July 12- Bacharach and Berg Eltz

Last time we visited Rothenberg, we felt like we were leaving before we had seen everything. This time, we feel like we’ve at least seen the important spots in the town. When we drove out of the gate in the town walls, through the arch of the Rodertor, we felt satisfied that we had “done” this town and were ready for what the next might bring.

We drove on a relatively uneventful drive past Frankfort, across the Rhine River, and to the little town of Bacharach, right on the Rhine. The original plan for the day was to take a cruise down the Rhine to Koblenz and catch a train back. When we got to Bacharach we visited the ticket booth for the boats and the town’s visitors center for the train schedules. Our plan was possible to do, but we wouldn’t be starting until around 3:00. We decided to put off the river cruise until tomorrow. That would give us more of a chance to explore and less of a hectic feeling with the schedules.

So what to do instead? We had two options: Explore the town of Bacharach (which was Julie’s choice) or go look somewhere else for some fun (which was Scott’s choice). The problem with staying in Bacharach is it’s not that big of a place. We stopped here for lunch, and our spot for the night is here, but we decided to spend the day elsewhere.

We had lunch in Bacharach though. Walking down the street, an older woman who owned a restaurant started talking to Emma because she saw her stuffed fox. She took Emma in and showed her a real fox that her father had caught. She told us how he had tried baiting the fox. He’d set out a piece of meat every day for two years, but the fox would always steal the meat without getting caught. Then one day, her father came in with the fox in hand and said he couldn’t believe how big it was. “No wonder!” she said. “He’d been feeding it for two years.” We stayed and had brots for the parents and spaghetti for the girls.

We went off into the German countryside, looking for the castle called Berg Eltz. We were able to see quite a bit of the Rhine and Mosel area because… well, we got lost. We only had an imprecise idea of where the Berg Eltz is, and the AAA road maps and German roadsigns were not enough to get us there. Julie eventually stopped and asked some truckers for directions, and while they weren’t precise, they did get us to the castle. (The first thing we did after visiting the castle was buy the decent German road map we’d said we’ve needed for a while.)

When we finally arrived at Berg Eltz, it was pretty late in the afternoon, around 4:00. We decided to pay the extra amount to ride the shuttle bus “up” to the castle, and said we would walk back “down.” At probably every other castle in Europe, this would have been a great plan. For some reason, Eltz is built in a valley. So we rode down to it, and had to climb up out of the valley afterwards.

Berg Eltz is a pretty amazing castle. It seems to be 8 to 10 stories tall, depending on how you count, and it’s architecture is a mix of heavy stone defense and light half-timbered areas at the top. The other amazing thing about the castle is that it is still owned by the same family that has always owned it. The Eltz family can trace their time at the castle back 33 generations, and one branch of it still lives there. The castle has a hundred rooms, and we were shown about ten of the grandest ones. The dates are dumbfounding. We were seeing pieces that have been in the family’s possession since the 1300s, 1400s, and 1500s. The walls that we were seeing were done with their original murals (or were they frescos?). Julie noted that it seemed unusual that the place wasn’t climate controlled to protect the precious fabrics in the tapestries and paint in the art. Not only were the windows wide open, but there was actually a bird flying around in one of the bedrooms.

We ate at Burger King (just to keep with the castle theme, right? They don‘t seem to have White Castle over here, so…) and accidentally went through the drive through lane. We got to see and hear Mommy use her German to order. It may not have been different than what she’s done at other places, but it was the first time that we have had chance to listen to her. We all cheered her when she finished.

So a brief recap on the castles so far:

• Hohenschwangau- mid-19th century reconstruction of a castle, Romantically done by a real king for a summer home.
  
• Neuschwanstein- late-19th century fantasy castle, Romantically planned and epic in design, but never finished or substantially used. More of a personal work of art than a building.
  
• Ehrenberg- 13th century castle, now simply a shell of ruins, though picturesque
  
• Toppler’s Castle- 600 years old, but more of a goofy architectural oddity than a proper castle.
  
• Berg Eltz- Very old (not sure of date- 14th century, maybe?) and took 500 years to complete. Continuously occupied by the same family that now have treasures centuries old to display.
  

Which was our favorite? Honestly, it may be the one that we happen to be at when the question is asked. They all have tremendous things to offer, but they are also a study in contrasts.

Which brings us to our place for the night- Stahleck Castle in Bacharach. We don’t know the age of the castle, but it is a real castle, part of the old fortifications around the Rhine River town. It has been turned into a hostel, and we are sleeping here for tonight. It is not easy to get to. We had to climb to the hills above the town. It is very steep and was quite a hard walk. Luckily, Julie had planned ahead and packed a single backpack with our things for tonight. Scott had to carry a second with the computer. The girls each brought an animal of their own. We’re staying in a room overlooking the Rhine River. (It actually is a dorm style room for about ten people, but it looks like we’ll be the only ones in it.)

In fact, this part of the blog is being typed in the courtyard of the castle. We’ve watched the shadow of the hill that we are on creep slowly up the Rhine Valley. The crickets are chirping on the hillside. Barges are carrying their cargos along the river far below us. We’ve been eating popcorn on the terrace. The other guests are chatting nearby. Anna and Emma wrote in their journals outside on the terrace tonight, and each of them said their high for today was staying in this real castle for the night.