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Bacharach, Germany

Our big day out started with a quick bite to eat and a 20 minute brisk walk to catch the 9:28 train to Koblenz, then a change to a “milk run” train along the Rhine as far down as Bacharach, where we would transfer to a ferry and work our way back along the most scenic part of the Rhine to Boppard.

The combined train trips were about 1.40 hrs and the scenery had the river on one side and lots of little towns or villages on the other. Each settlement had a prominent church and most had grape plantations lining the steep hillsides in between natural bush- forested land. On the Rhine especially there were of course plenty of castles. The day was meant to be sunny and 25 degrees but ended up pretty cloudy although not cold.

We had good connections all day which was a nice time saver, including only a 15 minute one between our train and ferry trip. The ferry was very comfortable and medium sized, not one of the super long jobs. The river runs quite swiftly and it was interesting to watch the boats come into dock; they would start off a wee bit up stream and drift sidewards like a car in a skid until they could align and bang into the dock. If one was attempting a crossing of the river, most of it would be side on!

The towns were typical German ranging from a selection of older half timbered and slate buildings beginning around 1400 to the not so old houses with black steep roofs over light coloured rectangular house. There are some nice gardens and decorated cobbled streets although still not as elaborate as the Alsace or Swiss areas we saw close up. I am getting an austere vibe from this area of Germany’s architecture and people.

The boat ride was pleasant and we sat on the deck relaxing eating our picnic lunch of a roll each that we grabbed at the train station. Passing the lovely siren like Lorelei statue you could imagine how sailors came amuck as the reefs are well hidden by the swift river and I imagine a surprise for ships without the modern equipment. They have big warning lights around each side of the rock where they are these days.

We actually met a retired kiwi couple from Hamilton on the ferry and it was interesting how quickly and easily we slipped into our kiwi friendly chatty culture – both sides. Whilst travel provides learning opportunities about other cultures, it also helps you understand your own by putting you in a situation of looking in from the outside or from another perspective. People always make comments on how friendly Kiwis are, and when you are away from this easy going warmth, you do miss it. So its funny when you see a couple of kiwis who do not know each other going hundred miles an hour comparing experiences and challenges of dealing with other cultures! Of course not all kiwis are friendly or nice but generally speaking as a nation we are.

Vernon really enjoyed this outing of cruising amongst the green hills, valleys, vineyards and villages but for me it was not an overwhelming experience. I think it is because its a dark green and cloudy river which does not invite swimming or fishing? There are excellent biking tracks along the Rhine and Moselle (and in the Alsace) similar to Holland, clearly biking is popular and its very nice to see it catered for. New Zealand is very lacking in this regard.

At Boppard we caught the train back to Bacharach to have more of a look around as it is one of the more scenic towns. It was pretty but on reflection I think that the town we are staying in is just as nice if not nicer, and the Moselle is cleaner, more scenic and the castle is prettier.

The longer I stay here in Cochem the more it is growing on me and perhaps appreciating the “River Village”. Vernon loves the activity that surrounds the river with the different craft quietly passing through and the green countryside that punctuates all the small villages. There are also a reasonable amount of motor bikers of all ages and sizes that cruise through which makes him think it would be a great holiday.

As we were wandering around Vern asked if I would like to visit the “Deutsche Eck” in Koblenz on the way home. This involved about a 2 km walk from the train station. RS doesn’t have anything nice to say about the city, but after our time there we think it is quite a nice clean place with some interesting historic buildings and tidy parks and gardens. The walk ended up more like 3 km each way and after a long day we felt it, but it was worth it. It became one of those times you just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other as if you stopped you wouldn’t get going again and well you had not other option but to keep moving in order to get home!

The “German Corner” is significant, not only because the two major rivers intersect but it is also a symbol of German unity of its states. The statue is of William 1 and it also has three pieces of concrete from the Berlin Wall when it was taken down. We climbed up the monument (of course) and both felt a nice sense of strength in unity and peace there. I think the two rivers meeting symbolise the ‘coming together’.

There is a huge fortress castle on the Rhine side which was so big and high up that it could not be damaged too much from various attacks over time. You can take a cable car over which we would have liked to but we did not have time, instead enjoying our walk along the river side park back to the Bahnhof. The walk was very nice with peaks of an assortment of houses from a palace to modern riverside posh homes. We observed people on the various running and bike tracks, and enjoyed the soft grass and pretty gardens with my favourites; showy peonies and sweet and spicy roses. There is a small perennial I have never seen before which is about 40cm high with spikes of coral infused pinky red bright tiny open bells that I really like. It looks so good left to run wild and contrasted with the blues and purples of other ground covers.

We arrived back home in Cochem to a sunny evening and had dinner in the square at a Rathaus. I finally got to eat white Spargel (asparagus) which is in season and advertised everywhere on windows as a special. I had tried white asparagus once in NZ and liked it but the one here was not as nice. It didn’t have a lot of flavour, was slightly tart almost acidic and watery. It was nice to have a big serve of healthy vegetable and the Germans do serve a good portion of it, usually salad with every meal. This is in contrast to the other countries we have been so far. In fact all their portions are usually large full stop!

With my asparagus I had grilled and seasoned pork medallions and boiled potatoes (again – odd to have such plain fare at a restaurant) and hollandaise sauce. It was nicely done, but not that complicated! Vernon had chicken breast with a creamy sauce, salad and hand made spatzle (german noodles). The breast was pre marinated like you get plain chicken here – again I thought odd to serve that at an above average restaurant but as least it was tender. His spatzle were ok, not as good as mine though! We enjoyed a shared piece of very very nice house made cheesecake which was the smoothest, lightest, creamiest baked one I have ever had the pleasure of eating. NOM.

With my meal I also had another delicious fruity white wine and despite Vernons denials he actually has started to steal my wine and enjoy it as much as me. We headed back to the hotel, hoping to dodge our chatty host and do some research on where we will stay next. This second part of the holiday where we have no bookings is double edged; yes you have flexibility but it is very time consuming and more expensive booking as you go plus adds a stress factor.

I think things went a lot more smoothly and enjoyably in the first half where everything was booked – we certainly had more time worry free and hitting the ground running. Yes it did take a lot of time back home to organise, but I think if I were to do this again I would pre-book all of the accommodation but perhaps not all of the transfers. This way you can tweek a schedule by
for example leaving earlier and later from a place. Also in booking accommodation ahead, many times you can change it so if you need to add or take away a day here or there this is still possible. It is only on a super cheap no change booking you are stuck, and all said and done if you left early for a good reason and forfeited a night it wouldn’t be such a big deal in the whole budget or picture!

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