Castles Along The Rhine

T he Rhine River is one of         Switzerland through Germany and    Germany's most popular          the Netherlands to the North Sea,  tourist attractions. This       but it is the 35 mile stretch      famous river has been at the          between Bingen and Koblenz that    heart of German history for           is the destination of thousands    centuries, dating back to at          of tourists every year. Along      least Roman times. In fact the        this narrow section of the gorge   river marked the eastern frontier     there are more castles than in     of the Roman Empire.                  any other river valley in the                                            world.                             Julius Caesar himself conquered                                          the areas of Europe to the south      Many of these castles are in       and west of the Rhine, and the        ruins, but some have been          Germanic tribes retained control      restored as hotels and are open    of the lands to the north of the      for tours. The castles stand like  river.                                sentinels on the cliffs above                                            both sides of the river creating   When the Roman Empire collapsed       the perfect environment for        in about 400 AD the Germans           stunningly picturesque boat        flooded across the river and          tours.                             created a succession of states                                           which would later become the Holy     The castles are an unmistakable    Roman Empire and eventually           and unique feature of the          modern day Germany.                   mid-Rhine landscape. They were                                           built by feudal overloards, to     Picturesque feudal castles         protect their lands from           guard the gorge                   marauders who travelled up and                                           down the river.                    The Rhine is hundreds of miles                                           long, flowing north from              One of the most famous spots       along this section of the river       located in the Rhine valley. At    is the Lorelei Rock at St.            Bingen, the Nahe river flows into  Goarshausen. This is the deepest      the Rhine and along its banks are  and narrowest points on the Rhine     some of the most perfect south     and is the inspiration for a          facing vineyards. North of Bingen  famous German legend. As the          the wine growing region is called  story goes, a nymph lived in the      the Mittelrhein. It is a magical   Lorelei rock high above the           place with vineyards growing       Rhine. She is said to have lured      among the fairy tale castles and   fishermen to their destruction        snuggled into the overhanging      with her singing until she was        rock face.                         overcome with love and plunged to                                        her own death. A bronze statue of     All of the German wine regions     the nymph overlooks the river.        along the Rhine produce                                                  distinctive styles of wine, but    As you travel along the river,        in general Rhine wine is fuller    you see quaint, colorful villages     and richer than Mosel wines. As    that cater especially to              in the Mosel, the primary grape    tourists. The most popular are        is the Reisling, but there are     St. Goar and Bacharach, each with     other varieties of grapes too.     its own castle open for touring.      The German wine research facility  And of course there are unlimited     at Geisenheim has created many     opportunities for sampling the        new hybrids such as Ehrenfelser,   German cuisine and exquisite          Scheurebe, and Kerner, offering    Rhine wine.                           visitors a wide variety of                                               different tastes.                  In the heart of wine                                                  country                           The best way to see this                                              area                           Most of Germany's vineyards are                                          There are several ways to see         is also a train that runs between  this scenic area along the Rhine.     the villages in the area, and you  Several river cruise companies        can stop at numerous points along  offer tours along the most            the way to sample the local        spectacular part of the gorge. It     culture. Tourists can also drive   takes about two hours to cruise       the highway along the banks of     from St. Goar to Bacharach, and       the river. Or the more             most visitors agree this is the       adverturous can ride a bicycle     best way to get the maximum           along the many trails, and hop on  castle exposure.                      a ferry at various points to                                             cross over to the other side of    But it's not the only way. There      the river.                         About the Author: See Linknet Travel News for more travel articles | Hotelkritiken - Hotelkritiken und Bewertungen | Cheap prepaid phone cards from USA to any country Source: www.isnare.com