Inspired by fellow travelers we met in Thailand, we decided to try last-minute travel for an adventure in Germany. Our challenge… we had two weeks to get from Cologne to Munich without advanced planning!?!
Our adventure officially started in Andernach, Germany at the lovely Hotel Rheinkrone. We enjoyed walking through the city, by the river, and around the Koblenz Gate and garden. We had a lovely welcome, our first beer, and a delicious German dinner at the Schloßschänke Andernach restaurant. We even found wildlife while out walking! The Skulpturenpark Hotel Einstein had elephants, lions, giraffes and other amazing outdoor art that was a delight.
We decided that moving hotels every day was more than we wanted for our last minute travel (though possible by the timely and easy German trains). As a result, we stayed in Andernach for three nights as our first base and took daytrips from there. Our first was a visit to nearby Koblenz. There we found the beautiful Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) with gorgeous towers and amazing ceiling. We walked to the point, Deutsches Eck, with the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument. The Seilbahn Koblenz (cable car) carried us across the river, up the hill, and to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. We returned to Koblenz to the Kurfürstliches Schlos Koblenz (Electoral Palace) with it’s beautiful garden in bloom. In a small square, we enjoyed the Historiensäule (Historical Column) telling the history of Koblenz from Roman times until now. Our time in Koblenz closed with the Basilika Sankt Kastor, the oldest church in Koblenz, built between 817 and 826 CE.
Our favorite castle visit while in Germany was our hike to the glorious Berg Eltz. We took the Deutsche Bahn train from Andernach to Koblenz to Moselkern. From there, we hiked to the castle, following the signs through town, by the river, past Ringelsteiner Mühle (hotel and cafe), and up through the forest (itsabrewtifulworld details the hike here). Our first glimpse of Berg Eltz was through the trees and then, after a while, suddenly it’s right in front of you! It was built around 1157 and was continuously updated. Three branches of the family each built a residence so it has three distinct sections. Photos are not allowed inside, but the Berg Eltz website includes a few. No visit is complete without seeing the amazing weaponry and art in the treasury including the beautiful Celestial Globes showing Hercules, Atlas, and Chronos made in 1600 for a clock that was never completed. We lingered at the castle to enjoy kaffee und kuchen (bier und kuchen for us) from the Burg Eltz Restaurant and then made our way back to Andernach in reverse (hike, train, train, dinner, hotel, sleep….)!
Würzburg was our next base for a few days and we began by exploring in the city itself. We started by strolling along the Main river. We walked over the Alte Mainbrücke (Old Main Bridge) and enjoyed the University of Würzburg’s Neubaukirche (originally a church, now a festival hall). The view of the Festung Marienberg (fortress) was stunning reflected in the river and we enjoyed many walks up the hill.
We took a day in town to visit the Residenz Würzburg. It is a gorgeous German Baroque residence built between 1720 and 1780 to reflect the position of Prince-Bishops of Würzburg. The stunning Residenz staircase is crowned by the largest continuous fresco in the world painted by generations of Tiepolo’s. There is a full online tour of Residenz Würzburg here. It was almost completely burnt out in a WWII air raid in 1945, and though the grand staircase and fresco ceiling remained, it would have been destroyed by the elements. It was saved by an American, John Davis Skilton, Jr., assigned to the U.S. Army’s “Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives.” He worked with German architects, engineers, and laborers to build a new roof. There is a stunning exhibit detailing the damage, extraordinary efforts to save the Residenz, the restoration (frescos), recreations (Mirror Cabinet), and refurnishing (bringing collections and furniture back that had been stored during the war). The gardens are also beautiful and it’s an amazing visit!
Our third base was Reutlingen, Germany. We technically didn’t enter the city through the main Tübingen Tor (gate and clock tower), but enjoyed exploring and walking. We took a few day trips and our first was to the moody mountains to visit the beautiful Burg Hohenzollern. The fortress is the ancestorial home of Prussian Royal House and of the Hohenzollern Princes. The Gothic Dining hall has a series of tables each with a different collection of fine porcelain and cutlery, the library is beautiful, and the view outstanding. From Reutlingen, the train to Burg Hohenzollern goes through Tübingen and we stopped on our way back to walk through the historic old town, eat dinner, and even discovered a Marktplatz concert.
We took another day trip to experience Schloss Lichtenstein (in Germany, not Lichtenstein). Originally constructed in the 1100’s, the current romantic structure was completed in 1842. It is a fairytale castle (based on Wilhelm Hauff’s “Lichtenstein”) perched high upon a rock. It was a glorious day at the dramatic and romantic the Schloss and there was even a beautiful wedding while we were there (what an amazing place to get married)! We enjoyed our tour very much and the bridge to the tower and living quarters was stunning (beautiful interior photos here)!
Our German adventure ended in Munich (Bavaria’s capital). We took time to walk around and enjoyed Pauluskirche (St. Paul’s Church) and the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) near the site of the annual Oktoberfest (though deserted during our visit). We also very much enjoyed the LEGO store (guarded by a German Shepard, naturally) and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel clock show with 43 bells and 32 dancing figures at the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall). However, the very best part was watching the Munich surfing (very cool and surprising)!?! Munich is the capital of river surfing and surfers on Eisbachwelle are spectacular to watch.
It was an amazing adventure! In the end, we learned more about our travel style… realizing that we don’t love last-minute travel, it was a fast-paced trip for us, and we missed the anticipation of planning more than three days ahead. However, we did discover that we don’t need so much time to plan our travel, hotels were always available even in high season (though some flexibility was required, we always had a cute hotel in the center of town), and efficient trains make everything easier.
Thanks for making it to the very end! As a little bonus, here’s how cool the river surfing is in Munich, the best German fountain we found (in slow-mo), and some ducklings from our Burg Eltz castle hike. Enjoy!!!