EuroMegavacation Episode 3: Bacharach, Germany

The view from the Postenturm above Bacharach.

When Matt and I reflect on the EuroMegavacation as a whole, Bacharach is probably our favorite part.  Bacharach is charming and beautiful, just cozy as all get out.  The locals were so nice.  The countryside was incredible.

Strolling the cobblestones in Bacharach.

Bacharach is a small town (about 1,800 residents) in the wine country on the Rhine River.  It was quiet and slow, a lovely mix of human history and scenic nature.  It isn't the place to go if one is looking for the "nightlife."  Upon arrival, we made the short walk from the train station to our bed and breakfast.  We were instantly charmed by the Bacharach vibes.  Cobblestone streets, half-timbered and slate-roofed houses, and vineyards as far as my eye could see.  The vineyards filled the improbably steep hillsides.  There were cool sights wherever we looked.

Matt in the vineyards at Bacharach.

We followed a series of meandering, narrow cobblestone streets to the Pension im Malerwinkel.  This is a third-generation family-run bed and breakfast operated by the Vollmers.  The house was built into the ancient city wall (completed between 1350 and 1400 CE) and has a delightful garden.  I had wondered if it could possibly be as perfect as the advertisement photos had portrayed.  I know how creative people can get with angles and cropping in promotional photos.  If anything, it was even prettier and more quaint than pictured on the website!  

Flowers in bloom in the garden at Pension im Malerwinkel.

We checked into our room.  I immediately had to open the windows, of course, and was delighted by the view.  Our room looked out over the wonderful garden... and the charming footpath that leads to the pension... beside the murmuring Münzbach stream.  It was perfection!

Approaching Pension im Malerwinkel with the vineyards in the background and the Münzbach in the foreground.

The hotel has a small self-serve beverage cooler in the common area.  We picked up a couple of radlers and took them out to the garden to refresh ourselves.  It was overcast, but still plenty hot and humid.  There were so many nifty, new-to-me flowers in bloom.  We found a couple of comfy chairs where we could listen to the birdsong and enjoy the delightful environment surrounding us.  

The city wall and garden at the Pension im Malerwinkel.

After about 30 minutes, it started to sprinkle.  This was the only time it would rain during the whole trip!  Given that it was Springtime, we sure lucked out with the weather.  Our pre-trip research had led us to expect some rain on almost half the days we were there.  But no!  We were blessed with a heatwave and abundant sunshine instead!  We moved up to our room, where we could enjoy the garden view from the armchairs by the windows and stay dry.  The room was so cute.  It was a keen place to relax, too.

The footpath to the Pension im Malerwinkel with the vineyards and city wall in the background.  There is a little arch built into the wall for the footpath.

We walked back down the hill to the Cafe Bistro Noy for dinner.  They had a vegan bratwurst on the menu-- and we were eager to eat wurst in Germany!  It was one of the things on my to-do list.  True story.  We had a glass of local white wine with dinner.  We really enjoyed the restaurant scene.  It allowed me to use my German language skills within a narrow scope of vocab--ordering, asking for the check, etc.  I won't lie.  I also attempted eavesdropping on tables nearby--though the topics there could be much broader and were often outside of my ability.  It was a teeny little place and family-run.  We liked it a lot.  

A paddlewheel boat on the Rhine at Bacharach.

After dinner, we took a stroll along the banks of the Rhine.  We saw so many birds!  The White Wagtail was probably my favorite new one.  Or the Egyptian Goose.  There was a lot of interesting "sea glass" along the riverbank.  We saw a Grey Heron fly in and do some fishing from the shoreline.  We walked back along the city wall to our hotel.  We picked up a bottle of local wine to take back to our room.  We opened the windows wide to catch the cool air.   The first several days of the trip had been significantly hotter than expected.  After his shower, Matt declared this was the first time he felt clean, cool, and refreshed since arriving in Europe!  Ha!  The hot, muggy weather was tougher on him than on me.

Walking through the park along the Rhine, looking up towards Bacharach.  Burg Stahleck is aglow in the sunset.  

Between the babbling of the Münzbach that we could hear through the "auf kipp" windows and the fresh breeze wafting in...we slept like babies.  It was so cool and quiet!  Talk about a tranquil and relaxing atmosphere!  The next morning, we had a cup of coffee and set off for an early stroll.   We didn't make it very far before the delicious smells from the bakery sent us back to our hotel for breakfast.  Ohhhhhh Germany knows how to do bread right!!  

Strolling the cobblestones in Bacharach.  The Postenturm (tower) and vineyards are in the background.

Now properly fed--including lots of bread with jam--we put together our daypack and went on Rick Steves' suggested town walk.  It was fabulous!  Such interesting history and architecture!  Nearly all of the buildings in Bacharach are shingled with slate tiles, black and shiny.  We walked along some remnants of the 14th-century city wall up into the remarkably steep vineyards above town.  We climbed three stories of the Postenturm--one complete tower from the city wall that now seems to stand alone in the middle of the vineyards.  It offered nice views in every direction.  Bacharach below us.  The ruins of the Werner Chapel and the castle-turned-hostel, Burg Stahleck, on the opposite hillside.  The village of Steeg up the valley.  Vineyards everywhichway.  The Rhine flowing by at the base of everything.  Oh it was grand!

Hiking through the vineyards at Bacharach.  The Postenturm is behind me.

We continued up the hillside on a path between the rows of grape vines.  The path brought us back to the city wall--a fairly crumbled, ruined section.  We found a bench and reveled in the expansive beauty of Bacharach, the vineyards, and the Rhine. Everything was so green!   The greenness just rolled on for miles and miles!

An epic viewpoint along the city wall in the vineyards above Bacharach.

We veered from the footpath (that was continuing further up the steep hillside) and took a more lane heading away from the river instead.  We eventually wound up in Steeg, the village next door.  We enjoyed the gardens we passed along the way.  Spring was in bloom.  They were dense with foliage.  The bees were buzzing in the flowers, and the birds were singing their hearts out.  We saw our first Eurasian Jay.  

Bees buzzing in the flowers in a back garden in Steeg.

We made a pitstop at the hotel, followed by another at the corner store (for beers and snacks) before heading up a different hillside.  Our destination this time was Burg Stahleck.  The trail took us past Werner Chapel, too.  This church was built in 1289 and destroyed in 1689.  It is a shell of a building, but still quite a striking addition to the skyline.  It is illuminated each night and we could see it well from the window in our room.  It was interesting to see up close.  

The Werner Chapel ruins above Bacharach.

We finished the stroll through the woods up to the 12th-century castle-turned-hostel, Burg Stahleck, where we had a little snack break in the courtyard.  The elevated view was just as good from this side of town as from the Postenturm side.  The flowering chestnut trees were especially glorious.  We watched a paddlewheel boat make its way down the river.  Cormorants and swans were paddling around down there, too.  We didn't opt for any hostels, but I bet this would have been a cool place to stay, too.

A view from the courtyard at Burg Stahleck.

We walked around the castle a bit before we returned to town via the same route.  We stopped for dinner at the Bacharacher Pizza & Kebab Haus.  We didn't really know what we were doing when ordering, but we got vegan food and it was cheap, even if not exactly what we expected.  So, all is well that ends well.  We got it to go and ate in the wonderful garden at our hotel.  There was a Great Tit nesting in the birdhouse and I was delighted to watch it come and go.  Dinner and a show!

Matt walking past the garden at the Pension im Malerwinkel.

We walked down to the Rhine again in the afternoon.  It was sunny and glorious.  The perfect temperature.  Matt skipped some of the exceptional flat pieces of slate across the water.  I poked around in the "sea glass" again.  We both enjoyed the birds.  We had dinner reservations at Stübers Restaurant in the evening, so we returned to the hotel to freshen up.  We also used the time to prepare our daypacks for the following day's adventure to Burg Eltz.  

The oldest house in Bacharach (on the left).

At Stübers, we got to check off one more thing from our culinary wishlist--trying a (vegan) schnitzel. It was great!  We also ate our first WHITE asparagus.  Germans are very enthusiastic about this seasonal treat, but it didn't even occur to me that we'd be there during "spargelzeit" (asparagus time/season).  The white asparagus was one of the myriad seasonal vegetables featured in the pasta I ordered.  We really liked Stübers.  It's too bad we didn't go back a second time.

At Stübers, Matt drank a vermouth made from local grapes.  It was packed with flavor and very tasty.  Buuuuuut I was more excited about the ice cube--no lie. 

We walked along the city wall in the magical blue hour of twilight.  We popped into St. Josef's Chapel along the way since we saw the door was open.  Built in the 18th century, this small chapel had lovely stained glass.   We chatted up the innkeeper upon our return to the hotel.  We picked out another bottle of local wine.  He told us a little about the vintage we selected and the others he had for sale, giving us directions to some of the vineyards and talking about the families.  Some of the vineyards we hiked through earlier were the very same place where these grapes were grown.  It was really, really cool.  

Enjoying a little white wine and taking in the view from our room.  Our innkeeper taught us that this is the traditional shape for a wineglass in this region.  

Here's where I have to interject:  Matt and I aren't really "wine people."  BUT!  Wine was a very cool local option...that wasn't so dependent on refrigeration for my enjoyment.  We didn't have a fridge.  We didn't have an ice machine.  This made buying anything but a single beer here or there impractical.  So we drank wine.  It was a fun change of pace.  Through this process, we learned a lot about our taste preferences, grapes, winemaking, and vineyards.

The beautiful countryside around Bacharach.

We wound down the evening in our room.  I had to elevate my ankle, which I'd injured the week before we left for Europe.  It was swollen and protesting.  I could tell that I had gone up and down the hillsides all day!  I worked on IDing the various birds we've seen.  Matt made the final preparations for our impending daytrip, did some laundry, and wrote some postcards.   We rediscovered the box of Belgian chocolates tucked away in my backpack.  What a super nightcap surprise!

Windows in the oldest house in Bacharach.  This style of window pane is pretty widespread.  They are designed like this because of the historical limitations of glass-blowing.  The glassblower would make a glass sphere, which was then flattened.  Hook a bunch of them together and--ta da--a glass window pane! 

The next day was devoted almost entirely to our excursion to Burg Eltz.  This is a castle in the forest that has been owned by the same family for 800+ years.  It was an outstanding daytrip adventure and will get a more detailed standalone post.

The city wall at Bacharach

We returned to Bacharach fairly late in the evening.  That factor, coupled with it being Monday when most shops were closed, left us with limited dinner options.  Cafe Bistro Noy was still open though, so we just went back there for more sausages and fries.  We had worked up an appetite on our adventure, and our meal really, really hit the spot.  

Ohhhhhh what a magical place! Walking back to the Pension im Malerwinkel.

We took the long way back to the hotel, enjoying the beautiful evening.  Matt picked out another bottle of local wine from the innkeeper, and we retired to our room for some reading and relaxation by the windows.  

Matt using one of the gates in the city wall at Bacharach.

Since we'd been "on a schedule" the previous day, we made up for it by taking Tuesday morning really, really slow.  Matt even slept in until 8am!  I caught up on my journaling and bird research.  We eventually moseyed down to the fabulous breakfast spread.   After breakfast, we rented bicycles from the innkeeper--who had both regular and e-bikes at a very reasonable rate.  He razzed us good-naturedly when we opted for the ebikes.  ("E-bikes?  For young people?!")  But we wanted to power over the hills and ride as far as our hearts desired.  We loaded the bicycle basket with snacks, water, and binoculars and set off on another daytrip--cycling along the Rhine!  

Cycling along the Rhine (with a castle in the background).

There are castles on the hillsides--or in the middle of the river--every few kilometers on this stretch of the Rhine.  Over the course of the day, we'd see no less than nine castles:  Stahleck, Pfalz, Gutenfels, Schonburg, Katz, Rheinfels, Maus, Liebenstein, and Sterrenberg.  Pfalz was built on an island in the middle of the Rhine as a means of collecting tolls for river passage.  The others were perched on hillsides with commanding, defensive views.  

Castles, castles, castles!

There was a wide bicycle/walking path running parallel to the river.  We pedaled along--stopping to take in the view regularly--until we reached Boppard, almost 18 miles downriver.  I don't know how many times we marveled over our good fortune--the sunshine, the landscape, the wind in our hair.  "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is," came up A LOT.  

Matt takes in the view from the bike path, including the castle in the background.

At Boppard, we located a pedestrian shopping area and secured our bikes.  I bought a board book (designed for 2-4 year olds) about Katzen (cats) from a cute little bookstore called the Bopparder Buchladen Inh Dagmar Reitz.  I find reading German easier than speaking or listening to it, but...I'm still at a toddler book level, for sure.  I think it is a fun challenge.  Kids books were the only souviners that I bought for myself.  This was just the first!

The Rhine.

We had lunch at Thang Long Asiatische.  The portions were huge, and we were hungry.  It was perfect.  Afterwards, we popped into the Syrian grocery store...because we'd never been to one before and we love ethnic grocery stores of all stripes.  We bought some unusual snacks for our train ride the following day.

Cycling along the Rhine.

We hopped on our bikes and turned back toward Bacharach.  The sunshine came out in full force for the return trip.  This radiant light magically made the castles and vineyards even more stunning.  We stopped in Sankt Goar and Oberwesel on the return trip.  We could have easily spent more time enjoying both.  Like Bacharach, they were dripping with small-town, cobblestoned, half-timbered charm.   

Exploring along the city wall in Oberwesel.

We meandered Sankt Goar's super cute streets, window-shopping.    The door was open on the Evangelische Kirchengemeinde St. Goar, so we ventured in.  It was cool and quiet inside.  I lit a candle and said a prayer of thanks.  I was awash in gratitude for my blessings, including a day cycling on the Rhine with my beloved.  The painted vaulted ceilings were the star of this particular church.

Interior of the Evangelische Kirchengemeinde St. Goar.

In Oberwesel, the medieval city wall is more intact than in either Bacharach or Sankt Goar.  We locked up the bikes on the Marktplatz near the Maypole and found a set of stairs up to the top of the wall.  We walked along the 12th-century stone wall, enjoying the view of the town to one side and the Rhine to the other side.  I kept telling Matt to "pinch me!"  It was so fascinating and beautiful.

Exploring along the city wall in Oberwesel.

Back on our bikes, we cruised the narrow cobblestone street nestled between the houses and the city wall.  That was really cool.  The weather was so glorious!  By the time we made it back to Bacharach, we'd been cycling around for more than seven hours.  We loved pedaling over those cobblestones!  When we returned the bikes to the garage, the innkeeper joked with us again, "Where did you go?!?!  Cologne?!?!"   So, we told him a bit about our great day.   Ohhhhhhhhhh, what a great day it was!  Matt and I were certainly glad we coughed up the extra $5 each for the e-bike.  It made it so easy for us to go as far as we wanted, wherever we wanted.

We stumbled upon a gigantic wine press.  I didn't know they came that big!

We had picked up a couple of beers from the corner store on our way back to the hotel.  We took them up to our room, opened the windows wide, and relaxed with a view.  We saw three Hobbys flying over the garden.  This is a type of falcon I'd never even heard of before.  Matt walked back down to the store for another couple of beers.  To my surprise and satisfaction, he hit up the kebab shop while he was nearby, too.  He came back with falafel, fries, and salad for dinner.   We ate it at the table in our room, looking out at the garden.  We couldn't think of a better dinner spot--the view, the birdsong, the babbling stream, the fresh air.  It was fabulous.  

Falafel dinner in the room.

Multiple times that evening--and the next morning--Matt and I talked at length about how supremely grateful we were for choosing the Pension im Malerwinkel, for choosing Bacharach as our home base.  We packed up our bags and enjoyed one last breakfast with the Vollmers.  We told them we were sad to go, and they suggested we extend our stay.  They were really funny, friendly folks.  They couldn't argue when we said we still had so much more of Germany to see!  

The Pension im Malerwinkel, from the garden.  Look closely-- a painting of the traditional wine glass is visible in the lower left.  We saw them painted and carved into the decor all over Bacharach.

We took a meandering route back through town to the train station, enjoying streets we hadn't seen yet.  We even snuck in one more walk along the city wall.  Then we started our journey to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Living my teenage dreams out loud:  Backpacking through Europe.