Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [428]
Various trails take walkers up the forested hill behind the abbey; options for circum-ambulating the Laacher See include the lakefront Ufer-Rundweg (8km) and two hillier trails (15km and 21km). You can swim near the camping ground.
Next to the car park, the Bioladen (organic grocery; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun) sells fruits and vegies grown by the monks, as well as other organic edibles.
Maria Laach is served hourly by bus 312 from Mendig, the nearest town with a train station. By car, get off the A61 at the Mendig exit (No 34), 2km from Maria Laach. The car park (€1.50) is across the road from the church.
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THE ROMANTIC RHINE
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Between Koblenz and Bingen, the Rhine (www.romantischer-rhein.de) cuts deeply through the Rhenish slate mountains, meandering between hillside castles and steep fields of wine to create a magical mixture of wonder and legend. This is Germany’s landscape at its most dramatic – muscular forested hillsides alternate with craggy cliffs and nearly-vertical terraced vineyards. Idyllic villages appear around each bend, their neat half-timbered houses and proud church steeples seemingly plucked from the world of fairy tales.
High above the river, busy with barge traffic, and the rail lines that run along each bank are the famous medieval castles, some ruined, some restored, all mysterious and vestiges of a time that was anything but tranquil. Most were built by a mafia of local robber barons – knights, princes and even bishops – who extorted tolls from merchant ships by blocking their passage with iron chains. Time and French troops under Louis XIV laid waste to many of the castles but several were restored in the 19th century, when Prussian kings, German poets and British painters discovered the gorge’s timeless beauty. Today, some have been reincarnated as hotels and, in the case of Burg Stahleck, as a hostel Click here.
In 2002 Unesco designated these 65km of riverscape, more prosaically known as the Oberes Mittelrheintal (Upper Middle Rhine Valley; www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de), as a World Heritage Site.
One of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations, the area is often deluged with visitors, especially in summer and early autumn, but it all but shuts down in winter. Hotel prices are highest on weekends from September to mid-October.
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Activities
CYCLING
The Rhein-Radweg (www.rheinradweg.eu) runs along the left (more-or-less west) bank of the Romantic Rhine and also along some sections of the right bank. It links up with two other long-distance bike paths, the Nahe-Hunsrück-Mosel-Radweg (www.naheland-radtouren.de, in German), which follows the Nahe River from Bingen southwest to Idar-Oberstein and beyond; and the 311km Mosel-Radweg (www.mosel-radweg.de), which runs along the banks of the Moselle River from Koblenz to the French city of Metz, passing through Bernkastel-Kues, Trier and Luxembourg.
Bicycles can be taken on regional trains, car ferries and river ferries, making it possible to ride one way (eg down the valley) and take public transport the other way.
HIKING
The Rhine Valley is great hiking territory. Each tourist office can supply suggestions and maps for superb local walks. A one-way hike can be turned into a circuit by mixing walking and public transport.
Four long-distance trails parallel the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen, continuing downriver to Bonn and upriver to Mainz and beyond. Each bank has a Rheinhöhenweg (Rhine Heights Trail; www.rheinhoehenweg.de, in German), which takes you from hill top to hill top – a bit away from the river – and affords spectacular views. Somewhat closer to the Rhine, along the riverbank or on the hillsides just above it, run the Rhein-Burgen-Wanderweg, on the left bank, and the Rheinsteig (www.rheinsteig.de), on the right bank; the latter links Bonn with Wiesbaden, a distance of 320km.
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