Tuesday (8/25/15) started with us leaving the hotel in Paris. We took the Metro at rush hour to the Gare du Est Station where we caught our train eastbound. Since Bacharach is a small town, there were no direct trains from Paris. We ended up taking three different trains. We went Paris to Luxembourg, Luxembourg to Koblenz, and then Koblenz to Bacharach. Since Luxembourg was a new country, naturally we had to stop so we could say we've been to another country. We factored in a 3 hour-ish layover in Luxembourg so we could walk around and say we saw the city and the country.
The train from Paris to Luxembourg was uneventful (I can't even picture it inside my head anymore it was so uneventful). Once we got to Luxembourg we put our bags in the bag check and walked around the city. We got lunch at another donor kebab place. Overall, I was pretty unimpressed with Luxembourg. It was a rather boring city with not much to see. It was probably my least favorite part of the whole vacation and in retrospect we didn't need to factor in a layover long enough to leave the train station. But it's ok, because now I can add Luxembourg to the list of countries I've visited!
Skyline of Luxembourg City.
The central square of Luxembourg City
Some old architecture. Maybe I had been in Europe too long at this point, as I was no longer impressed by these styles of buildings.
The coolest part of Luxembourg were the giant canyons right in the center of the city. We had to cross that bridge to get from the train station to the city center.
An old castle-looking building in the distance.
After wandering around a bit we were back at the train station and boarding a train for Koblenz, Germany. I said goodbye to Luxembourg for what will probably be the only visit in my lifetime.
Unlike the previous train journeys, the trip to Koblenz was very eventful! Everything was going smoothly until we got to the Town of Trier. Once we stopped at the station, the conductor made an announcement in all German. We thought nothing of it and didn't react. However, the train sat at the station for longer than normal and after a few minutes Lauren noticed that the message board no longer said "Koblenz," but now said "Luxembourg." Then we panicked that something was wrong. John and I got out of the train to try and find a conductor on the platform but we couldn't find one. Then the passenger in the seat behind us must have noticed our panicking and asked if we needed help. He was able to tell us that the all-German announcement that we ignored was that the train was now reversing directions back to Luxembourg and all passengers to Koblenz had to get off and transfer. We then gathered our belongings and got off the train as fast as we could before it departed. We did not want to go back to Luxembourg! We made it off the train and finally found a conductor to talk to. Apparently we had missed the express train we were supposed to transfer to, but there was a local train leaving soon that also was going to Koblenz. We hustled to that train and made sure that we did not miss it. This train did go much slower than the express and stopped at every little village on the way, but at least we didn't end up going back to Luxembourg! Crisis averted!
Once in Koblenz, we found the next train heading to Bacharach. We had missed our initial train, but we were able to just get on the next one. Overall, we arrived in Bacharach about an hour later than we initially were supposed to, but we had no complaints at this point!
View of the countryside on the train to Koblenz
The Mosel River on the ride from Trier to Koblenz. Lauren also thought it was picture-worthy apparently.
My first impression of Bacharach was that it was much smaller than I thought it would be. There was really only one main street that stretched for maybe half a mile. But the town was super cute! All of the streets were cobblestone (which made rolling our suitcases very loud) and it was perched right on the Rhine River below a bunch of tall hills. On top of one of the hills is an old castle that had been converted into a hostel. The town felt very German.
We checked into Altkolnischer Hof Hotel located in the dead center of town. The hotel was also super cute. It only had about 15 rooms or so and one of our rooms had a balcony that overlooked the main street. After checking into the hotel we walked around a little bit. It seemed like everything in the town closed at 5:00 except for a few restaurants. It must have been around 7:00 and the town already seemed like a ghost town! We had dinner at a restaurant located in an old courtyard. It was really cool. I got my liter of beer I was looking for (only 6 euro!!) and the food was delicious.
View from the balcony overlooking the center of Bacharach.
Looking the other way from the Balcony.
The restaurant where we had dinner. It was located below the ruins of an old cathedral. What's cooler than eating traditional German food and drinking a liter a beer in a courtyard located beneath the ruins of an old cathedral?
I got my liter of beer again! The waiter told us that all of the beer was made by his cousin, which is super cool. Sadly, I can't remember what I ate for dinner. It was probably either schnitzel or some type of sausage.
We ended up closing down the restaurant, which meant we probably stayed until like 9:00 pm or something. The town was eerily abandoned once we left the restaurant, as everyone had gone to bed for the night.
Wednesday (8/26/15) was the day dedicated to seeing the Rhine River. The big task today was to take a river cruise to St. Goar and back, with time to see that town as well.
The day started with a full breakfast at the hotel. After that we spent some time exploring the town of Bacharach, as most of the shops were closed the night before. The town actually had some people out and about in the morning so it seemed a little less dead.
I think this is the town that Rick Steves found. Almost every shop and restaurant advertised that they were in the Rick Steves book. We also had a least two conversations with people in the town about Rick Steves. Although it is true that the only reason we found Bacharach ourselves was because of the Rick Steves guidebook.
Very quaint and quiet in Bacharach.
The front of our hotel, dead in the center of town.
View of the town from the banks of the Rhine River with the castle-turned-hostel in the background.
Another view from the riverbank with the vineyards visible behind the town.
After walking around we heading to the boat docks in town and purchased a round-trip ticket to St. Goar. The Town of St. Goar is about an hour ride up the river from Bacharach.
Looking down the Rhine River from the shore at Bacharach.
The docks for our Koln-Dusseldorfer ferry ride.
From land we can see the heavy amount of boat traffic on the Rhine River.
The View of Bacharach as we sail away. Today was a beautiful day for a boat ride!
I don't know what's happening with my hair at this point on the trip.
One of the many castles we pass on the ride to St. Goar. This one was built right on the river so in the middle-ages the castle's owner could charge a toll to all boat traffic.
One of the small towns we pass on the boat.
So many vineyard! We are in the heart of Germany's wine growing region where they produce a lot of Riesling.
Everyone on the boat is excited as we pass Lorelei Rock.
An up-close view of Lorelei Rock, one of the most iconic points along the Rhine River.
Another castle and another small town.
Arriving at the Town of St. Goar.
St. Goar is another small, super-cute town along the river. It seemed to be slightly bigger than Bacharach, but not by much. While in St. Goar we walked around, had lunch, and did a little shopping. For lunch we sat at an outside cafe in the center of town. I had the currywust and my dad had the surprise pizza (the toppings were a surprise! Sadly I can't remember what the surprise was). St. Goar is home both to a shop specializing in beer steins and another in cuckoo clocks. I bought a beer stein while the parents purchased a cuckoo clock of their own.
The main street in St. Goar.
So many beer steins!
The world's largest hand carved free hanging cuckoo clock!!!!
See, I wasn't lying!
To the castle!
The view from halfway up the hill.
What's left of the castle today.
Hundreds of years of wear and tear can really deteriorate a building.
Not a bad view from the top. I can see why they would build a castle here!
Me and the Rhine River
More vineyards across the river.
Lauren has had enough of the heights.
I can only imagine what this must have looked like 500 hundred years ago. Apparently the castle was started in 1245 and at one point was the largest fortress between Koblenz and Mainz (thanks Wikipedia)!
The view away from the river. Still pretty breath-taking!
The most important room in the old German castle.
Everyone on their way through the castle.
Me and the river and the vineyard on the walk back down the hill.
After wandering the castle it was time to head back to the docks and catch our boat back to Bacharach. We had another relaxing ride down to Bacharach, and this time the boat was much less crowded so we were able to get a prime table on the top deck.
Our boat returning to Bacharach.
Still quite a bit of boat traffic in the late afternoon.
Approaching Lorelei Rock from the north this time.
Another small town with some vineyards in the background.
John really appreciates the scenery going by.
The view looking north up the river.
And we're back in Bacharach!
Once back in Bacharach, we relaxed in the hotel for a little bit before dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that was located in an old carousel. It was pretty cool and was located right on the river. Once again I had some German beer for what was going to be my last time this summer. I also had some more traditional German food, but again I can't remember what I ate (either this night or the previous night was schnitzel).
Lauren and John in the old carousel-turned-restaurant.
After dinner walk to see the cathedral ruins up close. Pretty eerie!
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bacharach. I didn't think it was going to be as enjoyable as it was. The scenery was breathtaking, the weather was great, and the food and drink were delicious. I was sad to leave Bacharach because I knew that meant I only had one more destination before it was time to return home. The eight-week journey through Europe had almost come to a close.
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