The Magical Middle Rhine Valley

I have left behind the sun and warm temperatures of Greece and am now in the cloudy, cool and drizzly Rhine valley.  We are staying at the Hotel Krone in the village of Assmannshausen which is the only village on the Rhine which makes red wine.  The rest of them are famous for their white wines, particularly Riesling.

I had met Kath at Frankfurt airport, picked up a rental car and driven the 45 minutes to our first destination.  By the time we got there is was 1 pm.

The hotel itself is quite famous.  It is over 450 years old and, ever since I started visiting this area in the 1980s, I have always wanted to stay here.  Usually the prices are too high but we managed to find a bit of a deal on one of the websites.  That being said, I decided to book a room with a balcony – and what a room it is!  I couldn’t believe I have another suite and this one has a bathroom bigger than the one in the Grand Bretagne; further, the bathroom has a sauna and a balcony!  There is even a powder room in the foyer of the suite.  The views from the front balconies are lovely – but would be a lot better if the sun were shining.

I have been to this part of Germany many times and it never fails to impress me with all the castles atop the hills on both sides of the river.  No wonder this area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

For our first day, we didn't venture too far.  We drove to the next village, Rudesheim, which is very touristy but still worth a stop.  We stopped in the famous Drosselgasse (a narrow alley filled with restaurants, many having live music) for lunch.  My choice was Federweisser und Ziebelkuchen which are a very traditional menu items at harvest time both here and in Alsace where they are called vin nouveau et tarte a l'oignon - both meaning new wine and onion tart.  We wandered around the village a bit before going up into the hills above Rudesheim.

Above and below:  This is not a shoe store!  The shoes are filled with liquor!

Years ago, Kath had been to Bingen and visited the Abtei St. Hildegard.  She wanted to return to this abbey, also known as Eibingen Abbey, which is run by a community of Benedictine nuns.  Founded by Hildegard of Bingen in 1165, it was dissolved in 1804, but restored with new buildings, in 1904. The nuns produce wine and crafts.  I checked out the wine but it was a bit pricey so didn't endulge.

That evening we went to a rather crazy restaurant called Zum Anker which had one of the busiest decors I have ever seen - sort of a "grapes meet mermaids and the sea" theme.  The owner was lovely and attentive.  Our meal was certainly better than the previous evening at our hotel.