FROM MEDIEVAL TO GOTHIC IN BACHARACH, GERMANY!

Hotel Blucheral
Blucherstrasse 162
Bacharach, Germany
Monday, July 2, 2024
60sF, 70F, sun and some sprinkles

Bacharach!

We left Tubingen behind at 8 a.m. this morning and five trains later we arrived in Bacharach, Germany on the Rhine River.   

 The trains in Germany seem to follow a strict schedule and generally when we get off one train, the next is soon to be there for us. Moving from town to town means we are still schlepping luggage. Sometimes there are elevators. Derek is lugging luggage to help, thank goodness, but we try to handle it as best we can. Our group learned to stay close to Derek and jump on the trains in a very speedy manner. Finding a seat is interesting too, and we can’t always sit together. I find the Germans are quite polite, and I am sure they know we are American. One lady did ask me if I was Serbian—I don’t know where that came from!

Just sitting on a train, next to the "Water Closet"

An ad in a train station promoting

home insurance

"We recommend for Price and Efficiency

Home Insurance of WGV"

Translated by Derek

Views along the Rhine River on our train ride

Farming along the Rhine

Derek also places everyone’s luggage in the overhead bins—that is quite a feat.  I can lift both my pieces onto the train, but overhead, no.   

TK in front of Hotel Bluchertal

Anyway, by 2:30 p.m. we checked into our new hotel, Hotel Bluchertal in Bacharach.  And, all our rooms are on the 3^rd floor, translated to 6 flights of stairs.  Our room has two beds, a balcony, and a curtain between the bath and beds.  This is an interesting hotel, something like Friend Judy (School in France) and I stayed in during the late 60s.

Two beds

Bath

Curtain door (photo for TK)

Fire alarm and overhead light

(photo for TK)

Firefighter TK always wants to know where the alarms are

No firescape in sight

One view from our balcony

Another view from our balcony

 This small village, population about 2000, is located about 30 miles from Koblenz (Cologne) in the Rhine Gorge. The original name, Baccaracus, suggests a Celtic origin.  The town thrives on tourism, and wine from this region is very popular internationally.

We can certainly attest to its charm---clock tower bells ringing, some medieval buildings dating to the 1300s and earlier-timber frame houses along the town wall by the Rhine, an old postal station, an old mint, marketplace, ruins of a Gothic chapel, and the town fortifications are among the best preserved in the region.

Quite quickly we all agreed we were hungry—a restaurant next door to the hotel was open, Café Bistro Noy, and wow!  Everything was super fresh—I had schweineschnitzel and TK tried something different—will try to name later.  Their warm homemade apple strudel was special too with ice cream and real whipped cream.

Short walk to dinner

The gang at dinner

Apple strudel

(If I only remembered to take

photos before we started eating...)

(Side note: no desk in room, so I am using the table on the balcony-no electric outlet so hope the charge lasts).

After dinner we walked around the town, thus many photos.

Jim and Ann under an arch

Bacharach

Bacharach

City of Bacharach and

its crest

We passed gorgeous gardens

Note the trumpet flower

Bacharach

Another arch 

TK found another arch!

This is a great cohesive group, really lots of fun—this blog may not seem exciting, but we have had a lot of laughs together.

Short on steps today! Too much train riding-

MJ:  6987

TK: tbd