On Monday we checked out of our hotel early and headed for the train station. We didn't even eat breakfast before leaving, planning on picking something up at the station. We arrived at the platform a little later than we planned, but we made the train to Mainz, and with some very yummy pastries, I might add.
The plan for Monday was to take a train from Mainz to Koblenz, stop somewhere to catch a river boat (which our train pass allowed us to get on), ride the boat for a while and then get off in Braubach to tour the Marksburg castle.
Well it so happened that we got onto the wrong train in Frankfurt. The train we got on turned to go to Wiesbaden right before Mainz. So we got off on the last stop before the train crossed the river to Wiesbaden, hoping to catch the right train which would take us to Mainz. We had to wait for 20-30 minutes in the cold. It was just a small stop, and so there wasn't a station to go into. We ran up and down the platform and Big E and I jumped up and down.
We did finally make it to Mainz where we stored our luggage again. We took only two backpacks with over night things with us the rest of the trip up the Rhein.
Because of our little mishap, we missed the train we planned to take up to Koblenz. But they run frequently, so we just had to wait. We let Miss A and Big E run around a little inside the station while we waited. And then we started our scenic journey. At first I thought we got on the wrong train again because I was expecting to see the river and we couldn't. But eventually the train moved closer to the river and we could see both sides. And then came the castles. They dotted the hillsides which were covered in vineyards. It was beautiful. I can only imagine what it would look like in the summer when things are greener. It was a bit difficult to take pictures on the train as it moved too quickly to take great pictures and the windows were really dirty. But we still took pictures, because when's the last time I've ever seen a castle? Never before in real life. So it was fun to see so many.
We planned to get off the train at Bacharach and then take the boat to Braubach. But since we got on a later train we missed the boat in Bacharach and would have to wait an hour before the next one came. So we decided to stay on the train and watch for the boat. If we passed it, we'd get off on the next stop that showed a stop for the boat as well. We did pass the boat and so we got off the train in St. Goar.
I loved the short walk from the train stop to the boat dock. It was quintessentially German. It was too early for many shops to be open, but it was so lovely. It was first time I really felt, "Hey, I'm in Germany!" Frankfurt was nice, but it's quite modern. There's a lot of new mixed with old there and so it didn't give me the same feeling. There is a castle there that I had wanted to see as well as Marksburg. It's the Rheinfels fortress, but with small children, we couldn't do as much as Steve and I might have done had we been alone. So we went to Marksburg.
Big E loved going on the boat.
There was a small playpark up on the top, but it was outside and though Big E wanted to try to play, he didn't last long.
The boat was fun because it was much slower than the train and we had a chance to get a good look at some of the castles.
This is the Marksburg Castle. We had to walk up that hill to see it.
In Braubach, we got off the boat and tried to figure out how to get to the castle.
But before doing that we took some pictures of this cool tower.
We found a tourist information spot that had a map, but it didnt' really have a "you are here". So I couldn't figure out where we were. Steve came and figured it out and got us to the beginning of the train, which happened to not be stroller friendly. Lots of stairs to get up.
After much debating, do we leave the stroller and hope no one takes it? do we see if someone would let us tuck it into their yard?, we decided to ask a shop owner if we could put it in their shop. A very nice lady who ran a cafe at the end of the hill we just walked up agreed to let us keep it there while we went up to the castle. And then came the walk.
Steve carried Miss A, who fell asleep,
and I walked behind with Big E.
It was quite a treck up the trail, but Big E did great. We made it to the Castle to find out that there were only 2 tours in English that day. We missed the first, but the next one wasn't for another 2 1/2 hours. I wasn't about wait for the next English tour. There wasn't anywhere warm to wait, plus 2 1/2 hours is way to long. So I bought tickets for the next tour in German. For a deposit I could rent a guide book in English. So that's what we did.
Walking into a castle for the first time.
The Marksburg castle is the only hilltop castle on the middle Rhein that has never been destroyed. So there has only been upkeep and maintenance done to it, not rebuilding.
Here's what the guidebook says about these stairs. I was going to do this with each room so we could go back an read it, but then the battery light started flashing, so I didn't.
As soon as we entered the dark wine cellar, which was the basically the second stop on the tour, Miss A started screaming. Nothing would calm her. We took her out of the room and tried changing her diaper, but it didn't make her any happier. The guide let us go one room behind them so we could see things, but not disturb everyone. Steve thought to show Miss A a movie on his phone, which he had put there for the plane ride or any other time. It worked for a while, but wasn't perfect.
Steve was very annoyed and wanted to leave. I didn't want to waste the money we spent on tickets to get in. We stayed and suffered through it. Needless to say, it wasn't as exciting as I had hoped.
After the episode in the castle, we were pretty much done. We we walked to the train station to catch the next train to Koblenz and then we straight to our hotel. The kids watched a movie on TV, in German, for a bit. Then I put on a movie on the iPad while Steve went out to find some food, preferably German food. He came back with Schnitzel a la Miar, a plain Schnitzel, and Bratwurst. I'd say that qualifies. It was very good.
It was an exhausting day. During the whole week, Steve and I would go to bed as soon as the kids went to sleep, which was usually later than normal because it took longer for Miss A to settle/calm down than at home.
We saw these crocuses on our way to the hotel in Koblenz. So pretty, though it was odd to see them on April 1. In Missouri they'd come up at the end of February and be gone long before April 1.
The plan for Monday was to take a train from Mainz to Koblenz, stop somewhere to catch a river boat (which our train pass allowed us to get on), ride the boat for a while and then get off in Braubach to tour the Marksburg castle.
Well it so happened that we got onto the wrong train in Frankfurt. The train we got on turned to go to Wiesbaden right before Mainz. So we got off on the last stop before the train crossed the river to Wiesbaden, hoping to catch the right train which would take us to Mainz. We had to wait for 20-30 minutes in the cold. It was just a small stop, and so there wasn't a station to go into. We ran up and down the platform and Big E and I jumped up and down.
We did finally make it to Mainz where we stored our luggage again. We took only two backpacks with over night things with us the rest of the trip up the Rhein.
Because of our little mishap, we missed the train we planned to take up to Koblenz. But they run frequently, so we just had to wait. We let Miss A and Big E run around a little inside the station while we waited. And then we started our scenic journey. At first I thought we got on the wrong train again because I was expecting to see the river and we couldn't. But eventually the train moved closer to the river and we could see both sides. And then came the castles. They dotted the hillsides which were covered in vineyards. It was beautiful. I can only imagine what it would look like in the summer when things are greener. It was a bit difficult to take pictures on the train as it moved too quickly to take great pictures and the windows were really dirty. But we still took pictures, because when's the last time I've ever seen a castle? Never before in real life. So it was fun to see so many.
We planned to get off the train at Bacharach and then take the boat to Braubach. But since we got on a later train we missed the boat in Bacharach and would have to wait an hour before the next one came. So we decided to stay on the train and watch for the boat. If we passed it, we'd get off on the next stop that showed a stop for the boat as well. We did pass the boat and so we got off the train in St. Goar.
I loved the short walk from the train stop to the boat dock. It was quintessentially German. It was too early for many shops to be open, but it was so lovely. It was first time I really felt, "Hey, I'm in Germany!" Frankfurt was nice, but it's quite modern. There's a lot of new mixed with old there and so it didn't give me the same feeling. There is a castle there that I had wanted to see as well as Marksburg. It's the Rheinfels fortress, but with small children, we couldn't do as much as Steve and I might have done had we been alone. So we went to Marksburg.
Big E loved going on the boat.
There was a small playpark up on the top, but it was outside and though Big E wanted to try to play, he didn't last long.
The boat was fun because it was much slower than the train and we had a chance to get a good look at some of the castles.
This is the Marksburg Castle. We had to walk up that hill to see it.
In Braubach, we got off the boat and tried to figure out how to get to the castle.
But before doing that we took some pictures of this cool tower.
We found a tourist information spot that had a map, but it didnt' really have a "you are here". So I couldn't figure out where we were. Steve came and figured it out and got us to the beginning of the train, which happened to not be stroller friendly. Lots of stairs to get up.
After much debating, do we leave the stroller and hope no one takes it? do we see if someone would let us tuck it into their yard?, we decided to ask a shop owner if we could put it in their shop. A very nice lady who ran a cafe at the end of the hill we just walked up agreed to let us keep it there while we went up to the castle. And then came the walk.
Steve carried Miss A, who fell asleep,
and I walked behind with Big E.
It was quite a treck up the trail, but Big E did great. We made it to the Castle to find out that there were only 2 tours in English that day. We missed the first, but the next one wasn't for another 2 1/2 hours. I wasn't about wait for the next English tour. There wasn't anywhere warm to wait, plus 2 1/2 hours is way to long. So I bought tickets for the next tour in German. For a deposit I could rent a guide book in English. So that's what we did.
Walking into a castle for the first time.
The Marksburg castle is the only hilltop castle on the middle Rhein that has never been destroyed. So there has only been upkeep and maintenance done to it, not rebuilding.
Here's what the guidebook says about these stairs. I was going to do this with each room so we could go back an read it, but then the battery light started flashing, so I didn't.
As soon as we entered the dark wine cellar, which was the basically the second stop on the tour, Miss A started screaming. Nothing would calm her. We took her out of the room and tried changing her diaper, but it didn't make her any happier. The guide let us go one room behind them so we could see things, but not disturb everyone. Steve thought to show Miss A a movie on his phone, which he had put there for the plane ride or any other time. It worked for a while, but wasn't perfect.
Steve was very annoyed and wanted to leave. I didn't want to waste the money we spent on tickets to get in. We stayed and suffered through it. Needless to say, it wasn't as exciting as I had hoped.
After the episode in the castle, we were pretty much done. We we walked to the train station to catch the next train to Koblenz and then we straight to our hotel. The kids watched a movie on TV, in German, for a bit. Then I put on a movie on the iPad while Steve went out to find some food, preferably German food. He came back with Schnitzel a la Miar, a plain Schnitzel, and Bratwurst. I'd say that qualifies. It was very good.
It was an exhausting day. During the whole week, Steve and I would go to bed as soon as the kids went to sleep, which was usually later than normal because it took longer for Miss A to settle/calm down than at home.
We saw these crocuses on our way to the hotel in Koblenz. So pretty, though it was odd to see them on April 1. In Missouri they'd come up at the end of February and be gone long before April 1.
2 comments:
So love to hear each days adventure. Was it the darkness that scared Miss A? You both are quite the troopers you know, not an easy trek with little ones.
We are getting all kinds of good ideas from your trip. You saw such a lot in a small time.
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