We looked for a place to eat and we really enjoyed the restaurant Altkolnischer Hof…read more The food was excellent and service was great. I ordered an original Schnitzel and it sure tasted like I used to eat in my younger days. And Tina who served us went the extra mile to make us comfortable.

We decided to take the short hike up to this castle from the middle of town and stop for a beer…read morebreak and an awesome view! Best views for a beer break, and this almost seemed like an "accidental surprise" to us, as we didn't know exactly what was located at the top of the hill. We sure are glad that we stumbled upon it, and the views of the Rhine River were impeccable! Kinda cool too to find out that this place serves as a youth hostel as well.

I now understand when people say, "you're on the road to Stahleck" as you literally begin the…read moreascent hiking up the mountain (literally) to get to Stahleck Castle. We happened to be in Bacharach for the Game of Thrones Tourney, so we decided to make the journey to see the castle for ourselves. The castle is truly the focal point of the whole town; even upon arrival from the train station, Stahleck is standing proudly to greet you. Looking at the signs pointing to the stairs, I thought, how hard could this really be? We're two average fit Americans; we'll be fine! Well! We were! Make to bring some good hiking shoes with some good traction, and a good camera to take in some of the amazing scenery! The first initial steps up the mountain have a sturdy railing and sturdy wooden steps - nice and easy. But, as you go higher, the steps go away, and you're walking on a dirt path that I wouldn't dare walk on if it was covered in snow. Making it to the top is definitely worth it, and the view is really impressive of all of Bacharach. We should've gotten a beer or something to celebrate making it to the top, but it was getting dark rather quickly, so we had to make our way back down again. Go inside and get a coffee or hot chocolate before heading back to town!

Nestled into the countryside and hidden from streetview is the storybook Burg Eltz…read more To start, visiting Burg Eltz takes a bit of planning. You'll want to either hire a tour company to drive you there from a bigger city like Frankfurt (about an hour drive), or rent a car. We went on a small tour and while it was really fun to hear the guide talk to us about the countryside and what we were seeing etc. I do think we could have handled the drive had we decided to rent a car. Once you arrive, if you are American and familiar with the National Parks here in the states, it's going to remind you a lot of US National Park Service parking lots. It's not a massive lot, but in general big enough for tourists and busses to offload people as they arrive. I'm not sure if it costs anything to park but my gut says it probably does as I think I saw some euros exchanged from our driver to the parking attendant. Once you are parked, you have two choices: to either walk directly to the castle along a street, or take the hiking path. I cannot stress how much I encourage everyone to take the hiking path. It's a very easy hike through meandering forest and once you can get the castle into view it's breathtaking. Kind of like how I imagine the castle from Beauty and the Beast to be hidden in the film, is how this is tucked away. It takes a while before it will come into view which adds to the general charm and mystique of the place. All of this being said, the road is great for the walk back if you don't want to hike uphill, there is a shuttle bus that will take you up the road if you are tired, and because of the shuttle and the fairly even path of the road, it makes this castle much more accessible to those who have mobility needs. While at the actual castle there are two lines for tours - one for a German speaking tour, and one for an English speaking tour. This is important to note because we were there on a German holiday and the German speaking line was over an hour wait, while the English speaking line was only about 20 minutes. So, make sure you inquire about which line you are in! The tour itself is very good. The tour guide we had clearly took his job very seriously and had a lot of interesting information to share. My biggest takeaways were that this is one of the most intact medieval castles in Europe, largely due to its remote location as it avoided many bombs that impacted other parts of the continent, and that it is still occupied by descendants of the original owners. Knowing that this is still in the family was really remarkable and added to the general uniqueness of this historic location. Overall, it was a gorgeous castle to visit, and as many others have noted it's well nestled into wine country, so make a day of it and sample some riesling at one of the nearby villages on your way back to the city!

Wish I'd read more about the castle prior to the trip, because I was not expecting such a hike! The…read moreBurg Eltz castle is hidden deep in the hills, surrounded by miles of woods. Off of the street is a large, dirt parking lot with ample parking. From there is a trail head, that begins the hike to the castle. It's muddy, so bring good shoes... and probably water, too. Keep in mind that this castle doubles as somebody's home. It's pretty quiet, and many spots are blocked off from tourists. We paid for a guided tour, which ended up being a lot of fun! The little section we walked through was actually big. It's hard to imagine just how big the rest of the castle is. They, fortunately for me, hold tours in English. It was very educational and kept my interest. Not my favorite castle, not my favorite hike, but it was a good experience nonetheless!

I found touring this well maintained castle well worth the time and the €5 fee. I stopped on my way…read moreto hike in the area which I was able to do right from where I parked just below the castle.

They started erecting this unique structure in 1326. Thus castle was a tool booth for the Rhine…read moreRiver. It was never conquered or destroyed. It served its purpose until 1867. We unfortunately did not tour it but passed by on a Rhine River cruise. The history here makes us want to return someday.

Extrem detailliert gestalteter metallener Brunnen am Schillerplatz in Mainz, nebenan das pfälzische…read moreInnenministerium. Der schöne Brunnen liegt in einer parkähnlichen Anlage, umgeben von zahlreichen Restaurants. Man kann sich einige Zeit damit beschäftigen, die einzelnen Figuren zu studieren.