Darcy woke us up around 6:00 in order to catch the 7:20 train to Frankfurt. We picked up croissants and coffee at the train station and the bill was only 5 Euros. I think next time I am in Europe I am going to spend more time in a city like this. I could live like a king.
We took a train to Frankfurt and decided to push on to Bacharach right away. By this time, we were a bit tired of cities and needed some rest and relaxation. We took an intercity train to Mainz, then a local train to Bacharach. I took a picture of the system map in Frankfurt to show how elaborate their public transportation system is. I will say no more.
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In Frankfurt I had purchased a large can of cold Beck’s. I cracked it open on the train to Bacharach. It was probably my most fond train memory of the trip.
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Little did I know that my bliss was to be extinguished in a few short moments. At a small town shortly before Bacharach, about a hundred school kids got on our train. They filled all the seats and the isles. So much for the comforts of first class.
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We arrived in Bacharach around 1:30. The town is very small, but extremely charming. There was no need to seek out a map or ask for directions to our hostel. We could see Burg Stahleck (the “castle hostel”) on the hill.
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We walked down the main street toward the center of the city. The street is cobblestone and lined with timber buildings. At the Church of St. Peter, we saw a stairway labeled for Berg Stahleck. I guess this is where we go up.
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And up we went. Up and up and up. Darcy counted 666 steps to the base of the castle. On the way, we passed the ruins of the Chapel of Werner.
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At the castle, we were rewarded by the character of the castle and the excellent views of the Rhine River valley.
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Our room was a little disappointing though. It looked like any other hostel room. At least the view out the window is amazing.
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After settling in, we walked back down the hill and back into town. We walked the length of the main street (it took about 10 minutes), and popped our heads into a few of the shops. We also inquired about river cruises on the Rhine and discovered that our rail pass is valid with one of the cruise companies. We will definitely have to take advantage of that.
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Next, we ate supper on the patio of a café serviced by little old German ladies. The food was delicious! I had a bratwurst and Darcy had a chicken stew with rice. The stew was just like what mom would make.
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After dinner, we stopped over at the local biergarten for a drink. A few funny things happened there.
First, there was a group of men and women dressed in traditional German garb. They sang a song as the toast before they drank.
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Next, there was an upper terrace at the biergarten where there was a coop and several chickens. While we were watching, a large man chased down a chicken and stuffed it into a diaper box. Must be tonight’s dinner.
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The final thing that happened involved a table of about eight older gentlemen. One of them approached us and began speaking in German. We informed him that we only speak English and a lady next to us offered to translate. The man wanted to take our picture. He thought we were on our honeymoon. He asked where we were from and we told him. He said something to the lady in German and she wouldn’t relay it to us.
“He wishes you a pleasant journey,” she said.
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We decided to spend the rest of the evening at the castle. We purchased a bottle of the local Riesling and drank it on the patio overlooking the Rhine. It was beautiful!
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That is until the children returned from their hike. Oh well, what do you expect at a youth hostel. This isn’t Club Med.
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Next, we went to the hostel bar and had some beer and snacks. This is the fist time we’ve actually gone to the hostel bar and boy, was it exciting! We were the only ones there. We were laughing that they always advertise these hostel bars with pictures of multicultural clientele smiling and drinking crazy drinks and having a great time. Too bad the reality is a Midwest American married couple drinking a couple light beers.
Click here to see all our Bacharach photos.
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