jayne1973

Looking for itenerary suggestions for two nights in the Rhine/Mosel area, which will be the starting point of our 10-day road trip in Germany.

We'll arrive by train in Koln from Paris and pick up a car.
Our plans are to spend two nights in the area (possibly in St. Goar, but open to other options). That gives us whatever's left of the first day and all of the second day to explore the area.

We'd like to see Rheinfels and Burg Eltz castles and take in the sights along the rivers.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to make the most of our time or other places to visit? We'll be heading to Rothenburg via the Romantic Road when we leave.

Thanks so much,

Jayne

PalQ

A short drive along the Mosel between Koblenz and Bernkastel is one of Europe's prettiest drives - far superior in beauty than the Rhine IMO. Then at Bernkastel take an overland route back to the Rhine. Cochem is a postcard picture perfect town to stay in. Wine tastings? The valley is clad by vineyards wherever it faces south and there are many wineries along the road making that delicate Mosel white wines in this one of Europe's most northernly wine-producing areas - the vines being sheltered by the deep valley and black rocks that soak up the heat. Burg Eltz is on the Mosel, high above Moselkern - car accessible or a lovely footpath but up thru the forests.

Bailey

Jayne,
I have to agree with PalQ. I thought the Mosel was beautiful...peaceful. The Rhine is a ""working river"".....with rail traffic on both sides.(OK, I realize that the Mosel is also a busy river...but the rail system isn't as loud & noticeable)
We spent a few nights in St. Goar...it was lovely...but we much perferred our time on the Mosel.

We stayed in Beilstein at the Hotel Haus Lipmann. The staff is extremely warm & very helpful.
Beilstein is a lovely village...just across from Cochem.

www.hotel-haus-lipmann.de/index.htm

There on a few Lipmann properies in Beilstein....make sure you book the one on the river.

RufusTFirefly

I'll second the motion for Hotel Haus Lipmann in Beilstein. They have a nice restaurant, too.

I'm an early riser while Mrs. Fly is a late sleeper. Our room faced the river, so I would watch the boats and swans while she finished up her beauty sleep.

Note that Beilstein is a very small town, very quiet at night. But this is what we wanted after being out all day sightseeing, and none of the towns along the Mosel is noted for having Paris-like nighttime entertainment options.

wren

A third vote for Haus Lipmann. We were there for four nights this past summer. What a wonderful place! Perfect base for the Mosel. Nice rooms, hospitable staff, lovely little town. We enjoyed our breakfasts and dinners there as well.

PalQ

jayne1973: Haus Lippmann sounds like a dream - i've read so many posts from Fodorites whose judgment i really respect, like those here, that rave about the place.
Me i only know that Beilstein perhaps lies at the prettiest part of the extremely pretty Mosel valley - great boat trips on the river to Bernkastle and Cochem i believe. Beilstein is a lot smaller town - very romantic setting.

bilboburgler

Bernkastel is very pretty and there is a wine museum to the north side of the river which has a wine cellar with all the wines of the area and open bottles to help your self. Seriously good visit but don't plan to drive further...

Trier is also on the Mosel, this city was the capitl of Rome for a period and has many building of the area still present. So if historical building is you thing then go here.

If you are into art deco then vist Trab and Traback is the place and the hotel is on the south river bank near the East of the bridge and is fantastic (sorry if name fails i'm 36 hours into long trip)

Worth taking the train up the river and the boats down (lets you leave the car and drink)

Rhine is nice but a bit clumsy and far apart compared to Mosel

jayne1973

Wow, thanks, everyone. I swear, Hauss Lipmann must be *realllly* nice because everyone seems to rave about it. The wine/train/boat plan is great, bilboburglar!

So, if it was your first time to Germany, and you had a car and about a day and a half to see the Rhine/Mosel area , where would you stay and how would you do it?

Bob_KY

I would take at least a few hours and cruise the Rhine from Boppard or St. Goar in the North as far south as Rudesheim. This is the best of the Rhine, and IMO not to be missed. You can cruise one way on the KD Rhine cruise ships and take the train back, or do a round trip cruise. This part of the Rhine has very beautiful scenery with steep hills covered with vineyards and castles around almost every turn.

bilboburgler

I surfed this web site for you and to find the wonderful hotel. Jugendstil is a simialar movement to Art-Deco with a German twist. A must see. The web site gives an idea of T-T and its beauty.

Have great time, I'm flying to the Mosel tnis afternoon and seriously recommend Trier. The roman remanins (three stories high) are must see as are some of the medievil bits. If you go on a Saturday TI will book you a visit to a wine maker which includes a walk in the vinyard (try for Peter Turgis)

Romantik Jugendstilhotel BELLEVUE, Traben-Trarbach H**** S

http://www.traben-trarbach.de/

jayne1973

The hotel looks beautiful, bilboburglar. How far down the Mosel is this area?

sharonf

We will be traveling by train and are wondering if Beilstein is within walking distance of the station in Cochem or is their transportation?

RufusTFirefly

It's about a 15-20 minute bus ride from Cochem to Beilstein. Beilstein is not very convenient for someone who wants to sightsee up and down the valley each day without a car. You can also get there by tour boat.

Lily

If you go to Haus Lipmann in Beilstein, ask for room number 4 - it has a balcony overlooking the Mosel. Haus Lippman is not just a great hotel but it's also a wonderful restaurant and guests can eat a three course dinner for 15 Euros. We stayed 3 nights and ate there every night. Breakfast is included and is also wonderful.
We had a car so we drove to St. Goar from Beilstein and took the KD line to Baccharach, toured around, had lunch and then took the boat back. We took the paddle wheel boat both ways. The drive to St. Goar from Beilstein is about an hour and a half if you take the shortcut through the back roads which we did.

Mary_Fran

Hotel Haus Lipmann will offer you a rare experience on the Mosel. Here is a link to photos of the hotel, our room, and the environs, including Burg Eltz.
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=Mar...IID=3206521414
We also spent a night at St. Goar and took a half-day cruise of the Rhine, but to me, it didn't compare with the charm and beauty of the Mosel, especially with our lovely hosts at Haus Lipmann, which is run by a charming family. They will give you clear prited driving instructions to reach Burg Eltz. Also, they have an inexpensive fixed-price special on the menu each day, which you can enjoy on the lovely patio overlooking the river.

I believe our room was number 4, with a charming little attached patio balcony overlooking the River, in case you are able to get it. It's just dreamy and reasonably priced.

jayne1973

Thanks so much, Lily and Mary Fran. I will check into what's available for our time, which is around October 10. Knowing the travel times is helpful. This is going to be so cool!

Bailey

Mary Fran.........We also stayed at the Landsknecht on the Rhine in St. Goar. May 2006...when were you there?
I agree
the Rhine was very nice...BUT the Lipmann's are such wonderful hosts & the Mosel is more bucolic.
We walked up to the castle & the Jewish graveyard....the views were wonderful.
If you decide to stay at the Lipmann Haus I'd recommend a lunch/dinner at a lovely little restaurant in the square directly behind the hotel.....I'll go & check my husband's notes....and give you the name.

Bailey

The name of the restaurant in the courtyard behind Hotel Haus Lipmann, is Zum Treppchen....Rita Schneider is the owner.
As you go out the back door of the Hotel Haus Lipmann go to your left...the restaurant is up a short flight of stairs.
We had a marvelous....very filling lunch. My husband had the fresh trout & I had a baked potato with chicken/mushrooms in a cream sauce...side salad, too. ( I know...this isn't gourmet...but holy night...it was divine comfort food!!)
Even if you decide against having a full meal YOU HAVE TO STOP BY FOR DESSERT.
There is a special Tirolean dessert (Rita is from Tirol) it is called ROSINEN. Boy, I'm not sure exactly how to describe this marvel....tiny little shreds of pancake/crepe with raisins..powdered sugar....it's served warm with vanilla ice cream.
We'd go back the Mosel just to have another bit of this incredible dessert!!

Mary_Fran

Bailey, we were at Hotel Landsknecht in September of 2003. Neither you or Jayne asked, but I'll offer this opinion: I was not impressed with Hotel Landsknecht. First, it's right on a busy highway, with a small gravel parking lot separating the hotel from the highway, outside of St. Goar and away from the action.

Second, and more important, the front desk staff was unhelpful, especially when we checked in and no offer of help was given to assist with our luggage, so we were two sixty-something women left to figure out for ourselves how to drag them up a steep flight of stairs to our room.

Our room was large enough and had a great view of the Rhine, but the decor was cheesy, with dusty plastic flowers.

My overall impression of the place was that it was a restaurant that rents rooms upstairs. I am not one who requires a lot of handholding from the proprietor, but I left with decidedly irritable feelings toward the management of the Landsknecht. However, I would add this qualifier to the validity of my remarks: Our stay there was our first night's arrival in Europe, after a very long flight from Seattle to Amsterdam, followed immediately by a two-or-three-hour train ride from Amsterdam to Cologne to pick up our rental car and then an hour and a half drive to St. Goar. Tired after a long day, I may have been a bit more sensitive to the lthan usual to the perceived ack of welcome we experienced. Still, I'd stay elsewhere next time.

Jayne, I'll be back later with some thoughts to offer about other places to visit.

jayne1973

Mary Fran -- I can relate to bad experiences on jet lag days! The dusty plastic flowers would have left a bad impression on me, too! hehe

Thanks again for all the input. Seems I can't go wrong with Haus Lipmann. They probably will be booked on such short notice, but I did send them an inquiry. My other choice might be Pension Lettie in Bacharach, which would be considerably less expensive, I think.