We will be visiting our son in Baumholder the end of Feb-early March (no car, train travel). We want to do a weekend get-away. Priority is a castle village. The castles in both Cochem (rebuilt castle) and St Goar (castle ruins) look interesting (Burg Eltz is closed). Would like opinions of which would be more memorable. Thanks!
Posted by
Niagara, Ontario
1920 posts
I enoyed both. Given the time of year I'd opt for Cochem. It's a pretty town. Beilstein and Zell are close by.
Posted by
Paradise
7968 posts
These small towns you are eyballing are very much "deadsville" at this time of year.
You will find more accommodations and restaurants and more to see and do during your weekend if you stay in Trier, Koblenz, or Mainz. It is possible to take a day trip from Koblenz or Trier to Cochem; direct trains from either city require only 45 minutes by train.
Koblenz of course is home to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. And with a train ride of just 10-12 minutes from Koblenz Hbf, you can travel from to Braubach, a castle-town where the genuine and intact Marksburg Castle is located. It's open for tours year-round. There's no better place on the Rhine or the Mosel River to check out a true medieval castle.
https://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/#/
The walk uphill to the castle requires 25-30 minutes. You may wish to pre-schedule a taxi for this visit if the weather is nasty.
Braubach is a very small but gorgeous old-world town full of half-timbered old-world buildings, a place like many others in Germany which escaped inclusion in Rick Steves' travel materials. Links for you:
https://delveintoeurope.com/braubach-germany/
https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/7322-braubach-am-rhein-und-marksburg-galerie/ (3 pages of photos)
https://www.mittelrheinentdecken.de/en/villages-towns-and-cities/braubach/
The zum Goldenen Schlüssel in Braubach is open Fri - Tue for authentic German meals. Closes between lunch and dinner most days.
The best of the "deadsville" river towns to stay in at this time of year, IMHO, would be Boppard. Boppard is a small-town hub of sorts where locals in nearby communities get things done, even in winter when other towns are hibernating. It's larger than the others and will have open restaurants, etc. and numerous places to stay, including some hotels with river views. It's only about 15 train minutes from Koblenz and only about 10 minutes from St Goar - all on the same train line - if you are interested in seeing Rheinfels Castle in that town. Also, Boppard hands out free guest cards to all its guests - these cards provide FREE transportation by train, which you could take advantage of for your train journeys to Cochem, Koblenz, St Goar and Braubach. Links for you:
https://www.mittelrheinentdecken.de/en/villages-towns-and-cities/boppard/
https://www.boppard-tourismus.de/media/was-ist-wo-broschu__re_en_190219.pdf
https://www.boppard-tourismus.de/en/accommodation/
There's no big impressive castle right in Boppard, but all those castles and Ehrenbreitstein in Koblenz as well are close enough to be visited from Boppard without issue.
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
2538 posts
Cochem and Sankt Goar are closed and empty until Easter. Seriously, there's not even a decent place to eat in either this time of year.
What you need are cities that aren't dependent on tourism, or places where the ruins are open year round. Consider Homburg, which has a very good castle, Roman ruins, and is a working city. There's 2-3 other castles within 5 miles of the city center also.
https://www.homburger-schlossberghoehlen.de/
Or look at Vianden, in Luxembourg. https://castle-vianden.lu/
But in the Mosel Valley you're best bet is Bernkastle-Kues, which will be partially closed up, but you have the ruins of Burg Landeshut, Kloster Matchern, and the auto museum Zilinderhaus to keep you entertained. And for more castle goodness you can always drive another 15 minutes to Burgruin Baldenau, the only moated castle in the region.
https://www.burglandshut.com/
https://www.brauhaus-kloster-machern.de/
https://www.zylinderhaus.com/
Just be aware that the weather can be changeable. I drove through Baumholder yesterday and it was snowing pretty good. Traffic on the autobahn was running about 90kph.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
9170 posts
Yeah, I would worry about the tourism businesses being shuttered for the season. St. Goar was barely open in May and September the last times we were there (As in not many businesses, even restaurants, open) I would double check the hours of any castles as well, and those might be worth going if they are open, but you might want a bigger town for some street life and restaurants.