Four days on the Mosel and Rhine

Most of the castle in that area were totally destroyed by Napoleons troops around 1800 and have been rebuilt more modern as private residences, hotels, or hostels. Schönburg was one of the destroyed and rebuilt castles. It's not really authentic, and, in my opinion, just another overpriced hotel. There are three castles worth seeing, Burg Eltz, the Marksburg (the only other undestroyed castle in the area), and Rheinfels, which, of course, is a ruin. Braubach, below the Marksburg, is a cute little town with Fachwerk buildings. Boppard has the remains of a Roman-built wall. Bacharach is also full of Fachwerk buildings. Cochem is the largest town on that part of the Mosel and a good jumping off spot to see Burg Eltz, the wine towns of Zell and Bernkastel-Kues, and Beilstein.

Two years ago my husband and I stayed along the Mosel in Ernst at the Hotel Schwarztenberg. It is only one among many small hotels located in small towns along the river. Ernst, just outside of Cochem, is a charming hillside town devoted to the wine industry. Across the road from our hotel was a park that ran along the river front. It is not far from the Burg Eltz and Cochem is a great town for dining.

I'm a Rick Steves fan and for these two areas I would recommend following his advice. If you are renting a car I would go with Beilstein on the Mosel with day trips to Cochem and Burg Eltz, without a car I would stay in Cochem. On the Rhine I enjoyed staying in Bacharach and doing the boat trip from Bacharach to St. Goar. As always there are many options that will give you a great trip.

Hi Chris, For the Mosel, we liked our stay (Oct. '07) at the Hotel Rebenhof in Valwig. This is just 5 minutes from Cochem. Easy to visit Burg Eltz from here, plus Cochem is our favorite town along the Mosel. www.hotel-rebenhof.com www.worldisround.com/articles/338870/index.html www.worldisround.com/articles/338874/index.html Paul

Bacharach is a winner, a nice little town to use as a home base. I highly recommend the relaxing boat trip to St. Goar and back. Someone commented, it's too slow too much time to do the round trip. But we really enjoyed both directions and the round trip. Have to slow down on vacation!

I assume you are traveling by car. The Mosel and the Rhine are two very different experiences and both worth while. The Mosel is slow and relaxed and beautiful whereas the Rhine is fast moving, heavily traveled and spectacular. IMHO, two days on each would be a nice balance. No special recommendations on the Mosel, there are plenty of nice small places along the river, we picked one in Ediger-Eller that looked nice and affordable and were very happy with both the room and the food. Berg Eltz and Berkastle-Kues are two great places to see. Trier is also very interesting and has a ton of history having been built by the Romans in 14 BC. We spent one afternoon taking a boat trip from Bielstein to Cochem. The round trip is very pleasant and gives time to walk around in Cochem. The American Military Cemetery in Hamm, Luxemburg is an easy drive and a place every one of us should take time to visit. Generqal Paton's grave is among the 5000+ that are there. While many of the remains have been repatriated at the families' request, the crosses that say, " Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God." mark the final resting place of some American GI who will be there for eternity. On the Rhine, the Marksburg, Bacharach are msut sees. l Boppard and St Goar are also nice. This ara is the heart of the Rhine gorge and a short Rhine cruise is time well spent. As far as Burg auf Schoenburg goes, I stongly disagree with Lee. It has been rebuilt. It is not authentic but after seeing authentic at Berg Eltz, you wouldn't really want to spend the night in "authentic". That being said, Schoenburg expensive but an excellent value. The rooms are very nice, the food is excellent and the setting high above the Rhine just south of the Lorelei is superb. We have been there twice and plan to go again this fall.

We ended a 17-day Germany/Switzerland trip last June with 4 days on the Rhine. Stayed in Boppard at the Best Western Belleview...very large rooms with big balconies overlooking the Rhine! Found it on Tripadvisor and it did not dissappoint. Perfectly relaxing way to end our trip. We had a car and drove to Burg Eltz for a day...a beautiful castle and the hike to it thru the woods was amazing. Another day in Cologne to see the cathedral. Our last day we took a river cruise from Boppard to Bacharach and back, savoring the many castles and countryside views! Even had a hailstorm on the cruise back :)

Here is a website that is pretty extensive, with lists of hotels in the various towns that line the Rhine. I have been wanting to visit Ober-Wesel as have passed thru it a number of times and it looks really lovely. http://www.loreleyvalley.com/ Whether or not a castle has been rebuilt or not shouldn't add or detract from its' worthiness of a visit IMHO. Would you not go to see many of the sites in Rome because they have been rebuilt? Are they less valuable? What about London? The place was bombed badly and they rebuilt. Dresden? I guess I fail to see why this matters so much.

Don't forget Trier. It's a nice town with amazing Roman ruins (the most extensive outside of Italy). If you're an active person, this is a great day of site-seeing: stay in Cochem, get up early, train to Trier, spend a half day there, eat lunch, train back to Moselkerns, hike to Burg Eltz, tour Burg Eltz, hike back to the train, return to Cochem for dinner. The next morning you can catch some sites in Cochem, then train to the Rhine. I personally love Burg Stahleck; it's a castle/hostel above Bacharach - very well run, clean and quiet. It's normally full so make reservations. Rheinfels Castle ruins, above St. Goar, is another favorite because you can explore on your own. I love arriving early and having the place almost to myself. September is a great time to be there because it's harvest time.

We loved our stay (just one night) at Schoenburg Castle Hotel. Our room was very pretty with a small balconey overlooking the Rhine. Dinner at the hotel was very good and while the stay was not inexpensive, we thought it was well worth it. Happy travel memories are made from such splurges! Can't always travel on the cheap.

We stayed in Beilstein along the Mosel. A fairy tale -like village so peaceful and historic. You can walk the riverside and enjoy the lockes. I loved it there for tranquility, beauty, the hotel we stayed at is in Ricks book , a long german name it was excellent.
you will not be disappointd.