Rhine-Castle-Trail Finale

I am back on the Rheinburgenweg, and the weather has improved significantly. A rocky trail leads up to castle Schönburg, and then along vineyards. It's getting hot, and I am glad to be able to dive into the shadows of the forest.

I follow a small path down a creek, then up to a viewpoint offering spectacular vistas again. On an island in the middle of the river Rhine lies the 14th century castle Pfalzgrafenstein, a former toll station. My hiking day ends in Bacharach, where I have booked a room in a B&B.

After a solid breakfast with homemade produce the next climb takes me up to castle Stahleck, today it houses a youth hostel. The single trails leads along the hill crest while opening more views on castles. 

Castle Fürstenberg, Rheindiebach piques my interest, so I venture down a small stairway to explore the ruin. 

After going down and up again Burg Hohneck in Niederheimbach awaits, alas, it is not open for the public.

A welcome stop is castle Sooneck, where I get a a well deserved refreshment. Again, the trail has another hill climb in store for me. A watch tower offers more views of several castles in the area.

Somebody is watching me...

 

I make my way through the forest and a gorge which involves several climbs and descents until I finally make it to the trail head in the town Bingen, where I catch a train back home.

Well, that's it. The Rhein-Castle-Trail is history, and I have another 200 km and 5700 m elevation gain under my belt.

Falling stars

August 12th is the day when the Earth again crosses path with a meteor shower of a broken comet. As they seem to stem from the constellation Perseus the are called Perseids. To get a good view on this event we venture out into the Eifel region where we can avoid light pollution. We were lucky to find a hinterland camp that offered marvellous views, and not only into a clear night sky.

Back road surfing

The two hour drive along back roads is nice. First we visit the rather unspectacular city of Bitburg (famous for the beer of the same name). Downtown was heavily destroyed during WWII, hence there are not many historical buildings left. However, some Roman remains are still standing strong. One can follow an archeological trail with signs explaining that an antique road lead by Bitburg (then: Castrum Bedense) which served as one of the ancient travelers' roadhouse.

On the road to Bitburg

Speaking of WWII: The Eifel region is plastered with anti-tank-barriers along the border. The so called "Westwall" had been built between 1936 and 1940 as a concrete barrier to protect against attacks from the west. The structure was so well and strong designed that it took the allied troops an extra four months to break through, and to finally end the war.

Speaking of borders: Our trip leads us into the Our valley, where the monument of the border triangle Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany stands. The country frontiers meet smack the middle of the creek. Some weathered and rather pointless boundary stones can still be found, but you are able to bounce back and forth between all three countries today without repercussions, except for getting your feet wet.

The weather is improving significantly on our arrival at the hinterland camp where we are blessed with a prime spot for cloud watching and later for star gazing. So the plan stands for the rest of the day.

Star gazing and counting falling stars went well that night. We sleep in and wake up to a misty morning. After breakfast we take the slow way home and stumble across a cute little castle we never seen or heard of before.

Bertrada castle

We stop for second breakfast after collecting croissants from an artisan bakery shop in Gerolstein and find a spot for a second breakfast.

Then we travel north and arrive at the town and castle ruin Nürburg. The area is also famous for the racing track with the same name. But this is not of interest for us. We have a mission: first ice cream, second a castle ruin from the 12th century.

1st mission accomplished

Castle Nürburg had been built on a 676 m high former volcano, but never played a major role in history. It was ransacked by Swedish troops during the Thirty-Year-War and later on further destroyed by the French.

View on race track and facilities