Crawdaddy and Airmiles, they were heading back to the States today, Rosie and The Operator really had enjoyed their late night Pinot Noir induced chats about Life the Universe and Everything. You never know Rosie and The Operator may be giving them a call one day and turn up on their doorstep in Louisiana for a bit of sightseeing advice and a slap up Cajun meal.
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The weather was supposed to clear in the afternoon, we jumped in the car and headed down south towards Bingen, more castles, more barges, more river passed us by in the drizzle. The towns and their houses are right on the roadside, the railroad mound is to the right of this picture, sure would be noisy…a train passes by every 15 mins.
We parked in front of the information centre and collected our usual stash, free parking on a Saturday and Sunday, good stuff.
Bingen is a lovely little town in its own right, it had a weekend market happening and crafters and foodies were in little gazebos selling their wares. This seemed to be the town on the Rhine with lots of department stores and everyday shopping in its centre, the first kind of ‘normal town’ we have encountered rather than a tourist spot.
The Passenger ferry that was to take us across the Rhine to Rudesheim was due to leave in 10 mins, so we headed down Rhineside to catch it, we meandered along a lovely park like walkway with works of art along the path… some more dubious than others…including the refuge car…when we reached the small boat, it was brimming with people.
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This region along the river is heavily planted with grapevines, predominately Reisling for which the area is famous for, the huge 38 metre tall Germania Statue stares down at us from the hillside between the vines, a tribute to the re establishment of the German empire after the Franco Prussian wars.
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It was a 10 in ride across the Rhine and Rudesheim was ready for the tourists! We wandered through the relatively quiet old town…
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….and entered the busiest tourist area we have encountered on the Rhine, tour buses were rolling in and the shops were open and waiting.
We were in the Oberstrasse area, Christmas Shops, souvenir shops, all manor of crafty and interesting shops you could think of…plus lots of alcohol shops.
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This shop sold big jars of liqueurs that you could sample, then you buy the type of decorative bottle you want, they fill it, seal it and you are away. Rosie bought a truffle liquor and a Mango, Jalapeno and Lime Liquor…they were beautiful, the latter being surprisingly fresh with a hint of citrus and slow burn zing at the end…is really different! You weren’t allowed to take photos in the shop, yeah right, the joys of only having a smartphone camera…super sneaky Rosie got her souvenir shot!
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All roads kind of lead to the Drosselgasse, a tunnel like touristy alleyway overloaded with signs and people pushing past courtyard terraces where folk lounge and people watch, tourist shops are at the fore and a old world atmosphere prevails.
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Rosie and the Operator got there there just in time to see the Glockenspiel perform its musical chime at the top of every hour. It was once part of the Old Rudesheim Castle and its dancing figures represent the wine growing vintages of the region….apparently.
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We popped out the other side and decided to head back home, the sun was coming out and Rosie wanted to explore and relax in her own town. This included Rosie hiking on a goat track to Castle Stahleck…The Operator did say we could drive…Rosie said nah, doesn’t look far…and proceeded in a near vertical climb up a wine vine terrace….wished we drove….nah, it was so worth it though, here is a taster of the view.
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Nothing more is going to be revealed of Bacharach at the moment, Rosie has fallen in love with this town and will do a whole page on it to try to showcase it at its best.
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After the hike, we walked past one of the many winebars…we ended up inside sampling a Weinkarrousel…6 samples of white wine starting with a couple of dry Trockens and moving onto a few medium Reislings and finishing with a sweet dessert style Reisling, they are not mean on their samples here, 100mls per glass for eight euros. We are only light weights, there was a 14 glass Weinkarrousel.
Right now Rosie and The Operator are chilling in the evening sun, enjoying watching the starlings battle for nesting rights in the chimney pots, the swallows are swooping for flying bugs and birdsong fills the air, every 10 mins a roar erupts the peace as a freight or passenger train blows past.
Following this post, our last day in The Rhine, is Part 1 of my special posting on the village of Bacarach. I hope you like it as much as I did…..
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