Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [409]
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
BERNKASTEL-KUES
Sights & Activities
Sleeping & Eating
Getting There & Around
TRABEN-TRARBACH
Orientation & Information
Sights & Activities
Sleeping & Eating
Getting There & Around
COCHEM
AROUND COCHEM
Beilstein
Burg Eltz
HUNSRÜCK MOUNTAINS
IDAR-OBERSTEIN
Orientation & Information
Sights & Activities
Sleeping & Eating
Getting There & Away
SAARLAND
SAARBRÜCKEN
Orientation
Information
Sights
Sleeping
Eating & Drinking
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
VÖLKLINGER HÜTTE
METTLACH
AROUND METTLACH
PERL-NENNIG
EUROPÄISCHER KULTURPARK BLIESBRUCK-REINHEIM
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The state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), patched together by the French after WWII, united historically disparate bits of Bavaria, Hesse and Prussia that had only one thing in common – the Rhine (Rhein). The river meanders for 1390km from the Swiss Alps to Rotterdam, but nowhere else has it shaped the land and its people more profoundly than along the 290km stretch traversing Rhineland-Palatinate.
Some of Europe’s largest corporations dominate the banks of the Rhine south of Mainz, the state capital. But along here there’s also a grand legacy of the Middle Ages: the magnificent Romanesque cathedrals of Mainz, Worms and Speyer. Northwest of Mainz is the river’s most picturesque stretch, the storied Romantic Rhine, whose vine-clad slopes, medieval hilltop castles and snug wine villages have drawn artists and tourists since the early 19th century.
Most of Germany’s wine is grown in Rhineland-Palatinate’s six wine regions: the Ahr Valley, Moselle-Saar-Ruwer, Middle Rhine, Nahe, Rheinhessen and, famed for its German Wine Road, the Rheinpfalz. The region’s wines can all be sampled in a multitude of ambience-laden wine taverns. The local people’s joie de vivre finds expression in the many wine festivals.
Tiny Saarland, in the southwest, was once a centre for heavy industry but these days it’s better known for Saarbrücken’s Frenchified urbane charms, and its verdant forests and fields – ideal for hiking and cycling.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Romantic Rhine Cruise, cycle or ramble along the castle-studded Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen
Roman Relics Explore the remarkable ruins of Roman Trier
Imperial Cathedrals Marvel at the Romanesque cathedrals in Mainz, Worms and Speyer
Five Rivers on Two Wheels Cycle the Moselle, Saar, Kyll, Ruwer and Sauer Rivers from Trier
Floor It Take a high-speed spin around the Nürburgring race track Click here
Rusty, Not Rustic Admire colourful art inside the Saarland’s historic Völklinger Hütte ironworks Click here in Völklingen
Rhineland-Palatinate Population: 4 MILLION
SAARLAND POPULATION: 1.04 Million
Rhineland-Palatinate AREA: 19,853 SQ KM
SAARLAND AREA: 2569 SQ KM
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Getting There & Away
People complain that Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (airport code HHN; 06543-509 200; www.hahn-airport.de, www.flyhahn.com), a Ryanair hub, is misleadingly named because it’s nowhere near Frankfurt, and they have a point. But it is near many of the places covered in this chapter and is linked by bus to destinations including Bingen, Cochem, Idar-Oberstein, Koblenz (bus 610; €14, 65 minutes, six daily), Mainz (€11, 70 minutes, 14 daily), Trier (stops at Nells Park; see www.flibco.com for details; online as cheap as €5, about one hour, 20 daily), Saarbrücken (see www.scherer-reisen.de for details; €16, eight daily) and Worms. Details are available at www.hahn-airport.de – click ‘Getting There’ and then ‘By Bus’.
The real Frankfurt Airport is linked by easy public transport to places such as Mainz, Worms, Speyer, the German Wine Road (be prepared to transfer a few times) and some of the Romantic Rhine villages, especially right-bank ones served by direct trains from Wiesbaden.
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Getting Around
With the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket (RP-Ticket; adult/group of up to 5 €19/27), you can take any regional train (RE, IRE, RB and S-Bahn), tram, intercity bus or local bus anywhere within Rhineland-Palatinate