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Our day began with a hearty German breakfast. While I never left a single breakfast on tour hungry, I was particularly impressed by what I had in Germany. Up first on the agenda, a walking tour of Bacharach with Thomas. We traipsed up and down the quiet, cobbled lanes and got a sweeping view of the town's history. One of the most poignant parts: looking down and seeing the "stumbling stones" embedded amongst the cobbles. These are gold plaques inlaid in the streets dedicated to Bacharach's Jewish population that fell victim to the Holocaust.
Up next, a trip to St. Goar and the Rheinfels Castle. But first, a beer stein demo and some lunch! We went to a cute little store that specializes in beer steins and cuckoo clocks. We were treated to a brief presentation about the production of these particular beer steins are made. The store offered a deal to Rick Steves tour members and we were able to ship products home. That said, there was never any pressure to buy anything.
After that, we popped across the street to one of the local hotels for a group lunch. We were served traditional German fare of sausages, potatoes, sauerkraut, and veggies. I didn't think I liked sauerkraut until I went to Germany!
We had time after lunch before our appointment at Rheinfels, so there were choices. We could start up the (very steep) hill to get to Rheinfels, explore St. Goar, or do a little shopping. I'm not in fantastic shape, but I chose to meander my way up the hill. This was the hardest part of the tour for me, but if I can do it anyone can!
At the top, there's a restaurant and a gorgeous view of the Rhine valley below. It was so worth the climb! I celebrated making it to the top with my tourmates and a radler. Not being a big beer drinker, this combination of beer and lemon soda was perfect!
Pro tip: do as the locals do and cover your beverage with a coaster when you aren't drinking it. It'll keep the yellow jackets at bay!
View from our restaurant!
Our tour of Rheinfels castle was thorough and entertaining. Our guide did a wonderful job of making the castle ruins come alive. Even though the ruins were undergoing restoration, it was easy to picture what the castle may have looked like in its heyday.
Part of our tour was an optional trip to the old mine that was on site. We were warned it would be narrow, cramped, and dark with the possibility of spiders. I was part of the half or so that went in to explore. I can confirm that it was narrow, cramped, and dark but I didn't see a single spider! We emerged to the applause of our tourmates who stayed behind. Kudos to us for being brave!
Post tour, we had some more time to explore St. Goar before rejoining the group at one of the docks for a Rhine River cruise. Tour member Kelsey and I deemed it appropriate to find the best apfelstrudel and pretzel in town (because when in Germany). We wandered around looking to see which one looked best and settled on a local bakery. We sat outside and enjoyed our finds, then wandered around and poked into a few shops before heading to meet up with the others.
The Rhine cruise was one of the more relaxing parts of our trip! We got to sit back, relax, and watch the best of the Rhine go by. We boarded the boat in St. Goar and it was going to drop us off right in Bacharach at their ferry terminal. How convenient!
We saw so many castles, churches, train tunnels built to look like castles, and of course the Loreley. Legend has it that a beautiful maiden fell to her death from the rocky cliff and haunted sailors with her beautiful song as they went around the bend in the river, causing them to crash.
Pro tip: you can buy drinks and snacks on board the boat, but it is cash only!
We only had one thing left on our list before we were set free for the rest of the afternoon and evening: the name game. This is a Rick Steves trick to help everyone in the group learn each other's names. Don't be intimidated, the name game happens after a few days on tour so you'll have time to practice names! Paul was nice enough to take one of our group photos, put everyone's name on it, and email it to us so we could study.
After freshening up, I went to dinner with tour members Ashley, Chris, Ava, and Kelsey. We went to the Rick Steves recommended Kleines Brauhaus and Biergarten. We ordered at the food truck and sat outside in the biergarten. It was a delightful way to have a meal. I had the jagerschnitzel and fries. Schnitzel in Germany was on my food bucket list!
After dinner, Ava, Kelsey, and I took off to find the local ice cream shop. They had a riesling flavor we NEEDED to try. It was light and refreshing, almost like a sorbet. We rounded out our evening with a wine tasting at one of the local wine cellars. The perfect way to cap off an evening!
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