The Romantic Rhine

Romantic Rhine

On Tuesday we drove from Remagen to Rüdesheim am Rhein, past a succession of fairy tale castles on both sides of the Rhine.

Route to Rüdesheim

Pfalz Castle

The mid-stream castle of Pfalz is just beyond the narrows at Lorely, where a mischievous sprite is reputed to lure hapless boatmen to their deaths in the fast-running water. The sprite is clearly still very active….she took over our satnav somewhere near Koblenz and repeatedly tried to lure us over a bridge with a 3.5 ton weight limit.

Rüdesheim am Rhein

After a prolonged detour through the outskirts of Koblenz we stopped at Campingplatz am Rhein next to the river at Rüdesheim. This town is said to be the gateway to the romantic rhine, a heavily be-castled stretch of water extending between Düsseldorf and Mainz.

Campingplatz am Rhein

Rüdesheim winehaus

Rüdesheim square

Brömserburg Wine Museum in Rüdesheim

Rüdesheim

Rüdesheim Window

The Eagle Tower

The Eagle tower is a fifteenth century fortification guarding the south end of the town.

Rüdesheim is a lovely old riverside town; there has been a settlement here for many thousand years. It is a major tourist attraction and is second only to Cologne cathedral, according to Mr Wiki, in the number of foreign tourists it attracts.

After a walk through the pretty streets of the town and a quick wifi and beer stop, we took the cable car to the Niederwald monument, high above the town. We got the reduced rate of €5….as it was almost 6 pm it was about to shut so we would have to walk down.

Setting off in the Cable Car

Rhine from the Cable Car

Germania…The Niederwald Monument

Built from 1877 to 1883 the monument commemorates the end of the Franco-German war of 1870-1871 and the re-establishment of the German Empire.

Germania

Niederwald Eagle

Germania sits perched on a massive plinth, looking down on Rüdesheim and the Rhine, with an imperial eagle and inscription below.

A Rhinemaiden

After we had snapped Germania and her pet eagle we walked down through the vineyards and back in to the town.

‘Scotish’ Pub

One of the less traditional sights in town…..hope there are no Scots reading the blog….not a very flattering depiction and as for the spelling…….

Weingut?

Wine in German is wein, and white wine weiss wein, but pronounced more like a v. So we guessed Weingut is what you get from drinking too much wein. If there are any german readers…..please feel free to correct me….

Rhine Passenger Liner

We walked back past the pleasure boat terminal. Tourism is big here with many posh boats cruising up and down packed with passengers. The campsite is just next to the passenger quay and a good sized park, ideal for exercising the family.

We had only one day in Rüdesheim; the next day was booked for a gathering with a few other motor-homers at the Concorde factory in Schlüsselfeld.

About Peter and Nia

Rambling about Europe with the Kray Twins (Colin and Penny).