The Rhine Valley
Travelling by train in Germany is an absolute pleasure. So I decided to go on a whistle stop tour of the Rhine area via the excellent train network, stopping off in some charming towns and seeing some superb scenery en route from the comfort of my train seat.
First stop was Cologne, which is only 4 hours from central London by train. It's a no brainer to take the train rather than fly to Cologne. When you take into account the time needed to get to an airport and the time needed to check in, a 4 hour train journey (in proper comfort) seems like a very good option. Cologne Hauptbahnhof (main station) couldn't be anymore central and as soon as you leave the modern terminus you get a fantastic view of the stupendous Dom (Cathedral) that dominates the Altstadt skyline.
The Dom was the tallest building in the world for a period at the end of the 18th Century and took over 600 years to complete! It now rightly has UNESCO World Heritage status and is well worth a tour, especially as it is possible climb up one of the towers (to over 90 metres) with fantastic views over the city and River Rhine.
After a night of sampling some Kölsch (the local beer of choice), it was on to Koblenz. Koblenz is about an hour from Cologne by train and the last few minutes of the journey are very pleasant as the train track starts to run alongside the Rhine. The city was larger than I thought and it was a surprisingly long walk of about half an hour to the old town from the train station. There are plenty of buses and cabs and I would recommend either option. The city has a big military history due to its location at the confluence of the Rivers Moselle and Rhine - the surrounding hills used to be filled with castles and forts. There is still a large military fort which is a bit of a trek to get to but offers great views of both rivers and there is also a military museum which has a huge collection of military memorabilia. Koblenz is a great base for exploring the surrounding Rhine region and a recommended day trip is to take the boat along the Rhine to Rüdesheim (about 4 hours) and then take the train back as both of these routes offer stunning scenery. Unfortunately I didn't have time to do both so I took the quicker option by rail to head south on to Rüdesheim. The route from Koblenz is really as picturesque a train journey as you could imagine. The track follows the right hand side of the river as you head south and you are surrounded by hills with picture perfect castles perching precariously on top. About 30 minutes from Koblenz I arrived in Boppard and decided to get off here to stretch my legs. The riverside town is a traditional summer resort and doesn't look like it has changed much in two hundred years! It is a very pleasant place to take a stroll along the promenade or sit on the terrace of the Bellevue Hotel and watch all the boats pull in and out, whilst having a glass of the famous local wine.
Next stop was Bingen which sits directly opposite Rüdesheim. Bingen is very pleasant and after a bit of lunch I took the 15 minute ferry across the Rhine to Rüdesheim. This town is one of the regions biggest tourist attractions (in fact only the Cathedral in Cologne draws more visitors) with the main draw for visitors being the twee medieval centre and the winemaking. The area has produced Riesling grapes for over a thousand years and most of the wine produced in this area is of a very high standard. There is a museum on winemaking housed in the Bromserburg, which is the oldest caste among the numerous ones along this part of the Rhine. Although the town is very pleasant it was a little too touristy for me, so I decided to get away from the busy narrow streets and take the gondola lift up to the hills above the town and Rhine. I can highly recommend this 10 minute journey as you get a fantastic bird’s eye view of the vineyards below and from the air you really appreciate how beautiful this part of the world is. Once at the top you see a huge monument, the Niederwalddenkmal, which is a patriotic monument constructed over a hundred years ago. From the Niederwalddenkmal, there are countless hiking trails that can be taken. Arguably the best is the famous Riesling-Route, which heads along the Rhine through countless vineyards all the way to the Spa town of Wiesbaden.
After negotiating the gondola back down, I was on the train again but this time travelling along the north side of the Rhine, which is still scenic. After a final change I arrived back in Cologne before heading back to St Pancras the next day feeling thoroughly relaxed, with vineyards, rolling hills and castles still occupying my thoughts.
