Walking through the Rhine

Last Saturday I went with a work colleague to the area known as "Romantic Rhine", just between the cities of Bingen and Koblenz, in Germany. Inside this are, you can find the "Loreley", a rock in the Rhin which became famous after a poem by Heinrich Heine. All this site has been declared as World Heritage by UNESCO. It covers around 70 kilometres where river Rhine runs among hills, castles and vinyards in a lovely (and romantic, as claim the touristic brochures) background.

Our trip started with a slight disappoinment, as we missed a train connection and we arrived at Bingen, an hour later than expected and after a short visit to Bad Kreuznach's train station. We visited the city centre of Bingen, a town which is just when river Nahe meets Rhine (and there is a Spanish hotel in front of it all!). As we soon realized, there was some kind of Garden Fair that Saturday in Bingen and the whole city was crowded with aged people, running crazily through the different sections of the fair. It seems that German aged people are crazy about gardens, that is the only explanation I can find to what I watched in Bingen.

Afterwards, we walked about ten kilometres, visiting two castles. It was a very nice walk, with nice weather and views. I was also struck by the amount of ships and cargos running up and down the river, it was like a highway! From the two castles that we aimed at visiting, I can state that castle Rheinstein is worth a visit. By the way, I would like to mention that it is owned by an opera singer, who bought and restored it.

But, just at the end of this walk, and when we are waiting for the train to the Loreley and the most breathtaking part of our trip, I realized that the batteries of my photo camera were "kaputt", what meant that I could not take any other picture. As an evidence of my incompetence on this issue, I have uploaded in the blog a picture which was not obviously taken by me.
As you might see, the Loreley is not a big thing itself. But it has turned out to be a major attraction thanks to the legend according to which sailors heard women singing and lost control of their ships. This legend was, some centuries later, written by Heinrich Heine in a poem (which, needless to say, not many people have read). What I truly think is that were the meandres of Rhine the real problem, not any female sensual voice singing in the middle of the night.

In any case, whatever it is, let me recommend you a visit to this area, if possible with the batteries of your camera charged and ready for a tough day of work.