Hi, Carole. There is a good deal of information in English at the following website for general planning your visit on the Rhine:
www.loreleyvalley.com. <BR> <BR>Here's a list of accommodations, with sub pages partially in English, for the Rhine:
www.bed-and-breakfast-inns.net/ <BR>The names of the inns are listed first, followed by the towns they are in. The best towns for ease of getting around by car or train and for general atmosphere, in my opinion, are St. Goar and Boppard, each of which has a ferry to the east bank of the river (no bridges through the Rhine gorge), a cruise boat dock, and a train station. Boppard has a good town website (in German, but with a clickable intro to the town in English) and a thorough list of hotels, pensions, and Gasthäuser if you can get at it:
www.boppard.de. Although it's a pleasant place and central to both the Rhine and Mosel, I would not overnight in Koblenz; its size detracts from the small-town ambience you'll enjoy in the smaller places, you'll find driving and parking (or getting around on foot) there more trying, and it will be more expensive as well. <BR> <BR>The Mosel has zillions of little inns and B&B's, but they're a little tougher to find over the net. A very complete list is found at
http://tourist.rlp.net/default.html. <BR>Enter the name of the town you wish to visit next to "Ort", then hit "Suchen" (search) and a list will come up. Some places have clickabale photos, some e-mail contacts. Look under "Zimmerarten" for each entry to see what type of accommodation it is (hotel, pension, gasthaus, privatzimmer(private B&B) or Ferienwohnung (vacation apartment.) <BR> <BR>I'd recommend staying in Cochem, which is centrally located on the Mosel, very atmospheric, large enough to have a few services, and which has a terrific castle and tour (Reichsburg), good connections (and a bridge) and a good tourist office. Go to
www.cochem.de for a picture of the town in winter. I stayed at Haus Hilken, run by recently widowed Frau Hilken, in her very tidy place with several rooms right near the foot of the castle in the cobbled old town center. She served an excellent breakfast!! She doesn't have e-mail and probably can't help you over the phone in English; you can probably book her place and any other place in Cochem by contacting the tourist info office by e-mail at
[email protected]. Maybe they can send you some info. in English as well. <BR> <BR>Another website that might help with the Mosel is
www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de. Click on the English option from the home page for an introduction and tips on using the site. This page has highlights of the region in English:
http://www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de/mos...ightsengl.html <BR> <BR>Feel free to contact me if you need further help or have questions about the region. <BR> <BR>Russ <BR>