Bacharach - Old World Germany!
Our FANTASTIC Tour Group together with Keith our Rick Steves Guide and Herr Jung - our AMAZING local guide in Bacharach.
Arriving in this medieval town was like stepping back in
time. Our 700 year old hotel was a part
of the original old city wall. Winding cobble stone streets and quaint German
timber style houses just a stone’s throw from the Rhine River was to be our
home for the next two nights. We all gathered in the lovely cozy hotel
restaurant for a hearty German schnitzel dinner complete with a glass of
Riesling or two. Being Canadians and
arriving in Bacharach on Canada Day (July 1) we decided to teach our new American friends our
national anthem. With a little coaching
on the lyrics and with the help of our Riesling and the encouragement of Keith our guide (and help from fellow Canadians JoAnn and Sarah), O Canada resounded with enthusiasm
throughout the restaurant. The highlight of our stay in Bacharach was our
walking tour the next day with our local guide, Herr Jung. This 83 year old resident took us back in
time to a dark time in history during the Second World War with personal
stories when he was a youth. He
shared his heart with us and many listened intently with tears in our
eyes. He has given his life to help
migrant Jews and refugees work towards a better life. Our time with him made us ponder what our
world would be like if we all intentionally lived our lives as Herr Jung has
chosen to live. What a better world this
would be.
Bacharach Highlights
St. Goar & Rheinfels Castle
We said our goodbyes to Herr Jung after lunch and boarded
our bus to St Goar. Our
destination…Schloss Rheinfels, a castle in ruins from the 1200’s overlooking
the incredible Rhine River. This castle
was intact until the late 1700’s when the French Revolutionary Army destroyed
it. Once again our own local guide
toured us around dark passages and dangerous dungeons and brought history to life for us. We then cruised the Rhine River back to our
home of Bacharach where we enjoyed more German cooking at a quaint German
sidewalk café. The cool of the evening
was spent with our new tour friends on our hotel deck overlooking the
Rhine. Does it get any better than this! Oh but there is so much more yet to come!
Rhine River Cruise
Old World Charm of Bacharach & the Rhine
When you're staying in a 700 year old hotel, it really doesn't get more old world charm-like than that! So in addition to our hotel, we have chosen the view from our hotel window as we woke up in the morning which overlooked the town church and vineyards on the hillside, the amazing character of our local guide Herr Jung who brought Bacharach history to life for us, and of course you can't ignore those old castles on the hills overlooking the river.