Bacharach, Germany

Bacharach, Germany

On our second day in the Rudesheim Region, we spent half the day lazily reading while sipping wine, contemplating on what to do with our day.  One of the bonuses of renting our own car (rather than using the train like so many do), was the freedom to randomly explore.  We found this privilege to be particularly rewarding, as we did not do much planning ahead of destinations to visit.  Not sure of the best route to take a day trip, we started out in the early afternoon through Rudesheim en Rhein's central square----- and exited just as quickly as we entered.  Packed with people and junk (or some would call souvenirs), we decided that it just was not our bag.  We continued on to Bacharach instead, another 20 minutes or so and a ferry ride away, and OH, were we pleased!!!!  This beautiful walled city had buildings and bridges dating back to the 1200s, a rebuilt gothic tower with a long, stair-cased path leading to a castle that now serves as a hostel, and a local brewery that serves drinks on a re-purposed carousel.  Our only regret is that we didn't begin to explore the city earlier in the day.

Bacharach is a walled city, and much of it is still intact for visitors to walk along.  This is a section that we explored, which connects private homes, restaurants, and hotels along its raised path.

 Neal is pointing out some of the ruins of the wall.  It is very hard to see, but some of the original stairs that were in the wall when it was first built can still be seen.

"The Brothers" drinking liters on the carousel.  The waitress (background) is the wife of the brew master.  Apparently, small "home brews" are rare, so this was fun to try.

 Did I mention stuff here is OLD?!?! :-) The archway we are standing under was built between 1100-1200.  Those kind of numbers just blow my mind, especially considering how solid they still are!!

As we walked through the city, we came upon the ruins of the Gothic Wernerkapelle, which basically looks like a huge, open cathedral tower. It was built in the 1400s and rebuilt this past century.  A further climb (343 stairs to be exact, and yes, I did count), you come upon Burg Stahleck.  This is where Neal and I got a little homesick for our babies, as there were children playing about the grounds everywhere within and around the walls of this hostel.  It would be a perfect place for a young family to stay, and we may seriously consider it the next time we travel to Europe with kids.  Something to consider, however, is that you have to climb those 343 stairs, with kids AND luggage, if you stay there.

Wernerkapelle in the background.  I am realizing now that I didn't get any good shots of this structure!  DARN!

 Burg Stahleck from the outside.  There is an actual moat to the right.  This is quite astounding, considering this thing towers above the city!! Also notice how the castle is built from the base rock, which takes up the lower right half of the castle.  Pretty damn smart if you ask me---the less rock you have to haul to build something that big, the better!!

The inner courtyard of the castle---you can see the kids hanging out of the windows!!  Talk about every kids' playground!

Neal and Brian taking a great "bro" shot in front of a random person's house, which we did a lot.  We just thought their door and windows were cool.  The circular windows are made from blown glass, which, when a ball is shaped, is squashed flat.