The Rhine has Stolen my Heart!

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  Bacharach, Germany
Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Woke up this morning so ready to leave Köln for greener pastures.  I was supposed to meet a girl from work over in Frankfurt, but it seems we just couldn't get the timing right.  It would have been nice to see a familiar face.  Köln was the first time I've felt lonely on this trip and it could have been because I had just left all my family behind in Binz, or jet lag, or hunger or a number of things.  The thing that's the hardest to get used to is that my stomach gets hungry at odd hours, I guess it's a good thing I know how to ask "can I have the rest of this to go" in German...saved my stomach a great deal of grumbling. 

Since breakfast came with the room I ran down there to grab a quick bite before I left.  The innkeeper asked if I wanted Kaffee and I said "no, water please" to which she replied with a shocked face "Keine Kaffee?!"..."No, water is good".  So she ran to the back and came back with OJ..."would you like Orange Juice."  "Sure, OK"

Beautiful Bacharach

.  She brought the OJ and then said "would you like some kakow?"  Hummm...for the life of me I couldn't remember what that word meant and it's one of those funny words you would think you would never forget!  So I asked "What is Kakow?"  Turns out it's chocolate...hot milk chocolate.  Of course, I never turn down chocolate for breakfast!  I have to wonder if I looked dehydrated because she seemed very concerned about my liquid intake!  See guys I have people looking out for me over here too! :) 

After that my backpack and I were off to the Rhine and specifically to Bacharach!  It was a four hour train ride, but it went by in a flash.  The train runs right along the banks of the Rhine so you can see the river, the castles and all the sleepy little towns.  Back home when we think of Germany this is what our mind conjures!  Deep green valleys, a grand river sliding through and red roofed houses.  Vineyards careen down the sides of the valley to the peaked towns below sitting on the wide and gentle Rhine where boats churn slowly through the waters. 

Bachararch is a quiet little down of stone, plaster and brick with the remains of a medieval stone wall and towers.  I arrived in town without a hotel so I stopped at the Tourist Information center to have them help me find a room for the night

My Favorite Bartender and Furry Friend

.  I really didn't want to stay in a manger...although good enough for little baby Jesus.  (ok, I'm laughing as I type that thinking of Talladega Nights..."but I like to pray to little baby Jesus!")  A very nice lady was helping me, I mean really if she had been any nicer I would have thought she was faking it!  She found a room for me and asked me my name for the reservation and when I told her she was thrilled...an American Engelbrecht and I speak German!  Absolutely tickled, which is actually the response I get a lot here when booking a room!  The room turned out to be a Rick Steeves recommendation, can I just say that Rick is right on the money when it comes to rooms, every place he has recommended has been nice, put together, charming, clean and the hosts have all been fabulous! 

So clothes all put away I headed out on Rick's (cuz we're that close now I can use his first name) self-guided tour of the town.  But first...lunch...I stopped at the old post office in town, which turns out used to be a meeting place for the Templar Knights (how cool is that, I totally geeked when I found out).  I ended up having a spinach and cheese very thin crust pizza (and yes Michelle I took a picture of it!) and of course, a glass of sweet Reisling wine.  I'm not much of a wine drinker which is why I usually get Reisling back home, but here I was in it's birthplace and yup...you know it...it was the best Reisling I've had in my life

My Pension

!  I never realized before that Reisling came in sweet, slightly dry and dry.  While I was outside the owner's dog came and laid down by me while I ate...such a sweet dog!  Either I have a way with animals (first the bird now the dog) or I looked like a spiller!  :) 

Onto the walk, took me through the park, on top of the wall, into the towers all the way through the vineyard to a newer tower that you could climb up to get fabulous views of the city and the Rhine.  BTW...loving my camera, it has the world's best zoom for such a small camera and really good at stabilizing shots.  It was so peaceful to be up there all alone with the birds singing while looking out past the castle (now a youth hostel) and the remains of the old cathedral to the sleepy Rhine and off in the distance you could see the next town and another castle sitting proudly on the hill.  Did you know that all of the castles on the Rhine have one thing in common?  The tallest tower on the castle does not reach past the top of the valley.  Guesses why? :)  This was so that invaders could not easily see the fortification, thus giving the castle inhabitants I jump on them! 

After the walk I decided to stop at the Italian Ice Cream shop in town.  The owner, Meimo (sp?) invented his very own flavor that I just had to try...Reisling flavored

Reisling Vineyards

!  It's like a sparkling ice cream on your tongue, not creamy and heavy and it tastes like sweet Reisling.  When I ordered it I asked him "it is good, yes?", he smiled and nodded.  When he have me the cone he patiently waited with a tentative smile on his face for my verdict.  I said "it tastes very good!", for that I got a huge smile and a thank you.  It was so cute to see how proud he was of his invention, but still so invested in how much people liked it. 

After a little wine I thought a beer was in order!  Also I needed to catch up on some postcards to the nephews, I really hope no one reads them because I wrote them for a 2 and 4 year old.  So it reads a little like...The Rhine is a very big river with lots of boats, but I haven't seen any pirates yet!  The bar I stopped in was tiny.  As I walked in a couple (Doug and Amy) was leaving turns out they're from Arizona.  We talked for a little bit and they left.  Walked up to the bar with a "Hallo", smiles and hallos in return but that didn't really spark a conversation.  So I wrote and drank my beer.  When I finished I asked the bar in general what the local specialty was.  Well...let me tell you...that got the whole bar talking!  One girl, who I later learned was Claudia, had me take a sip of her drink...tasted pretty good so I ordered one.  What did I order?  Well, it was white wine and coke!  I know, does not sound like a great combination but it was not bad

Streets of the Town

.  A little later Doug returned (Amy decided to get some sleep), at this point I had everyone at the bar talking to me and since Doug did not speak any German I ended up becoming a really bad translator!  The more people warmed up the more English they could speak.  It was great!  By this time I really needed to eat again because I was getting buzzed and I didn't want a repeat of my second morning in Binz.  So I asked Katie the bartender if they had anything for a vegetarian so she disappeared in the back and came out with Tomatoes an cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette...that did the trick.  I was having such a great time I didn't want to leave for something as inconsequential as dinner!  Ended up staying until around 12:30 and Doug was nice enough to walk me back to my hotel.

When I got back I was really glad that I had taken my leftovers from lunch!  It's impossible to find an American dinner in Germany left alone late at night. 

Up Next...I travel to Marksburg Castle!

Personal Respones:

Gloria:  Thanks for the update...I'm being very careful

The Rhine

!  I will do better than the next meeting, I'll send you a link for the pics when I get back.

Doug:  Had a beer in Bacharach for you...Kirner Pils, you liked it very much and remarked that it was sharp and dry with a hint of arrogance.

Jen O:  Of course, what would a Jen E be without the O?  I'm just sorry I couldn't get my stuff together when you were living in London.  If your at the reunion I will be there with bells!  The gummies are rather fresh here...cheeky lil' candy.

Monika:  I'm going to try to bring home a couple of cokes for us...that is if I don't break and drink them all before I get to work! :)  I have done a lot of potato eating and some singing.

E:  You're supposed to tell me how bad my blog is and that I'm not even close to a travel writer...'member!  Or where you actually saying it is bad?! :)  I can't wait until you and Steve and wandering with me here in Europe.  I wsh I could figure out how to post my pictures, I think I have to burn them on a CD...I'm not using that side of my brain right now

View from Top of the Vineyard

. :)

Amanda D:  Girl, what is this TIM you speak of...I don't know what that is! :)  So are you saying I'm the first book you've read and enjoyed!  See I'll turn you into a reader yet!

Beth:  I've been thinking about you a lot, I wish we had the chance to talk before I left.  I hope things are well on your side. 

Sarah:  Girl you're e-mails are cracking me up!  I can't wait to meet Vino...I think we'll get along famously...he may even want to live with me! :)

To everyone...I'm glad you're enjoying the blog, I apologize for being behind.  I love getting your comments and e-mails...keep 'em coming!  Miss each and everyone of you! :)

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