Piling into our fourth rental car of the year (we’re starting to know the guys over at Hertz on a first-name basis) with Scott’s parents and the Basset, we had little expectation of what lay ahead. We were hoping for some pretty scenery, a few castles and a damn good time. You know – the typical wishlist for a European road trip.
We had chosen to base ourselves in Bacharach for a few nights (the town in Germany, not the piano-playing crooner; that would be weird) and one quick Google of Bacharach – or Bacharach am Rhein if you’re using its Sunday name – will show you that it looks like something from a Disney movie. It has timbered houses, a pretty church and a river that runs alongside it. The perfect place to show Scott’s parents on their first ever trip to Europe.
When we pulled in to our hotel later that evening, after a quick detour to Cologne to see its beautifully impressive cathedral, we quickly noticed that the town seemed almost deserted. Considering that it’s one of the stops along the water that many Rhine river cruises stop at, we were surprised that more people weren’t using it as a base. But we also discovered that it was the last weekend of the season for the tourist cruises to run, meaning that several of the town’s shops and restaurants were already closed for the winter.
That didn’t dampen our spirits – if anything it was nicer for it, because the town was much less crowded than I’m sure it is in the height of the summer season, and we were able to wander around the quaint streets and enjoy some locally-produced wine in one of the town’s wine cellars without feeling bogged down with other tourists (us tourists can be so annoying sometimes, ya know?)
After a relaxed morning start and a good fill at the breakfast buffet (you may recall that one thing I love about German hotels is their breakfast spread), we took the Basset for a stroll along the banks of the river, so she could get her obligatory “I’m on a freakin’ river in Europe!” photo to show her friends back home. Then we headed off to the ferry terminal to catch the next river cruise.
The boat was much more crowded than I had expected, especially considering it was the end of the season, and a large tour group had commandeered most of the lower deck to tuck in to some overpriced schnitzel at the window tables. But we didn’t mind, because we headed outside to the back of the boat and had a great view of the river towns as we passed.
The boat quickly emptied once we hit St Goar, one of the most popular towns along the Rhine for visitors to visit. We decided not to get off and simply ride the boat for the whole return journey (which lasts around three hours), so we nabbed a table before anyone else got on and decided to order ourselves some of the overpriced food we’d seen the other tourists tucking in to earlier.
The three hours actually passed pretty quickly and it was definitely a relaxing and scenic way to see the towns that line the river. The only odd moment of the journey was when the staff decided to up the tempo with the onboard music and blared out Lunchmoney Lewis and Rihanna for half an hour – an odd choice, considering that the average age of the passengers was probably 45.
Disembarking back at Bacharach and feeling bouyed by our boat journey (pun intended), we decided to climb the steep hill up to the outside deck at the Die Jugendherberge Burg Stahleck hostel, housed within a former castle. With a glass of local riesling in hand, we had an amazing view over the river and listened to church bells chiming in the distance.
We finished the day with a delicious meal in one of Bacharach’s restaurants and all agreed that it had been one of the best days of Scott’s parents’ visit so far.
- We rode the KD cruise from Bacharach to Boppard. Tickets cost around 23 Euros for a full price ticket (child and senior tickets cost less)
- Cruises run from April to October
- You can check out the KD website for more information and timetables
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