On the move...

Over breakfast, Stacey was looking for volunteers to go see the Atomium in Brussels on our way to Luxembourg. It sounded very interesting as it had been part of the 1957 World Expo and I had never heard of it! We managed to catch the bus without waiting, hopped on the train, arrived in Brussels, grabbed a cab straight to the Atomium- quite an engineering marvel for 1957, captured it on camera from several different angles, then straight back to Brussels Noord to catch up with the rest of the gang to continue our uneventful but very beautiful trip to Luxembourg.

We knew our hostel was too far to walk (the first one, all have been within a stone’s throw of the station!) so ended up catching two cabs for almost 40 euro! Our driver charged us excess for baggage; the cheek of him! Our hostel was SO much better than what we had imagined.  An immaculately clean room with  3 sets of double bunks but plenty of room to move; 6 big lockers and a separate shower, vanity and toilet. We dumped our luggage and headed off to explore the Casemates under the Bock which were dug, chiseled, or carved from the solid rock by the Spaniards way back in the 1500s. (Don’t quote me on dates!) We wandered through, occasionally glimpsing vistas of the town through the openings in the rock. ( some with cannon still in place) Luxembourg has been a garrison city for centuries, first the Spanish, then the French, then the Austrians, then the Prussians took over, before Luxembourg became an independent country.

Elizabeth and I wandered along the Chemin de la Corniche until I thought if I walk any further, I won’t be able to make it back to our hostel. We decided to find a different track back, and Elizabeth navigated our way very efficiently and we arrived back thirsty but not deadbeat. We thought we’d treat ourselves to a beer, which turned out to be 3! We met a Texan called Alan who could talk the leg off an iron pot but was interesting to listen to as he has travelled pretty much all over the world except Australia. Elizabeth and I had dinner with him. He was generous enough to share a bottle of red that he had bought in France with us, although I think I know who did most of the drinking! I migrated over to the cards table to play bloody mary and drink scotch! We headed to bed about midnight! A great night was had by all.

I woke up at 7.30am and headed down to a breakfast of tang (yuk!), toast (yum!), cereals, yoghurt and a cup of tea. I found out we could get the shuttle bus to the station for 3 euro each. Bargain! ‘Cos I was NOT walking up that cobblestone path dragging my suitcase for love nor money. Only problem was the shuttle was already booked for the airport so I had to book it at 9 which gave us over an hour’s wait at the station.  We waited in the waiting room. I sat next to a homeless man asleep, which I didn’t realize until a security guy came in, woke him up and moved him along, together with half a dozen other sleepers. Remind me never to go to sleep in a station waiting room!

The train arrived and we all piled on, luggage and all. We enjoyed a very pretty journey travelling along the banks of the Moselle River to Koblenz. After changing trains at Koblenz, the scenery became even more breathtaking, with vineyards stretching up the sides of very steep mountains, cute little villages strung out along the river banks, and of course the famous castles!  We hugged the left bank of the River Rhine, turning into castle-spotters, and there were LOTS of them! No wonder people pay thousands to cruise down the Rhine! And we are going one better! We are staying in one- Castle Stahleck in Bacharach!

We arrived in the gorgeous village of Bacharach, and craned our necks skywards to see our hostel WAY UP THERE! Bloody hell- how are we supposed to GET up there. After downing a beer in the Posthof, a very resourceful, (and probably a little desperate as she was quite ill), Stacey called a taxi to take us up to the Castle the long way. I was OK until he decided to back us in- it was actually a bus- and he reversed along the edge of a cliff. The fact that he had done it many times before did not calm my fears and I visualized us crashing off the edge to our certain deaths in the valley below. I was quite traumatised and it wasn’t till we arrived that I could see there was a guard rail (but not very high!) the whole way. On the plus side, the trip was only 15 euro and I sure couldn’t have walked up the 372 steps to the castle with my luggage in tow. I am not even sure I can do it carrying nothing!

I showered and rested (well, tried to rest) while others traipsed off to explore the village.  There’s only one bad thing about Castle Stahleck. It has a group of about 100 VERY NOISY 12 year olds on school camp here, and the teachers don’t seem to care HOW much noise they make! They were even running in and out of our private room while I was napping. Stacey had  taken the key with her so I could not lock it. I ended up giving up and joining everyone in the courtyard for a few vinos before dinner (moselle of course!) We managed to push our way through the noisy throng to a delicious dinner of spaghetti Bolognese (of which I had two helpings), fresh artichokes, olives, cucumber in a dill sauce, and lovely fresh German bread and ham. And I did actually eat the last half of a tinned pear! All of this for 7.50 euro!

Back to bed in our tower room (yes really!) with 5 double bunk beds, two tables and 8 chairs and million dollar views down the Rhine! If this were a hotel, it would be at least 200 euro a night instead of just 17!

Castle Stahleck, Bacharach

We woke up to a very quick breakfast of muesli, yoghurt, fruit and bread with a variety of cheeses and meats before we hurried down the 372 steps to catch the 8.30 train to Bingen where we picked up a ferry to the other bank of the Rhine. We caught a gondola up to a monument to Kaiser Wilhelm. It carried just 2 passengers over vineyards all the way to the top. We even saw grapes being picked by hand. We then wandered through a beautiful forest of many colours before alighting upon a hotel. Both Keeley and my first thoughts were do they sell beer? (and it was only about 10.30am but we were thirsty) We downed a couple of beers starting with E and headed off down the path to the chairlift that was to take us down. The others were nowhere in sight so we hurried to jump on the chairlift. In the process of jumping on, I dropped my camera and hurriedly jumped off again. The guy was telling me to stay on, so Keeley took off on her own and I jumped onto the next one. I was a little worried as he wouldn’t let me sit on the right hand side, and here was Keeley’s chair in front of me tilting dangerously to one side. I took photos all the way down to take my mind off the ride. I am NOT good with rides of any sort, particularly those that occur above ground. It even took me years to be (sort of) comfortable with flying.

We still hadn’t seen any of the rest of the group even after sending a couple of texts to a couple of different phones, looked at the time, and decided we’d missed the boat so were just sauntering along the boardwalk enjoying the beauty of the scenery on a gorgeous sunny day (few and far between!) when the rest of the gang came running up behind us closely followed by the boat we had to catch.  It pulled in, dropped off a couple of people and started to pull away from the jetty immediately. Talk about a quick stop! Lorelle ran flailing her arms to signal them and they put the gangplank back and we all jumped on. Running to catch a boat is becoming a much too frequent activity for my liking.

We sailed down the Rhine, devouring my packed lunch of bread roll and boiled egg on the way. This running makes me hungry! We hopped off at St Goar, and everyone except Keeley and me decided to trek up to the castle. My toes were still complaining from the 372 steps down this morning, so I decided I’d find a nice bar and sit down to rest my poor little tootsies. We found Stefan’s Wine Paradise, sampled a few wines, and ended up buying some lovely wine, a peach brandy and a pack of cards- all we needed for a picnic on the banks of the beautiful Rhine. Stefan was lovely- he even gave us a free bottle of wine and invited us for dinner. Sadly, we had to decline as we had to catch the 5.20 boat back to Bacharach, but we spent a lovely afternoon sitting at a picnic table enjoying the sunshine and teaching Keeley to play 500 with our new German cards! And of course, drinking the lovely local wine! Of course, this bliss could not last and soon rain clouds were scudding across the sky, and as we headed for shelter, the skies opened.

We thought we had gone into a bar but we had actually gone into a restaurant attached to a hotel. (the sort you stay in) There was just one couple drinking wine so we thought we’d play it safe and order a wine ( not that we hadn’t had enough already!) We weren’t there long when we were spotted through the thick glass window by eagle-eyed Stacey who happened to be walking past, so everyone joined us for a drink while staying dry. So of course we had to have ANOTHER glass of wine! We trooped onto the boat as it pulled in and sat in the warmth ( and dryness) of the dining area. Our boat struggled against the current so it was quite late before we arrived back at Bacharach. 


We sussed out a few restaurants before choosing the Altkolnischer Hof, another one of those hotel restaurants similar to the one in St Goar. The décor was dark wooden panels with actual paintings of local scenery, old chandeliers and rouladen on the menu! It was delicious with a bottle of the local red, and real iced coffee for dessert. Our lovely waitress tried calling us a cab to no avail so we had to hoof it up the 372 steps (plus the steps to our tower room!) It wasn’t as bad as going down but quite challenging in the semi-dark and after an afternoon of drinking. Stacey had to guide me through the darker places as the steps were uneven and slippery after the rain. I was totally exhausted so showered and curled up in bed. I was too tired to read, so thought I’d be asleep in minutes, but lay awake listening to Glee until after 1.17am (the last time I looked at the time!) I must have been overtired! I slept with my toes peeking out from under the doona, because they were too sore to even have the material touching them.

After only a few hours sleep, my alarm woke me up at 6 am as I had to pack and get down to breakfast by 7. Needless to say, I didn’t pack very well. I asked a receptionist for a cab for 8, but they only sent a small one so only the oldies plus all the luggage got the cab- 12 euro and worth every centimo! I was NOT walking down those steps again- yesterday's effort was still etched in my toes!

On the train at 8.30 again, off at Mainz, on to Frankfurt. Thankfully we didn’t have to get off there! On to Wurzburg, off at Steinach, on to Rothenburg- 4 trains in all and I am exhausted. Our rooms weren’t ready so Keeley and I used the hotel’s computers to let our loved ones know we were still alive! As soon as we got to our room, we luxuriated in a beautiful big  triangular bath which was just what my feet needed! At 8, I headed down to the Night-watchman tour which was fantastic despite the cold. I learnt so much in a fun way and in such a short time. I came back to our freezing room (the heaters wouldn’t work!) and snuggled into bed and slept till 8! Managed to drag myself out of my warm cocoon and into the shower to face another day. Breakfast was amazing- cranberry juice, cranberries and cranberry yoghurt, (if you didn’t notice, I love cranberries) croissants and fresh bread rolls all slathered with lashings of butter and jam. (I am a bit over sausage and cheese for breakfast!)  After breakfast we packed our bags. Just as I was zipping in my laptop, the bloody zip broke on the 15 euro bag I bought in Paris so I lashed out and bought a Jack Wolfskin one from across the road. Oh I forgot to mention I bought a pair of Jack Wolfskin sandals last night! Yeah, I know it’s winter but my feet can suffer no longer. I am wearing them with two pairs of socks for warmth and so far, so good. After reloading my new backpack in the store, Keeley and I headed for the original Christmas shop and the Christmas museum. I loved the Christmas pyramids and the display of nutcrackers as well as the teddy bears! I took about 100 photos and just as I was taking my last one, a woman came and told me photos were not allowed! Back to collect our bags from the Goldener Hirsch Hotel and head off to Munich aka Munchen. Will post photos later!