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Lots of walking, amazing scenery & wine - 3 weeks France & Germany.
We had a wonderful time on our 'relatively' short trip. We only wanted to be away for approx 3 weeks as we have a new grandchild and another on the way. We both wanted to go back to Europe so let our ff points decide where we would go. So we headed to Dusseldorf with Singapore airlines b/class, they have a new route from Brisbane with fantastic new planes. Unfortunately with points you can't be too fussy re stopovers etc. so we had 8 hours in Singapore. We've done this before and even with the use of the lounge and the free city tour, its a really long time, so this time we booked a 6 hour block at the Transit Hotel. What a great idea, had a sleep and a shower then headed to lounge for a meal and it was time to board.
Arrival into Dusseldorf was smooth sailing, so we'd cleared customs and collect our hire car in record time, it was only 7.30am when we got on the road. Anyone who's read one of my t/r's know we aren't big pre bookers, but as we only had a short time, I'd done a lot of research and had booked most of our accommodation. Our first night was in Bacharach, we drove via Braubach and had a quick visit and walk up to Marksburg Castle. The weather was just beautiful, quite warm. Decided against going in,as we were a bit 'fuzzy' from all the travel and we knew there would be lots of Castles etc. to visit. (plus it was swamped with tour buses) Had our first schnitzel and beer of the trip, down by the water front. So lovely to finally be there and enjoying this beautiful river. Arrived into Bacharach and was immediately happy with our choice of town and accommodation. We stayed 'at' the Altkolnischer Hof but off site in one of their apartments, such a good location looking out over the lovely town. Nice to have the extra amenities of an apartment for breakfasts and relaxing. We travel with a small 'Nespresso' machine and this time we also took a picnic back pack with basic needs, (thanks to a ridiculous baggage allowance with b/class and the fact that we would have the same car the whole trip) we are quite self sufficient. We had a walk around the town and up to the Postenturm, Lookout Tower, in the vineyard wow, the views along the Rhine over the town were amazing. I think every Rhine cruise brochure photo is taken from this vantage. It was time to stop, we were shattered, so we had a drink at the hotels outdoor area (such a beautiful evening) grabbed a great pizza and called it a day........a very long day. Next is a 'little' walk up to Stahleck Castle |
bmk to read later.
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Reading with envy...sounds like my dream trip. Aiming to do something like this in 2017.
How do you get on with the driving? We are too scared to drive on the other side. Pathetic I know but I can't get my head around it and coming from NZ the traffic will freak me out anyway. |
Tasmangirl oh that's a shame... we love driving in Europe... by 'we' I mean my husband. We've gone many driving trips in Europe, so it's easy now. Just do much freedom.
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Me too, totally NOT driving in Europe...
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Sounds like a fabulous start to your trip - am looking forward to reading more! Am with you Adelaidan and tasmangirl - the thought of driving on the 'other' side of the road freaks me out.
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:-) come on you guys, you can do it. I only had to scream 'WRONG SIDE' once or twice.
It appeared the mornings would be cool and the late afternoon very warm and we were waking early. So we headed out nice and early for a walk up to the castle, via the tower in the vineyard. Can't stress how amazing the views are from up there. We think we missed the track somewhere and ended up walking a lot further than we need to. But we really enjoyed it. We eventually 'found' the castle, which is now a hostel. Walked down the uneven steps and slope back into town. All in all we were nearly 3 hours, coffee and danish were well earned. We freshened up and headed off in the car with no real plan but in the general direction of Rudesheim. Quite warm as we arrived and pretty busy. I'd read so much much about this town, for me, lovely but not the most amazing German town I've seen or would see. We walked up the Drosselgasse a really charming narrow street, then up to the chair lift. We both enjoyed the ride above the vineyards,to the Germania monument, with amazing views on a stunning day. We walked all over town and had lunch down on the waterfront, in an unremarkable cafe. Fine but nothing to recommend over any of the others along that strip. Had a lovely leisurely drive back along the river, using the ferry to hop from one side to the other, very handy. After another well deserved 'refreshment' at the hotel, we were to discover that most if not all the restaurants were closed on a Wednesday night. We headed back to the Italian place and had a bowl of really lovely pasta. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Resta...alatinate.html Another very full but very enjoyable day, next we do a spot of Grave Spotting!!!! |
Waiting with bated breath for more aussiedreamer.
tasmangirl - I was forced to learn to drive on the left when we lived in Indonesia and Australia. If I can do it, anyone can. Besides, you can always take trains in Europe - we haven't driven in Europe since the 90's. So easy not to. |
Melnq8 - thanks for the vote of confidence! We'll stick to the trains in Germany I think.
Aussiedreamer I am waiting to know what is the most amazing German town in your report. My holiday dream is to see many old Hansel and Gretel/fairytale type villages and imposing stone castles in Germany. Funny how we want to see what we don't have. I met a German tourist in a hot pool here in New Zealand and she said 'oh we always went on school trips to look at castles and I got so over it' and I said 'we always went to Abel Tasman National Park for school trips'. |
Bookmarking
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on for the ride
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"Funny how we want to see what we don't have" We lived in the Aussie outback, so wherever I go has to be 'green'...
I don't need the stress of driving/ parking/ zones in Europe, incredible public transport and so cheap, compared to Australia. It has its' limitations, but I don't think I'll run out of things to see on a train route. (Although every now and then I come across one of rhon's TR's on villages in France and I think, maybe....) four_maccas.... is there a TR on its' way? I'd love to hear how your trip went. please continue, aussiedreamer :) |
We lived in Germany 6 years and drove our own car - great travels. Now, we use the train system for our 12 years of return trips - great travels. I am looking forward to rest of trip report.
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I'm finding this Aussie and Kiwi fear of driving on the right rather entertaining, but only because I had to overcome my own fear of driving on the left - it can be done!
<<Funny how we want to see what we don't have" We lived in the Aussie outback, so wherever I go has to be 'green'...>> So true - we felt the same when we lived in the Middle East, hence all those trips to green NZ. |
"All those trips to green NZ". Mel, your TR's have been saved for a future NZ trip... Plus we are headed to Denmark, WA, in June, and I have discovered more of your helpful reporting for that little corner of the world too.
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Enjoy Denmark, WA Adelaidean - we sure did...many times.
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Signing on... please continue!
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Always enjoy your trip reports.
Signing on for the next episode. |
Really confused me there for a bit. We Yanks use WA as a postal abbreviation of Washington State, so I was really puzzled about there being a town called Denmark in Washington, where I live. A visit to Google got me geographically oriented.
It's green here in WA, as well. :D |
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