2020 is no year for traveling. But certain personal reasons made us decide otherwise and go "home" to Germany - the country where our families live. Since the Coronavirus infection numbers were (sadly not anymore) at a low, we took the opportunity to travel to a German region that was new to us. It was only 4 days and 3 nights that we were away, but we returned recharged, amazed, fulfilled and quite tired. Here's a short recap of our trip:
On the first day, we took a train from Hamburg (where we stayed with our parents) to Frankfurt am Main, where we rented a car. In an hour, we arrived at our hotel, the Romantikhotel Schloss Rheinfels in St. Gear, in the state of Rhineland-Pallantine. It's a stunning place, very well groomed and atmospheric, overlooking the Rhine Valley on the one side, leaning on a huge castle ruin to the other. We went to the hotel spa and had a wonderful dinner with a great view. Both the spa and the hotel restaurant were doing an amazing job of obeying the Corona protocol. There were some other guests, but we were kept far from each other.
On our second day, we left to see the castles. When planning this trip, I knew I wanted to visit two of the most famous castles of the Moselle Valley and we managed to see both on one day without feeling rushed (tired, yes, but that's what we came for). First up was Reichsburg Cochem, a castle that's a 1000 years old, but was mostly rebuilt in the 19th century because the French had destroyed it.
This beauty was followed by Burg Eltz, my personal favorite. Built in the 12th century and still owned by the same family of counts it has always belonged to. Miraculously, it was never destroyed or damaged and is impeccably preserved. A dream for all lovers of castles and the Middle-Ages. And all the romantics. And just people who love beautiful things. So basically, everybody. Both castles were around an hour away from our hotel.
Our third day was - unbelievable, but true - just as interesting. We went to Germany's oldest town, Trier. Around an hour and a half away from St. Goar, this little town is over 2000 years old and full of Roman landmarks. Again, we were tireless, thorough and quick, and managed to see all the important sights before dinner.
Our forth day was the day of departure. But how can you leave without seeing the castle ruins you were admiring every morning before breakfast? Turns out, Rheinfels was one of the most important castles in the European Middle-Ages, destroyed in the 18th century by the French (again). A stunning place!
I don't know how, but we even managed to have a delicious lunch at Frankfurt's famous Roemerplatz (lots of sausages, beer and bread) before hopping on our train!
I can absolutely recommend this itinerary if you are in Europe and have a couple of days left for Germany. You could combine this trip with some days in Munich and at Octoberfest or with a trip to Hamburg or Berlin and take the train like we did (or rent a car, but gas is very expensive and European trains are fun!)
Where are you planning to go once you can travel?
Talk to you soon, J.
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