Trip Report - Schwarzwald - Mosel - Rhine - October 2006
Nov 19th, 2006, 07:19 AM
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Trip Report - Schwarzwald - Mosel - Rhine - October 2006
Days 1-3
Flight from Dallas to Frankfurt via American Airlines was nice and uneventful. I had an aisle seat and the seat next to me was unoccupied so it made for a very comfortable economy class flight. I'm a big fan of AA's inflight entertainment system with multiple movies, TV shows and music to choose from. We arrived Frankfurt a half hour early so my A plan was still in effect. Immigration and Customs were a breeze and I was buying a ticket at the
Airport Bahnhof in short order. That first day I was headed to the Black Forest and the small village of Hinterzarten. Here I had planned to spend one night and meet my buddy Larry (who was supposed to be in Switzerland this day) at the train station the next day at noon. From there I would travel with Larry who had a rental car and had already been in country for two weeks. He had reservations for accommodations for himself. I had a reservation for days 2 and 3 but would basically free lance for the rest of the time after that.
Almost three hours and two train changes later I arrived at Hinterzarten. My plan was to walk to the Tourist Information Office near the train station and call the accommodations I had previously researched on the internet. As I was walking away from the station I heard a voice from behind me call out. Surprise, surprise - Larry had for some reason abandoned his day in Switzerland and was there to pick me up a day early. So much for my accommodation research. I called the farm in Titisee where we were scheduled to be the next day and found out that it was OK to show up a day early. She had plenty of rooms but the rooms wouldn't be ready for a few hours. No problem. We took our time getting there and when we arrived we were shown to two very nice doublerooms (for singleroom prices). My room was in the main house and Larry's was located in a separate guesthouse.
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/oberhoefenhofjostal.html
Days 4-6
After three days in the Jos valley we drove 60 km north to the village of Gutach and spent three days in this area as well. Larry had reservations at the Zimmerbauernhof located directly behind the open air farm museum Vogtsbauernhof. The hostess, Frau Wälde, was fresh out of rooms so we went to Plan B which was to drive around the area looking at the farms I had researched prior to the trip hoping to find a Zimmer Frei available for me. I had six farms mapped out in the Gutach area just in case we needed to do this. My first choice was a Bauernhof just across B33 from the
Vogtsbauernhof museum. It was a winner and I soon had a home for the next three days.
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/joklisbauernhofgutach.html
Three very nice restaurants in the Gutach area -
Gasthaus Zum Engel at Steingrün 16 in Gutach - varied menu - reasonable prices - outside patio under large shade trees - nice salad buffet - friendly wait staff. Had an excellent Kalbschnitzel, Pommes Frites and Kürbissuppe (pumpkin).
Gasthaus Zur Fortuna at Hauptstrasse 8 in Wolfach - good service - good food - rustic interior - located central Altstadt of Wolfach.
Gasthaus Zum Engel at Hauptstrasse 29 in Fischerbach - delicious food - very nice atmosphere. Enjoyed a Knoblauchsteak mit Kräuterbutter dazu Rösti und Salat - very reasonable prices.
Days 7-9
Driving from Gutach to the Mosel river valley took most of the morning utilizing the Autobahn as much as possible. Our next three day location was along the tranquil Mosel river near Cochem. As you are traveling northeast along the Mosel and B49 - the next village and train stop after Cochem is Klotten (5 minutes). Klotten is a nice small quiet village and is full of inexpensive Zimmer Frei and Pensions. Larry had a reservation at the Weinhaus Thomas just off the B49 with a balcony and an excellent river view (35 Euro per night). I decided to try my luck finding an inexpensive Haus or Pension away from the river and closer to the middle of the village. I went over my list of possibilities and tried several before I decided on this excellent bargain just two blocks from the river front (and I'm glad I did) - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/pension...nsklotten.html
Three very nice restaurants in the Cochem/Klotten area -
Gaststätte Noss at Mosel Promenade 4 in Cochem - good food - good service - reasonable prices - upstairs/downstairs - outside area with good people watching tables - upstairs good view of Mosel from window seats.
Gasthof Zur Linde at Moselstrasse 19 in Klotten - excellent outside terrace overlooking Mosel - food/service/prices all good - try the Gulasch!
Moselterrace at Moselstrasse 8 in Klotten - raised terrace/balcony overlooking Mosel - food/service/prices all good - excellent Rahmschnitzel and Halb Hähnchen mit Bitburger Bier.
A visit to this part of the Mosel valley is not complete without a trip to Burg Eltz. This year I decided to take the walk through the woods from the Moselkern area to the castle and take pictures of the route for other travelers who might want to visit Burg Eltz when traveling by train or KD boat. My picture trail can be found at - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html
Days 10-12
The drive from Klotten (Cochem) to the Rhine is easy and fun as you take the winding roads up over the hills between the two rivers and then down into the Rhine valley. The route we took was from Alken (Mosel) up and over to Boppard (Rhine). Then along the B9 south to Bacharach. For the next three days Larry would be staying at one of our favorite places in Bacharach - the Winzerhaus at Blücherstraße 60. I had only two days left of my vacation and decided to try a place up the road a few hundred meters that I had found on the internet - the Pension-Gasthaus "Zur Alten Mühle".
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/altesmuehlebacharach.html
Whether you are traveling by car or train - Bacharach is an excellent location to spend your last night in Germany. By car you can be at the Airport in about an hour and if traveling by train the time is also about one hour. The two times I have used the trains to depart from Bacharach I have caught the 0530 train from Bacharach which is a direct (no train changes) run to the Frankfurt Flughafen. The cost for a ticket to the airport is 9 Euro (purchase at vending machine). I have always arrived at the airport in plenty of time to be one of the first persons in line for my departing flight to the US. This year I was first in line well before the airlines opened up their security line. I was able to sit down and have coffee and a roll at a coffee
Kiosk within 25 feet of my bags (which allowed me to watch them the entire wait). So don't rule out staying along the Rhine for those last days of your vacation.
Accommodations for this eleven night trip averaged 16.5 Euro a day ($21). An excellent price - considering the quality of the Zimmer Frei and the amazing free breakfasts that come with the lodging. Not to mention the free public transportation in the Black Forest. That makes my tight budget much easier to stay within. So much so that I'm thinking about two weeks in the Schwarzwald next year - solo - buses and trains only... Until then -
Auf Wiedersehen... Ben
This report with additional pictures and information can be found at - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/schwarz...rhine2006.html
Flight from Dallas to Frankfurt via American Airlines was nice and uneventful. I had an aisle seat and the seat next to me was unoccupied so it made for a very comfortable economy class flight. I'm a big fan of AA's inflight entertainment system with multiple movies, TV shows and music to choose from. We arrived Frankfurt a half hour early so my A plan was still in effect. Immigration and Customs were a breeze and I was buying a ticket at the
Airport Bahnhof in short order. That first day I was headed to the Black Forest and the small village of Hinterzarten. Here I had planned to spend one night and meet my buddy Larry (who was supposed to be in Switzerland this day) at the train station the next day at noon. From there I would travel with Larry who had a rental car and had already been in country for two weeks. He had reservations for accommodations for himself. I had a reservation for days 2 and 3 but would basically free lance for the rest of the time after that.
Almost three hours and two train changes later I arrived at Hinterzarten. My plan was to walk to the Tourist Information Office near the train station and call the accommodations I had previously researched on the internet. As I was walking away from the station I heard a voice from behind me call out. Surprise, surprise - Larry had for some reason abandoned his day in Switzerland and was there to pick me up a day early. So much for my accommodation research. I called the farm in Titisee where we were scheduled to be the next day and found out that it was OK to show up a day early. She had plenty of rooms but the rooms wouldn't be ready for a few hours. No problem. We took our time getting there and when we arrived we were shown to two very nice doublerooms (for singleroom prices). My room was in the main house and Larry's was located in a separate guesthouse.
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/oberhoefenhofjostal.html
Days 4-6
After three days in the Jos valley we drove 60 km north to the village of Gutach and spent three days in this area as well. Larry had reservations at the Zimmerbauernhof located directly behind the open air farm museum Vogtsbauernhof. The hostess, Frau Wälde, was fresh out of rooms so we went to Plan B which was to drive around the area looking at the farms I had researched prior to the trip hoping to find a Zimmer Frei available for me. I had six farms mapped out in the Gutach area just in case we needed to do this. My first choice was a Bauernhof just across B33 from the
Vogtsbauernhof museum. It was a winner and I soon had a home for the next three days.
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/joklisbauernhofgutach.html
Three very nice restaurants in the Gutach area -
Gasthaus Zum Engel at Steingrün 16 in Gutach - varied menu - reasonable prices - outside patio under large shade trees - nice salad buffet - friendly wait staff. Had an excellent Kalbschnitzel, Pommes Frites and Kürbissuppe (pumpkin).
Gasthaus Zur Fortuna at Hauptstrasse 8 in Wolfach - good service - good food - rustic interior - located central Altstadt of Wolfach.
Gasthaus Zum Engel at Hauptstrasse 29 in Fischerbach - delicious food - very nice atmosphere. Enjoyed a Knoblauchsteak mit Kräuterbutter dazu Rösti und Salat - very reasonable prices.
Days 7-9
Driving from Gutach to the Mosel river valley took most of the morning utilizing the Autobahn as much as possible. Our next three day location was along the tranquil Mosel river near Cochem. As you are traveling northeast along the Mosel and B49 - the next village and train stop after Cochem is Klotten (5 minutes). Klotten is a nice small quiet village and is full of inexpensive Zimmer Frei and Pensions. Larry had a reservation at the Weinhaus Thomas just off the B49 with a balcony and an excellent river view (35 Euro per night). I decided to try my luck finding an inexpensive Haus or Pension away from the river and closer to the middle of the village. I went over my list of possibilities and tried several before I decided on this excellent bargain just two blocks from the river front (and I'm glad I did) - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/pension...nsklotten.html
Three very nice restaurants in the Cochem/Klotten area -
Gaststätte Noss at Mosel Promenade 4 in Cochem - good food - good service - reasonable prices - upstairs/downstairs - outside area with good people watching tables - upstairs good view of Mosel from window seats.
Gasthof Zur Linde at Moselstrasse 19 in Klotten - excellent outside terrace overlooking Mosel - food/service/prices all good - try the Gulasch!
Moselterrace at Moselstrasse 8 in Klotten - raised terrace/balcony overlooking Mosel - food/service/prices all good - excellent Rahmschnitzel and Halb Hähnchen mit Bitburger Bier.
A visit to this part of the Mosel valley is not complete without a trip to Burg Eltz. This year I decided to take the walk through the woods from the Moselkern area to the castle and take pictures of the route for other travelers who might want to visit Burg Eltz when traveling by train or KD boat. My picture trail can be found at - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html
Days 10-12
The drive from Klotten (Cochem) to the Rhine is easy and fun as you take the winding roads up over the hills between the two rivers and then down into the Rhine valley. The route we took was from Alken (Mosel) up and over to Boppard (Rhine). Then along the B9 south to Bacharach. For the next three days Larry would be staying at one of our favorite places in Bacharach - the Winzerhaus at Blücherstraße 60. I had only two days left of my vacation and decided to try a place up the road a few hundred meters that I had found on the internet - the Pension-Gasthaus "Zur Alten Mühle".
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/altesmuehlebacharach.html
Whether you are traveling by car or train - Bacharach is an excellent location to spend your last night in Germany. By car you can be at the Airport in about an hour and if traveling by train the time is also about one hour. The two times I have used the trains to depart from Bacharach I have caught the 0530 train from Bacharach which is a direct (no train changes) run to the Frankfurt Flughafen. The cost for a ticket to the airport is 9 Euro (purchase at vending machine). I have always arrived at the airport in plenty of time to be one of the first persons in line for my departing flight to the US. This year I was first in line well before the airlines opened up their security line. I was able to sit down and have coffee and a roll at a coffee
Kiosk within 25 feet of my bags (which allowed me to watch them the entire wait). So don't rule out staying along the Rhine for those last days of your vacation.
Accommodations for this eleven night trip averaged 16.5 Euro a day ($21). An excellent price - considering the quality of the Zimmer Frei and the amazing free breakfasts that come with the lodging. Not to mention the free public transportation in the Black Forest. That makes my tight budget much easier to stay within. So much so that I'm thinking about two weeks in the Schwarzwald next year - solo - buses and trains only... Until then -
Auf Wiedersehen... Ben
This report with additional pictures and information can be found at - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/schwarz...rhine2006.html
Then go to the library if necessary!!!
Nov 19th, 2006, 03:36 PM
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Thanks ira and Deborah for the kind words... ira - would you mind telling me where you might be staying during your upcoming trip? Email me if you like. Thanks... - [email protected]
Nov 20th, 2006, 04:12 AM
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Incredible! Your descriptions and pictures are really enticing! They make me want to duplicate your entire trip! (You outta be ashamed . . .!).
Thanks so much for giving us this very nice picture of Germany!
s
Thanks so much for giving us this very nice picture of Germany!
s
Nov 23rd, 2006, 12:39 PM
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Ben,
Thanks so much for the really good trip report. I'm planning on the Netherlands and Germany for my next trip and am particularly interested in the Mosel and Rhine areas.
Love the links you provided. Germany sure looks less expensive than Italy!
Thanks so much for the really good trip report. I'm planning on the Netherlands and Germany for my next trip and am particularly interested in the Mosel and Rhine areas.
Love the links you provided. Germany sure looks less expensive than Italy!
Jun 29th, 2007, 11:45 AM
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Hi Ben,
We're starting the planning on our May 2008 trip and this will be our first venture into the Schwarzwald region of Germany. I love the pictures on the website for the bauernhaus you listed near Gutach. I'm assuming since it is close to the B33, it is pretty easy to find? We will most likely be coming down from Baden-Baden and plan to spend a couple nights there and see the Open Air Museum, Triberg, Wolfach, and hopefully a few other highlights. It looks like a great base area. One last question - was there a lot of road noise since it is so close to the B33?
We're starting the planning on our May 2008 trip and this will be our first venture into the Schwarzwald region of Germany. I love the pictures on the website for the bauernhaus you listed near Gutach. I'm assuming since it is close to the B33, it is pretty easy to find? We will most likely be coming down from Baden-Baden and plan to spend a couple nights there and see the Open Air Museum, Triberg, Wolfach, and hopefully a few other highlights. It looks like a great base area. One last question - was there a lot of road noise since it is so close to the B33?
Jun 30th, 2007, 02:03 AM
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TexasAggie - yes the Bauernhof is very easy to find and not close enough to B33 to notice any traffic. The Vogtbauernhof museum is just up the road. If you have additional questions about that area - just drop me an email - [email protected]. I'm on my way back there in 75 days - but who's counting. 
Ben
Ben
Jun 30th, 2007, 03:31 AM
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Hi bavariaben - thanks for a great trip report and photos of some of my favorite areas. You're a fantastic frugal traveler without roughing it! I'll keep your notes on file for my next trip over there.
Don't they serve wonderful food in the Black Forest? Although my base is usually in Basel, friends always take us to their favorite restaurants across the border. They usually have their own butcher shop. Try venison if you're going again in the fall months. One of my girlfriends owns a vacation home on the Hornberg where we celebrated many a get-together and skied all over the Feldberg. So pretty and wholesome.
It's good to know that one doesn't have to have reservations way in advance, keeping in mind that you were there in the off-season. We've never been able to plan our trips early while we were still working. Only now have I finalized a trip 6 months in advance, which was necessary as favorites fill up quickly.
Don't they serve wonderful food in the Black Forest? Although my base is usually in Basel, friends always take us to their favorite restaurants across the border. They usually have their own butcher shop. Try venison if you're going again in the fall months. One of my girlfriends owns a vacation home on the Hornberg where we celebrated many a get-together and skied all over the Feldberg. So pretty and wholesome.
It's good to know that one doesn't have to have reservations way in advance, keeping in mind that you were there in the off-season. We've never been able to plan our trips early while we were still working. Only now have I finalized a trip 6 months in advance, which was necessary as favorites fill up quickly.
