Rhine Getaway: Marksburg, Rüdesheim, & Heidelberg

Today’s post is part of a set of posts from my river cruise, which includes Amsterdam and Kinderdijk/Cologne.

Marksburg Castle

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We left the big city (of Cologne) behind and toured some of Germany’s picturesque and historic towns. First stop, Marksburg Castle, another UNESCO site. We toured the medieval fortress and had a bit of time to walk along the water with its luscious rose gardens.

Rüdesheim

That evening, we reached Rüdesheim. On our way, we were treated to a hilarious Rüdesheim coffee demonstration with the bartender as host.

I bolted up to the SkyTrain, an open air two seater that was a little questionable, to the Niederwalddenkmal built to signify the reunification of Germany. There were also some trails up there with signs in Germany warning of caterpillars – I found one on my shoe and was probably more worked up about it than I needed to be. It was the major attraction and worth the 8 euros for a roundtrip ticket.

Heidelberg

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The next day, we arrived in Heidelberg (via shuttle from Mannheim). We toured Schloss Heidelberg, the castle, and then were left to our own devices.

We ate at Le Fée – shared a Dutch pancake and a smoothie bowl for the nutrients – and walked around town and hiked up Philosopher’s Walk for views of the city from the other side of the river.

Speyer

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The ship stopped in Speyer, Germany so I got out to walk. I walked past a couple of biergartens, parks, a cathedral of course, and found a pedestrian street lined with ice cream and wine shops, people, and live music! Such a treat for such an unknown little city!

Next stop but just briefly, France!