Sorry I have been quiet. It is very hot in Italy. About 100 F here, 37C. So we pretty much do the shutter management and stay inside. We did get the chance to go on a ten day trip to Germany so this will be my Germany 2024 trip report.
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Monday 15 July
We drove north to Bologna airport. Terrible trip. Accidents caused major delays. We had allowed enough time so we didn’t worry. We arrived at the Hotel Bologna Aiport about an hour after we had planned. They were keeping our car and we took their shuttle to the airport. There was no line at the Lufthansa desk so we got checked in quickly. That left plenty of time for a lunch in the airport. There is a restaurant in the terminal called Vecchia Bologna. Believe it or not it is really quite good. Luther had a big salad and I had a plate of Tagliatelle con Ragú. Very delicious. Bye bye Italia!

The flight was delayed and we arrived in Frankfurt a bit late. Then when we got to the luggage carousel the sign said our luggage was delayed. Sigh. Finally arrived at the rental car desk handily in the terminal. This time all went well and we were on the road at 5:30pm. The trip was uneventful and we got to Boppard Germany on the Rhine River at about 7pm.

We were meeting up with old friends who live in Australia. Kaye and Jeff, whom we knew from when Kaye worked in Washington DC at the Australian Embassy. And Steve and Shiromi who originally were Kaye and Jeff’s long time friends, who are now our friends. They travel together for long trips and we either meet them somewhere, or they have also stayed in Italy with us. So that is the back story. The first evening we just chatted and Luther and Steve had an adventure trying to get pizza for our dinner in the house. They couldn’t find their way home! 😁

Tuesday, 16 July
Luther and I had tried to do research before we came on activities for us to do. The first day we had planned a trip to Cologne on the train. We are using only public transport because our car isn’t big enough for everyone.

We arrived with no problem in Cologne in the midst of a rain storm. The train station is right beside the magnificent cathedral. Really quite breathtaking. It was built between 1248 and 1560 it is 157 meters or 515 feet tall. It has magnificent twin spires. It was badly damaged in 1943 but was still standing after the bombardment. Most of Cologne was destroyed in the bombardment. We went into the cathedral and were there for noon prayers and were treated to two beautiful pieces played on the magnificent organ. Wow. Nothing quite like an organ played in a cathedral as tall as this one. Acoustics were amazing.

After that the weather got quite nice and we did a nice walk around town. We stopped for refreshments on a big pedestrian shopping street.

On to our very traditional restaurant Bei d’r Tant. They had every possible German dish. We had a real feast. Sausages, liverwurst, some had Schnitzels, some Pork Medallions. Much nice German wine. Then we headed back. 

An eventful train trip ensued. We boarded our late train and off we went. All of us fell asleep and missed an important announcement. Turns out the train splits into two and we needed to be on the front half. By the time we were awakened by the cleaning crew the front of our train had left us behind. Next train one hour. One hour later, a pile of people exited the back cars for the front cars. I guess they got the memo we did not, and this must happen with every train! How strange.

We went grocery shopping because we were going to eat in. I made some spaghetti amatriciana. We also had a nice salad. That was perfect because we didn’t want to go out again.

Wednesday 17 July
This day was our ferry trip up the river to Bacharach. The house had come with guest passes that get you on all local trains for free. Only thing was we hadn’t figured out how to get them. So today we filled them all out with our names etc and took them to the tourist information center. They explained that we merely tear off the bottom and each person gets one of these. They are our tickets. We headed for the ferry dock. We got a 20% discount with our tickets. And off we went. None of the ferries were terribly full at all. I had visions of packed ferries. Easy to get good seats. It was a bit overcast but comfortable temperatures in the 70s. 

We glided up-river, slowly, through the Rhine gorge. Castles were on many of the crags. two were the famous castle Maus and castle Katz. We passed pretty villages like St. Goar. We saw the famed Lorelei rock. The hills were lined with vineyards. Seemed to me that quite a few had been abandoned which is sad. In two and a half hours we arrived.

We pulled into the dock at Bacharach. It was 1:30 and we were hungry. We had a reservation at Posthof Bacharach. In a pleasant courtyard with the ruins of an abbey above us on the hill. Luther and I had Wiener schnitzels. Others had a vegetarian pflame küche and a shredded sausage dish which was plain old weird.

After our lunch we walked around the pretty town. Very, very quiet. A surprise.

Pictures in the town.

Then we headed for the railroad station and after a while our train showed up. Technically we weren’t quite within the range our tickets covered but only by one stop, so we chanced it. Seems no train trip goes smoothly. Our train stopped and we all had to get off and board another one. But in the end, we got home.

This night we had left over pizza and cheese and fruit and meat.

Thursday 18 July
This day we decided to go up the Mosel River. It is a smaller river and runs into the Rhine in Koblenz. We used our free tickets and went to Koblenz and changed trains to get on the Mosel Bahn. We enjoyed the very scenic trip up the river. This is also a major wine area which we loved to visit back when we lived in Germany. The slopes up which the vines are planted are incredibly steep. On some of them the harvesters have to be lowered on ropes with baskets. 

We arrived in Cochem. It is a popular tourist town with a great castle looming above. Back when we lived in Germany we went to the Mosel in flames festival. They shoot off incredible fireworks from the castle. Anyway, the town was packed with people.

We couldn’t find a place to eat. Finally we saw a tiny bierstube and they could accommodate us. They had an extremely limited menu. We all ordered something and got fed and all the others felt they were having a very authentic experience. I was happy. Then we walked back to the train station and caught our trains back home. We stopped to shop for dinner. This time two chickens, pasta for a cold pasta salad, and a fresh salad. The chickens roasted were super easy. I used my Thomas Keller recipe. Fail safe and crazy easy. 

Friday 19 July
The weather is much cooler than in Italy but each day it had gotten hotter since we arrived. Today was hitting 90. We had planned a visit to Koblenz. We have been having terrible issues with the trains to Koblenz the last two days. They are always late and always literally packed like sardines. It comes from Frankfurt. Someone said a major rail line closed and everyone is using this line. Not sure. But it is horrible. 

We arrived at about 11:15 and headed out for a walkabout. It’s not a huge city. It does have an old town but it was hit hard in the war so not terribly much was left standing. We went over to the Mosel and walked down that side of the city. You eventually come to the Deutches Ecke, literally German corner. It is where the Mosel runs into the Rhine. There is a monumental building to the second Reich just at the end.  Then we walked along the Rhine and watched the river traffic.

Lunch was on the bank of the Rhine at a restaurant called Pegelhaus. We sat outside and had a lovely lunch. We all had fish except Steve. Three salmon and one sea trout. To start there were only five choices. Two got the caprese salad. Luther got the beet tartar, and I got gazpacho. All were cool and nice on a hot day. 

Then we started back to the station. It was a real slog. Hot hot hot. Once back we headed to our house to rehydrate, shower, and nap. It did take it out of us. 

Saturday 20 July
The little blue train. This was the plan. This is a one car diesel powered train that goes up the hill from the Rhine River to the plateau above. It takes about half an hour and is a bit scenic as it travels through tunnels and forests. A lot of cyclists use the train to go up and ride back down. There are also lots of hiking trails in the forests. The last stop was in Emmelshausen. From the train.

We all debarked and walked into what there was of the town, which was not much. It certainly wasn’t picturesque and being Saturday morning most stores were closed. We decided to have ice cream in the pretty town park. We left and went a different way back which took longer than expected and we nearly missed the next train, but we made it. Whew!

We rode back and then decided to walk around Boppard and find a place to eat. We did, in one of the grand hotels along the Rhine. This is a really pretty town with quite a lot to see. Many squares with cafes and tables and a lovely promenade along the river planted with red carnations in flower boxes. There was an outside restaurant and an inside one. It was very hot outside and there was no shade so we went inside. They turned on the lights just for us. We all had yummy things. Several fish dishes, sea bream and salmon. Nice tomato mozzarella salads with cheese that bore no resemblance to actual mozzarella. Hah! We had four bottles of wine! We went to the grocery store to buy dinner fixins and then back to the house and crashed for the afternoon.

Jeff had foolishly volunteered to grill sausages for us that evening. I volunteered potato salad and Steve made a salad. We had the super sharp German mustard we all love. And all sorts of sausages from bratwursts, to weißwursts to the smaller Nürenberg type sausages. Quite satisfying.

Sunday, 21 July
We started slowly this day. Some of us decided to take the ferry up river again to Sankt Goar, a small village up-river. The other two took the train. We all met at the dock. The town is quite small. We did happen upon a festival being celebrated by the local shooting club on the bank of the Rhine. They were all dressed in their green uniforms with a multitude of medals pinned upon them. They had a good band. We didn’t want to intrude so we headed back into town. Doing a bit of window shopping along the way. 

Zur Krone was our destination for lunch. It was a basic Gaststätte which serves the standard German dishes. We ordered only a main course each and it was too much food. Several got schnitzels, I got Sauerbraten with spätzel. And Shiromi got the diet plate, smoked salmon and potato fritters. 😉 The Germans have a strange definition of diet and fitness food.

We returned on the train only to find the supermarket closed. I figured it would be, it is Sunday after all. We did find a wine store open and bought a few bottles for dinner.

It was rather a disorganized dinner. I had volunteered to make pasta agli olio and I did, but only some of us ate it. We just kind of winged it. Monday would be our last full day here. 

Monday, 22 July 
Last day with our friends. It has been a lot of fun. Three decided to go to take the chair lift to the top of the hill with a great view of the Rhine and Boppard. There is a sign that said “the bendiest bend in the Rhine” which is right here in Boppard. 

The other three of us went into town to do some shopping and walk around. We all met up at the ferry dock and then walked to find lunch. Restaurant Severus Stube was our choice. On a tiny street with outside tables that took up the entire alley. 

It was a very fun last lunch. Very unusual food. Some better than other. But overall really fine. The waiter, Alex, said the portions are huge. We tried to mitigate that by sharing courses. It still was too much. One of the funny things was the salads. There were salads everywhere! Everything seemed to come with a salad. Then any extra plate to share all came with an extra small glass of lettuce dressed with a lively yogurt dressing.  I had a lovely avocado toast which came with a poached egg on top, a glass of dressed tomato and a glass of dressed lettuce. Yes a glass. They were served in glasses. Some had ravioli, we had a Tuscan schnitzel yes, Tuscan schnitzel.  🙄

Our last evening together was spent trying to eat the left overs in the fridge. Which we sort of made a dent in, but didn’t eat it all. 

Tuesday, 23 July 
It was time to say goodbye. We all packed up. The Australians had been on vacation for a month. They started with a cruise of the Fjords, so they had cool weather and hot weather clothes. This works out to a lot of luggage. We left about 10:30 and drove down the lovely Rhine gorge and onward to Wiesbaden. It took a bit over an hour.

We checked into the Nassaure Hof the grand Dame of Wiesbaden hotels. It is just next to the Kurhaus which is where one used to go to “take the waters” now it is the convention center. And there is the famous Casino which is located in a wing of the Kurhaus. Very opulent. Been there since 1771. There are large parks nearby. We walked to a big pedestrian area with lots of restaurants. We chose Due Amici which was supposed to be an Italian restaurant. We each had a starter to keep it light. Mine was quite good. An avocado and tomato salad with 3 grilled shrimp and wasabi crème with a lime dressing which gave it a nice tang. Definitely not an Italian dish. Very light and perfect.

Dinner was at Benner’s Bistronomie. It was in the Casino building. We ate in this same “place” years ago with my sister and her husband but it was a different restaurant then. The room is lovely. They had a really good guitar player which contributed to the ambiance. The food was only ok but we had fun anyway. 

Wednesday, July 24
Homeward bound. Everything worked for a change yet Lufthansa still managed to arrive late in Bologna. The 2.5 hour drive home was not bad, which is not always the case. It is always good to get home. Shout out to my friend Jen who cared for our boyz and our garden.

Observations
We lived in Germany from 1989 to 1995. Much has changed. Germany used to have the reputation for everything working and everything on time. Not anymore. Late is now the watchword. We used public transportation for all our adventures. We never had a train that was on time. Both of our Lufthansa flights were late. Our luggage was late.

Aside from that it seems the Germans have an infatuation with Italian restaurants. Probably one out of two was Italian. But then I found out they’re all Mafia owned and it is a money laundering operation. Who knew? The only reliable transport were the ferries.

The house Steve found (great going Steve!) was perfect, aside from the stairs, but we all managed. Oh and the odd bathrooms. On the top floor where we were, there were two bedrooms and two baths. However one had a toilet, shower and sink. The other had two sinks and a bathtub. So we all had to share the toilet. But that was really fine. There was a spectacular view of the Rhine and the village of Boppard. It had a hot tub and a nice patio with a fully mature garden. There was a convenient grocery store, and lots of shops and restaurants in the town.

Best and worst

• Worst transport – Lufthansa and the German rail system
• Best transport – our rental from Enterprise and the two ferries we took
• Best sights – Cologne cathedral and the Rhine gorge itself
• Disappointment – the Mosel River valley and Cochem.
• Best meals – hard to choose. Bei d’r Tant, Cologne. Pegelhaus in Koblenz. Restaurant Severus Stube in Boppard.
• Worst meal – the little bierstube in Cochem
• Prettiest location – lunch in the Posthof in Bacharach on the pretty patio under the ruined church.

Now to say ciao…or, as the Germans say, tschüss!

PS: We just found out the Frankfurt airport is CLOSED today! Climate activists are camped out on the runways. We all dodged THAT bullet. Whew!