Oberwesel and St. Goar (Saturday 16th September 2017)

Today’s adventures will be split into two installments. The second installment may be quiet short. Nevertheless, come back tomorrow for the second part. Tonight at 18:00 we’re jumping on board a boat for a tour of the Rhine. It’s a special day in these parts today. All the villages have something on. The dinner cruise will be from 18:00 until 23:30. I expect we’ll see the villages and the castles lit up and we will definitely see fireworks for today is “Rhein am Flammen”.

 

 Anyway, today we travelled all the way to Oberwesel – 4 kms downstream. It’s famous for its largely intact city wall, upon which one can walk. The wall still has a dozen or so towers along its 1.3km length, all in various states of repair or dis-repair. We left the walk atop the wall for the last part of our visit, instead choosing to park outside the wall and wander around the streets below. The church on the top of the hill was an obvious first target so we climbed the many step up to it. Unlike every other church we’d seen so far this one was closed and in quite an unloved state. If it ever gets some TLC It’ll be magnificent. All the information at the church was in German so I’ll have to google it later on to understand it’s history. One thing that is obvious is that the nave of the church was built attached to an old tower on the wall, making it in effect the church’s steeple.

 

We found our way down to the man street which has some, but not much, life in it. On the way to our first coffee stop for the day we passed a group of people outside the Rathaus (Town Hall). A couple had just bee married in there and were out the front having photographs (non-professional) taken bu their friends. At the request of one of the guests I turned “wedding photographer” and got off a few group shots on various people’s iPhones!! It was great fun.

 

 

We found the place in Germany that makes the best cappuccinos, had our coffee and then went to look at the wall and some of its towers. One tower was open and a very steep series of wooden ladders led one to the top which afforded some terrific views of the Rhine at close quarters and the village. Along the wall was lovely little chapel where we stopped for 15 minutes to reflect on the simple but beautiful interior.

 

 Next the car took us through the heart of the village and up a lane that followed a gully from where the town’s creek comes. it was an enchanting detour of about three or four kilometres. The road was very narrow, the overhanging branches of the trees ans shrubs brushing the car on both sides. Drizzly rain has set in and the surrounding forest was thick and dark. What a fantastic setting. We passed by the odd house here and there, all who had their stockpiles of firewood ready for winter and one chap who had that WTF look on his face! . After a while we emerged in the open country at the top of the gully and wound our way back down to Oberwesel via a conventional road.

St. Goar was the next village along – about 4kms from Oberwesel. It is dominated by the Rheinfels Castle, part re-furbished as a hotel, part ruined medieval castle. We couldn’t get in the latter because it was closing early die to tonight’s “Rhein am Flammen” fireworks spectacular. Back down in the town the joint was jumping , all part of today’s celebrations. The main street was very busy. Rock bands were playing as were archetypal German brass bands. Food stalls and wooden tables and benches were scattered along the street. SO too were places to buy a glass or bottle of the local Reisling. People wandered up and down the street, glass in hand, looking for the next wine to sample. Definitely no beer here. We grabbed a couple of Bratwurst in a bread roll, a glass of Reisling and a mineral wasser, found a table and watched the passing parade of locals and tourists.

 

 

After St. Goar we headed home to pack our bags and have a rest before tonight’s big fireworks extravaganza – and to write this first part of the blog. I reckon I won’t be up to it at midnight tonight.

On the way down to the dock we were treated to a performance by the Bacharach choir, in the main street (Oberstrasse) on the steps of the church. They sang popular songs including “You Raise Me Up” and “Imagine”. Their fantastic harmonies were accompanied by a simple backing track and a conductor. What a terrific way to start the evening.

 

 

We scored a table at the pointy end of the boat right up next to the huge glass windows. There we joined two other couples, Wayne and Josie from Townsville and Nigel and Jill from Kent. We couldn’t have been luckier! We all hit it off right from the start, all being independent travellers of about the same age. Indeed we discovered later in the night that Jill was born in 1963 just a few months after Kerry and Josie and I were born on exactly the same day - 15^th February 1960! Quite unbelievable. Both of the boys rode motorcycles and their respective partners pillion. In fact, Nigel and Jill were on their Triumph Tiger touring Germany. We all had similar thoughts about travel and all had kids overseas. The conversation flowed all evening, only stopping when the fireworks started. We were kindred spirits, indeed.

 

 

The fireworks were being launched form the docks around St. Goar and from the castles on either side of the river. It was a really spectacular event. Our boat was strategically anchored in the middle of the Rhine and surrounded by dozens of other boats, large (like ours) and small – some with music blasting out, some with party-goers dancing, all were lit up like Christmas trees. It was a sight to behold. The fireworks started at about 9:50, launching from one bank or the other as the show progressed. Especially spectacular were the fireworks launched from the castle on the East bank – lighting up the walls and turrets as if it were daylight and the sound of the exploding fireworks reverberating from the steep hillsides along the Rhine. After 40 minutes the boats all sounded their horns in unison and the show was over. Wow!

 

Thirty minutes later we reached the Bacharach dock, said good-bye to our new friends and strolled home through the empty village, with the street lights reflecting upon the damp cobble-stones of Oberstrasse.