Rhine River Valley and Castles

Hi Linda, I'd drive to and stay in St. Goar. It looks like an easy 1:30 minute drive. To visit Marksburg castle, we took the car ferry from Boppard across the river (Rhine) and drove to Braubach, where Marksburg is located. www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm Paul

When will you be there? St. Goar is dead in the off-season, and Koblenz will offer something to do in the evenings. But in summer, St. Goar is great. "The plan was to pick up the car in Cologne and proceeding to Koblenz, Rothenburg and the Munich." What prompted this decision? After Cologne, I would just take the train to Koblenz or St. Goar. If you used a railpass day for Amsterdam-Cologne, the trip is free. If not, you can buy an advance-purchase ticket for two on the fast trains - with a layover for sightseeing in Cologne, if you wish - for 78€ total, Amsterdam-Koblenz, at www.bahn.de, if you purchase well in advance. "How can we best see the castles along the Rhine by car?" Just drive down the riverside road on either side. Bingen is the southern end of the scenic part. There are ferries in several places (Bingen and St. Goar, for example.) But you can see them just fine from the trains too, which run every hour or better on both river banks and late into the evening. Many castles are in private hands - you can't drive up to them and start walking around. Marksburg in Braubach, Rheinfels in St. Goar, and Rheinstein (quite small, a 5-10 min. stop, maybe) outside Bingen are accessible, as are a few ruins (like Ehrenfels near Rüdesheim.) Auf Schoenburg in Oberwesel is a hotel; Stahleck Castle in Bacharach is a hostel. A train daypass for two for the region will cost 20-25€, depending on the towns you wish to visit, and offers unlimited trips - including buses within Koblenz. Stop in a castle town, look around for an hour or two, then get on another train. Then: Koblenz to Rothenburg is possible for 49€ total for two, advance purchase on the fastest trains. Reach Munich from there on a Bayern ticket - 29€ for two. That's about 160€ total or less for two by train with timely purchasing of tickets vs. 60€ for fuel + 200€+ for a 1-week rental + parking fees, etc.

We like castles as they are one of the things that really unique to Europe. My suggestion would be to look into taking the train straight through to Koblenz and renting the car there since there is little to see between Cologne and Koblentz. Then I would drive down the Mosel to see the Berg Eltz. The castle is very impressive from the outside and the tour through it is very informative about life back in the day. The neat thing about Berg Eltz is that it has not been destroyed and rebuilt, it is original and is still in the hands of the family von Eltz.( 32nd or 33rd generation). Spend the one night in the area around Berg Eltz and then I would go down to St. Goar and do the Marksburg and spend the night there. Use via Michelin as for driving routes and times. When you are in Rothenburg don't miss the Night Watchman's tour in the evening. He gives a great and very enjoyable history of the town and the times. The trick is to get there early and stay close to him as he has a rather soft voice.

"since there is little to see between Cologne and Koblentz." Just a side comment, if I may. I commonly read similar statements on this website, but I would have to ask... has anyone ever actually driven this stretch? Although by no means as scenic as the territory between Bingen and Koblenz, it isn't exactly fly-over country either. There's more than a few scenic castles and a number of attractive towns. Bonn isn't exactly a dump either. Yes, there's some unattractive modern industry, but even with this, I still find it a rather pleasent riverscape.

Park the car and take the boat.

The boat is fine for a short stretch like St. Goar to Bacharach, but it is excruciatingly slow. I would not recommend taking it from Koblenz up to, for example, Bacharach or Bingen. Take the train to St. Goar and the boat from there.