Das Rheinland

On Monday, Julia and I spent the day in the gorgeous Rheinland. We first went to the small town St. Goar, which is about an hour northwest of Mainz. St. Goar was so beautiful and quaint. The population is less than 3000 and is frequented by tourists. We walked around and stopped in a tiny wine shop (very touristy) and sampled tons of Riesling, eiswein, and flavored brandy. The eiswein was definitely the best but the cheapest one was 80 euro for just one bottle! Eiswein is made in the winter from grapes that are frozen on the vine, and you need very many grapes to produce only a small amount of wine, causing it to be so expensive. Although I couldn't buy a bottle, I was glad I got to try it. After our wine tasting we walked along the Rhine and then stopped for a glass of Riesling at a cafe on the river.

Along this part of the Rhine is the famous rock the Loreley, which marks the narrowest part of the Rhine from Switzerland to the North Sea. Because of the Rhine's width by the Loreley, it is known as a spot where many shipwrecks have occurred. The German poet Brentano (the same author of the Brentano poems set by Strauss, my singer friends) wrote a story about the Loreley that was adapted throughout the years, most famously by Heine. The story goes like this- there is a beautiful woman who sits at the Loreley, singing and distracting the ships passing by, causing them to crash into the rock. Cool story!

Anyway, after St. Goar, we hopped back on the train to another small town, Bacharach. This town is even smaller than St. Goar, with about 2,000 residents. By the time we got there, around 6 PM, everything in the town was already closed except for bars and restaurants. Even so, it was a beautiful place to stop. We had another glass of Riesling, and then headed back to Mainz. It was a fantastic day.

It's asparagus season in Germany!

Vineyards 

Ruins of a church in Bacharach

creepy wine man

Have you ever visited the Rheinland??