Bacchus Country

Stellplatz at Bacharach

After the Concorde rally we turned westwards and found our way to the Stellplatz at Bacharach, a pretty old wine town on the south bank of the Rhine just to the south of Koblenz. Thanks to Eric and Dee, friends we met in Aschbach, for recommending this Stellplatz.

View from the Stellplatz

This is a good stop; yards from the river and only two minutes in to town. GPS co-ords N 50 deg 3 mins 23 seconds E 7 deg 46 mins 14 seconds. It is quite busy, being a popular spot. €10-50 per night including wifi and electricity. Water €1 for about 90 litres.

Cycle Track in front of Stellplatz

Bacchus

The town is reputedly named after Bacchus and there are vineyards and wine shops everywhere; the south facing slopes of the Rhine valley are ideal for ripening the grapes.

The Old House

This is one of the many pretty half timbered medieval houses in Bacharach.

The Post House

The old Post House is now a restaurant. We feasted here on bratwurst and cold beer.

Wall Art

Half Timbered Medieval House below the Vineyards

The Old Mint Tower

St Peter’s Church

There is a good walk along the old city wall which runs along the front of the town, overlooking the Rhine and you can carry up the hillside to visit some of the well preserved towers which used to punctuate the wall.

Burg Stahleck

This is Castle Stahleck, overlooking Bacharach.

The Walk to the Castle

The castle is approached by a gentle ascent through the trees (or there are steps directly up if you prefer).

Terrace on Castle Stahleck

Once at the castle you are rewarded with amazing views and some ice cold beer.

Time for a Rest

Colin doesn’t particularly like walks but handy to have a friend to sit on when its time for a break.

Werner Chapel

This is the elegant Werner’s chapel, built in 1294, just behind the church and on the direct route up to the castle from Bacharach.

Daliesque House

Dali Detail

We spent a day cycling up river past Oberwesel, where we stopped for a coffee and to admire the wall paintings on one of the houses here. I shall have to get my brushes out when we get home and slap a few melting clocks on.

Castle Pfalz

Further on we met Pfalz castle again, from the other side. We cycled past the famous Lorely narrows and watched the barges and passenger boats inch up against the ferocious current.

Old Rhine Crossing

This stone opposite Kaub, a short distance upriver from Bacharach, commemorates the Rhine crossing by the Prussian general Blücher on New Year’s Night in 1813/1814. General Blücher and 60,000 soldiers with 20,000 horses crossed the Rhine with the aid of the pilots from Kaub and a pontoon bridge, to drive Napoleon out of Germany. Bit sneaky to pick New Year’s eve for a fight, but you can see how he was thinking.

Upriver

The next day we cycled upriver to Bingen, 10 miles to the south. We had a good picnic overlooking the Rhine at its confluence with the Nahe.

Crop Spraying

Penny and I got up early one day to snap the early morning light and caught this guy spraying his vines the quick way. He was pretty close so I don’t think I’ll be going down with vine weevil any time soon.

Kestrel

A bit later all four of us walked through the vines up the steep hill to the north of Bacharach, past this Kestrel, for more pictures of the Rhine.

Looking Down-River

The boat is the Goethe, a working paddle steamer.

We are moving on shortly and will head next towards the Moselle.

About Peter and Nia

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