typical slate wall in the rheingau region.
on with the second part of our easter weekend adventure.
sometimes people make art unexpectedly ;)
i really like those walls. they were erected to build terraces for winegrowing.
castle katz again, this time silhouetted.
discovered a cute toyota. it likes the north sea's islands, is rocking out with the devil's hand & calls itself rutschgurke, which basically translates to sliding cucumber. my type of car :)
there's no human being on earth without faults. i love finding those early 'graffitis' on house facades.
st. goarshausen is not a very big city due to being restricted to its valley extentions next to the rhine river. one thing that results out of that is perfect narrow streets & tiny timber framed houses. a lot of the middle rhine valley villages are built like this and it's the most charming thing about them.
enchanting entrance area.
the gäsegass ( gäse is the local word for goats - so this is the goat alley basically )
and here's why: in this alley goats were accommodated, and since you could always meet some of them here the alley was named after them. to commemorate this animalistic past they built a memorial for them: a goat having a sneaky peak onto the cobblestoned street.
tiny house tugged between bigger ones and directly under katz castle.
reaching the end of the gäsegass.
the torkelkeller is a tavern nestled into a cellar. we didn't enter, but maybe in the future we will. torkelkeller means stagger cellar, probably because you emerge quite sauced after your visit down there 😂
this was not a staggering drunk, though. next to the cellar there's also a museum, but it was closed.
cute house front.
heinrich heine. good-looking man he was. you can find his bust here, because he wrote a very famous poem about the loreley rock, which was set to music and used in several instances. it's basically a national treasure. i generally am very fond of heinrich heine, as he was a very critical mind & really into politics & socio-political issues. he's a pretty fascinating character and his body of work is mandatory for understanding german history, at least in my opinion.
waiting for the ship to take us back again.
the loreley rock again. here's heine's poem for you:
I cannot determine the meaning
Of sorrow that fills my breast:
A fable of old, through it streaming,
Allows my mind no rest.
The air is cool in the gloaming
And gently flows the Rhine.
The crest of the mountain is gleaming
In fading rays of sunshine.
The loveliest maiden is sitting
Up there, so wondrously fair;
Her golden jewelry is glist'ning;
She combs her golden hair.
She combs with a gilded comb, preening,
And sings a song, passing time.
It has a most wondrous, appealing
And pow'rful melodic rhyme.
The boatman aboard his small skiff, -
Enraptured with a wild ache,
Has no eye for the jagged cliff, -
His thoughts on the heights fear forsake.
I think that the waves will devour
Both boat and man, by and by,
And that, with her dulcet-voiced power
Was done by the Loreley.
this is my favourite version of the song, sung by richard tauber.
and towards rüdesheim we shipped again.
passed by pfalzgrafenstein castle. it sits on an island in the middle of the river which is pretty unique in germany. it's also a museum and a definite must-see if you ever visit the town of kaub.
lorchhausen is shining with its church st. bonifatius & the little chapel st. clemens up above on the ridge.
the sun made another tiny appearance by dusk time.
i love when the wineyard mountains are tinted in this golden light.
we witnessed the best sundown 😍. everything was emblazed in the most glorious light.
couldn't get enough of this view.
the shipping company that cruised us down & up the river again is called KD - which stand for 'Köln-Düsseldorfer'. they are the main provider on the rhein river ( there are private companies as well, but don't have the fleet power KD has. )
the interior is a mix of 70ies design elements & early 1900 keepsakes.
the main saloon.
loved the bar.
assmannshausen's little spa tower. assmannshausen is a quarter of rüdesheim. i realize this picture is a bit strange perspective-wise, but i still like it, so stfu, haha 😅
hotel krone. another ancient hotel in the rheingau existing since 1541.
nice view onto assmannshausen.
nearing ehrenfels castle. this castle is one of the very few real ruins in the middle rhine valley, most others are in use, for example as museums or hostels.
it's a majestic sight in the early hours of the evening.
our ship the ms stolzenfels was the only ship that has a subway branch. strangely, it wasn't open that day.
when we boarded back onto mainland we decided to have an evening walk through rüdesheim. rüdesheim is really worth seeing at night, especially around the area that encompasses the tiny street of the drosselgasse.
the drosselgasse is only 2 meters wide and 144 meters long, but is packed with restaurants & shops and really cute architecture. unfortunately it is also always packed with tourists, but in early morning or later at night you have enough room & calmness to take a better look at it. by the way, drossel is the german word for the bird song thrush, which could often be found on the roofs of the houses singing their hearts out ( upon closer inspection it also may be because people leaving the pubs & restaurants late at night are prone to be singing as well :P )
wine drinking scene.
there are cozy patios in some of the side alleys of the drosselgasse as well.
i don't know what else to add. i think the pictures are pretty self-explanatory, right? it's just the most charming place at night.
pyramid cake on fire!
and the last picture of that day is one of this splendid restaurant.
Comments