Visit the Rhineland in Germany: tourist guide, photos and sightseeing tours

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< Up	Travel / Tours / Germany / Rhineland
Visit the Rhineland in Germany


Sections:	Introduction
	Boppard
	Cruise
	Warring Brothers
	Maus & Katz Castles
	Loreley
	Wine tasting
	Niederwald Monument
	Shopping
	Drosselgasse
	Beer drinking
	German food
	Further information
	Links

INTRODUCTION

The pictures on this page were taken during a 3-day trip from London to the Rhineland in western Germany.

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BOPPARD

Boppard's town centre includes several fine buildings.

CRUISE

From Boppard you can take a 2-hour cruise along the River Rhine. Sit on the deck, relax and enjoy the sights ...

WARRING BROTHERS

During the boat cruise you can see many castles on top of the slopes next to the river. Above the village of Kamp-Bornhofen are two castles called Liebenstein and Sterrenberg. Because the fronts of these face each other, they have been given the nickname "the warring brothers" (die feindlichen Brüder).

Two castles overlook the village of Kamp-Bornhofen

The front of this castle ...

... looks directly towards the front of this one

MAUS & KATZ CASTLES

The small Maus (mouse) castle is followed shortly afterwards by the larger Katz (cat) castle ...

LORELEY

Strong currents have caused many boats to smash into the Loreley Rock (sometimes written Lorelei). In the 19th century a legend became established that there was a beautiful lady who sat on the rock combing her long blonde hair and singing a song - attracting the attention of passing sailors and causing them to crash into the rocks. Several poets have been inspired to write poems based on this story.

Many boats have struck the Lorelei Rock

Observation point on top of the rock

The Loreley lady ...

... lures sailors to their deaths ...

... by attracting their attention

From the top of the Loreley Rock ...

... there are fine views of the River Rhine

WINE TASTING

In Rüdesheim you can enjoy wine tasting at a local wine producer. Riesling grapes are the main type grown in this area, producing mainly high-quality white wines.

Grapes growing in the vineyard

Adolf explains about his wines

90% of German wines are white

Dry wines are tasted first

"Kampai!" (Japanese for "Cheers!")

"Prost!" (German for "Cheers!")

Note that there is also a wine museum in the town at Brömserburg on Rheinstrasse (this is one of the oldest castles in this part of the Rhine Valley).

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NIEDERWALD MONUMENT

From Oberstrasse you can pay to take a ride in a cable car (Kabinenbahn / Seilbahn). The 10-minute journey takes you over the vineyards, which are planted on the south-facing slopes of the river valley. After reaching the top it takes just a couple of minutes to walk to the Niederwald Monument (Niederwald Denkmal). It is a statue of Germania, a symbol of the German state, and is 38 m (114 feet) high: it was built between 1877 and 1883 to commemorate the Franco-German War of 1870-1871. There are beautiful views from in front of the monument. If you have enough time it is possible to walk or take a horse-drawn carriage across to the neighbouring village of Assmannshausen, descending by chair-lift (Sesselbahn) before taking a boat back to Rüdesheim (a special combined ticket can be bought for the cable-car, chair-lift and boat ride).

Cable car

Vineyard

Niederwald Monument

SHOPPING

Käthe Wohlfahrt shops sell traditional German Christmas ornaments. There is a branch in Rüdesheim, as well as larger stores in Rothenburg and Heidelberg.
Nutcrackers originated in eastern Germany: the most common designs represent kings and soldiers. The Nutcracker king featured in Tchaikowsky's "Nutcracker Suite". Several shops in the town sell "cuckoo clocks" (these come from the Black Forest in southern Germany).

Nutcracker king

Cuckoo clock

DROSSELGASSE

The most famous street in Rüdesheim is a narrow alley called Drosselgasse. This contains many places to eat and drink, and you can often hear live music in the beer or wine gardens.

Drosselgasse sign

Crowds gather in the alley

BEER DRINKING

Beer is the most popular drink in Germany. The variety known as Pils is especially common. There are small local breweries in many towns, as well as large German companies such as Löwenbrau. A famous beer-drinking festival called the Oktoberfest takes place in Munich (München) each year: this starts on the last Saturday of September and continues for 16 days. In most towns there are beer gardens where people can go to enjoy drinking beer outside, perhaps listening to music or singing a tune or two ...

A group of German men in a beer garden in the Drosselgasse

Beer is served with a head

GERMAN FOOD

The longest "Wurst" in the Rhineland?
Germany is famous for its sausages

"Brezel" (pretzel) were served during the wine tasting
(the three holes represent the Christian Trinity)

"Black Forest gâteau" (in a restaurant in the Drosselgasse)
The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is in southern Germany

FURTHER INFORMATION

For more information about some of the places shown on this page:
Rüdesheim tourist information: http://www.ruedesheim.de/en
Weather forecast for Mainz: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=4609
Weather forecast for Köln (Cologne): http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=4497

To travel independently to the Rhineland from London, the easiest way is to fly to Köln Bonn (Cologne Bonn) or Frankfurt airport.
To book a ticket to fly to Germany from a UK airport, see: Travel/Transport/Air.

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LINKS

Visit Belgium: Travel/Tours/Belgium
Visit the Netherlands: Travel/Tours/Netherlands
Travel in Europe: Travel/Transport
Useful links relating to Germany and the UK: Links/Germany

Home page: Home

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