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Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

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The Essential Elements of a German Castle

Nürnberg, Bavaria’s second city, is known for its glorious medieval architecture, its important Germanic history museum, its haunting Nazi past, its famous Christmas market (Germany’s biggest), and its little bratwurst (Germany’s tiniest…and perhaps most beloved).

Just an hour from Munich by train, Nürnberg may be Germany’s most underrated city. For a historian, the city is fascinating for its ties to both the First Reich (the Holy Roman Emperor’s castle) and the Third Reich (Hitler’s choice for grand spectacles and rallies). While here researching, I kept thinking, “I need to come back here on vacation and just enjoy its powerful museums” — both the Germanic National Museum and the Nazi Documentation Center.

Nürnberg was one of Europe’s leading cities in about 1500, and its large Imperial Castle marked it as a stronghold of the Holy Roman Empire. In this little video clip, my local guide uses the castle to explain his take on the essential elements of a castle.

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Inviting Würzburg and the German Love of Pretzels

Picturesquely situated in a river valley surrounded by vine-draped hills, and boasting one of Germany’s most enjoyable palaces (the prince-bishop’s Residenz), the bustling little city of Würzburg is well worth checking out.

Many travelers zip from the Rhine directly to Rothenburg without considering a stop in Würzburg. But those folks miss out on a tourist-friendly town that’s easy to navigate by foot or streetcar. While the town isn’t quite “charming” (thanks to its unmistakable post-WWII-rebuild vibe), Würzburg’s old center is quiet and people-friendly, and filled with atmospheric wine bars.

While you’re here, be sure to stroll the city’s atmospheric old bridge. Lined with stone statues, surrounded by vineyard-laced hills, and with a stout fortress looming overhead, it feels like a low-rent version of Prague’s famous Charles Bridge.

A park-like, picnic-perfect stretch of riverbank stretches from the old bridge to the crane. There are plenty of benches and a long, inviting, concrete embankment to spread out your meal. It comes with beer-drinking students, the down-and-out collecting their bottles, and great views of the river, bridge, and castle.

Wurzburg-sunset-on-river.jpgWhile busily checking out restaurants for my guidebook, I had to pause and appreciate this amazing Würzburg view. While the view itself — with Würzburg’s river and fortress glowing in the setting sun — was striking, what capped it off was the conviviality of the people enjoying the setting.

 

Pretzels-from-heaven.jpgThe Germans really, really love their various breads and pretzels. And this is nothing new. In fact, in this Gothic church’s stained-glass window, when God sends Moses and the Israelites manna from heaven, it comes in the form of divine pretzels.

 

Wurzburg-pretzels.jpgGerman marketing can be uniquely eye-catching. While most men find that this woman’s cleavage draws their eyes to the pretzels, many German men might say that the pretzels draw their attention to the cleavage.

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The Wine Queens (or “Wine Witches”) of Oberwesel

I’ve long wished my favorite Rhine town, Bacharach, had a museum. I found the attraction I craved in the next village over: The Kulturhaus Oberwesel is the best museum of its kind along this part of the Rhine. You’ll learn how salmon were once fished here, and how timber traders lashed together huge rafts and floated them to the Netherlands to sell. You’ll also see dramatic photos of the river when it was jammed with ice, and — as seen in this clip — review three decades of local wine queens.

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Visiting the Rhine River Valley

Visiting the Rhine River Valley never gets old. It’s storybook Germany, a fairy-tale world of legends and robber-baron castles. For a quick visit, I’d cruise the most castle-studded stretch of the romantic Rhine, from Koblenz to Bacharach. For hands-on thrills, climb through the Rhineland’s greatest castle, Rheinfels, above the town of St. Goar. Castle connoisseurs will also enjoy Marksburg, with the best castle interior on the Rhine. I spend my Rhine nights in the castle-crowned village of Bacharach.

 

Rhineland-rhine-steamer

While the Rhine River is lined by scenic roads, train tracks, and bike lanes, the most relaxing way to enjoy the Rhine is by romantic old steamers.

 

Bacharach youth hostel viewThe first time I slept along the Rhine, it was in one of Europe’s great youth hostels: Stahleck Castle. Imagine spending just $30 a night for your bed with breakfast, and ending your day with a drink on your own Rhine-view balcony like this. I just dropped in again as I was updating my guidebook, and the castle-hostel is a dreamy as ever. I hiked up here with Thomas, a friend from the village below, who recalled how, back in the ‘70s, he and his friends literally scaled the castle walls as kids to hang out with the British and American girls staying in the hostel.

 

Rhineland-Oberwessel-rampart-hike-with-river-viewWhile I’ve always loved Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar, and the town of Bacharach, the town of Oberwesel (midway between St. Goar and Bacharach) has long intrigued me. So on this trip, I visited Oberwesel, and I was charmed enough to write it up as a worthwhile stop. Just four miles from Bacharach, it’s a worth a quick visit to see its charming main square, walk along its fun surviving medieval wall, and explore the best collection of historic Rhine artifacts I found within the romantic Rhine gorge.

 

Rhineland-oberwessel-wall-hikeClimbing along the upper wall of the town of Oberwesel, I found a path that leads through a peaceful little meadow and forest with great wall and town views. The Cowherd’s Tower is now a private home with a fanciful drawbridge. In local folklore, the current family’s teenage son threw a rowdy graduation party in the tower. With all the noise, neighbors complained. When the police came, the kids just hoisted up the drawbridge and partied on.

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The Rhine: Steamy with Romance

After 30 years of cruising the romantic Rhine gorge on nostalgic old riverboats, I still get a thrill. Imagine riding this majestic old steamboat from village to village, visiting ruined castles and enjoying the local hospitality.