Day 4 (Wednesday - Aug 28) Cologne and the Romantic Rhine
This morning we'll head straight for the Cologne Cathedral, the single most-visited site in all of Germany. You'll appreciate why as our local guide takes us exploring through northern Europe's most massive Gothic church. Then we'll continue on to the Rhine Valley and our charming riverside village, where we'll have dinner together. Light walking: 2–4 miles throughout the day on mostly level terrain. Bus: 6 hours. Sleep in the Rhine Valley.
Day 5 (Thursday - Aug 29) Rhine Castles and River Cruise
We'll begin our day in St. Goar, where we'll hike up the hill to tour the mighty medieval Rheinfels Castle and enjoy its commanding view of the Rhine Valley. Then we'll board a boat for a relaxing Rhine River cruise, passing picturesque villages, vineyards, and feudal castles. After disembarking in Bacharach, we'll take a walking tour of the village with an entertaining local guide, followed by free time. Tonight you'll be free for dinner to feast like a feudal lord. Strenuous walking: 2–8 miles throughout the day with lots of hills, stairs, and uneven terrain. Boat: 1 hour. Bus: ½ hour. Sleep in the Rhine Valley.
Cologne Cathedral Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Our stop in Cologne was primarily for the Cathedral. After a quick snack to tide us over to dinner, we had a guided tour of the Cathedral. What a magnificent structure. It is truly MASSIVE. Rivaled only by St Peters in Rome, this place is second to none. As you can see in the story below, it took five and a half centuries to complete. This included sitting partly complete with no activity for several hundred years. When they finally returned to work on the Cathedral, they finished it according to the original plans. Image, the plans were around for over 500 years and are still usable. Wow! No one succeeded in finishing the construction "their way."
We had three meals at our hotel. The first was a group dinner on the night we arrived. The food and service were great. The other two meals were breakfast on our second day in Bacharach and breakfast on the morning we left to move on to Rothenberg. Both breakfasts were good, with a decent selection of warm food, cold cuts, fruit, etc. It was a great way to start both days.
Hotel am Markt Oberstrasse 64-66 Bacharach Tel: 011 49 67 43 17 15
      
Rheinfels Castle Thursday, August 29, 2024
We had a surprise when we arrived at the Rheinfels Castle. Instead of a very difficult (at least for our age) climb to the castle, we were bused up the hill to the entrance. Wow, what a difference. We walked up the hill the last time we were here (in 2006) and clearly remember the climb...not something to be forgotten! Our tour guide for the castle was outstanding. He brought the ruins "to life" by describing what life was like in and about the castle. Very knowledgable. He even serenaded us (in German) near the end of the tour (check out the video below).
Of course, the castle is in ruins. We learned that the castles along the Rhine that aren't ruined are mostly recent remodels, leaving very little of the original structures. So, for those visiting other castles along the Rhine (that look intact), be aware that they are likely much newer than your host would want you to know. Reinsfield, on the other hand, is structurally maintained but not updated.
We didn't spend a lot of time in St. Goar. After walking down from the castle, we had just enough time to stop by a bakery (always time for a bakery) and grab "lunch" to take with us on our boating excursion back to Bacharach. Yup, another apple crisp (well, that's what we would call it in the US) the size of a large piece of sheet cake. That's one for each of us, of course! A great treat. We then walked to the dock and loaded onto the boat (more below).
Sankt Goar (St. Goar) Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis District
   
Boat ride from St. Goar to Bacharach Thursday, August 29, 2024
Riding the Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt cruise ship on the Rhine is one of the best ways to see and appreciate it. We caught the boat in St. Goar along with a bunch of other tourists. The best place on the boat was the outside terrace on the back of the upper deck. While the outside temperature was in the 90s (very unusual for Germany), it felt nothing close to that moving down the river. Halfway through, we were treated to a sample of the local beer. What could be better than a cold brew on a sleepy cruise down the Rhine?
Boat ride from St. Goar to Bacharach Leinpfad 55422 Bacharach Tel: 0 67 43 / 13 22 FAX: 0 67 43 / 13 22
      
Posthof Thursday, August 29, 2024
We decided to eat at a place just down the street from the hotel. The menu had several German food choices that met our needs, which was good for us.
After dinner, we found the evening still very warm, so we decided to walk down to the park bordering the Rhine and have some quiet time, just sitting and taking in the boats as they passed by us. It was very peaceful!
Hotel am Markt Wednesday, August 28, 2024
The hotel was very nice. We did laundry our first night without issue. The room was spacious, and the air conditioning was great. We just had to ensure the windows were closed and the air conditioning switch was pressed. In our room, the switch was a small box on the wall with a push button on the front near the bottom, below a note that said to close the windows.
Also, the Internet was free, and the speed was pretty good. I could upload pictures without a problem and stream some of our favorite programs from YouTube. Note that the Internet is NOT secured, so if you're concerned about your traffic, you should use a VPN. We use Express VPN and have had no issues from anywhere in Europe.
Out front
Out front
Front facade
Our room
Our room
Our room
Hotel am Markt Oberstrasse 64-66 Bacharach Tel: 011 49 67 43 17 15