Mike D Goes to Europe!

I’ve been off the grid since I got to Germany. There’s no internet access in these little towns, and barely any cell service. But now that I’m connected again, here’s what I’ve been up to…

I have been visiting the Rhine river valley, staying in the town of Bacharach. If Bruges is “like a fairytale,” this place ups the storybook ante, with a whole town full of half-timbered gingerbread houses. Despite Germany’s reputation for beer-drinking, this region is known for its local wine, mostly of the Riesling variety. This stretch of the Rhine is dotted with a dozen or more medieval castles. I visited what are thought to be two of the best.

Marksburg is the best-preserved castle in the region. It was originally built around 1200-ish and was never destroyed, while many others nearby have been partially destroyed and subsequently reconstructed. One of the highlights was the restroom off the banquet hall. It’s a small room that juts out of the exterior castle wall on the third story of the building. “Flushing” meant that it just fell on the ground outside the castle.

Burg Rheinfels is a ruined castle, overlooking the town of St. Goar. Let me just back up for a moment and say that trains in Germany are apparently late all the frickin’ time. But only the train you’re on is late. The one you’re trying to connect with is on time. Thus far, I have missed two and will likely miss another on my way to my next destination.

That said, I missed the train that I wanted to take to St. Goar. The next one got me to the station about 8 minutes before the castle was due to close. The walk from the train station to the castle: 15 minutes. Knowing that it would be tight, I ran up the hill to the castle and arrived about 1 minute after closing. I pleaded my case to the woman at the ticket booth, who allowed me to go in for “5 minutes.” 20 minutes of furious picture-taking later, I came back to the exit and found it shut and abandoned by all staff and fellow patrons. After a momentary panic over the idea that I might be spending the night amongst the ruins, I figured out how to open the gate from the inside. After exiting, I realized that I had dropped my camera case somewhere inside. Luckily, while I was able to open the gate from the inside, I had not been able to get it closed again from the outside, so I went back in and found the case. Quite a day’s adventure.

Update: here are some photos from this part of my trip:
Rhine River Valley - General
Marksburg Castle
Rheinfels Castle

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