A Ruin With A View

Another beautiful day ... could we have gotten any luckier on this vacation??  Each night when we put Noah to bed we tell him he needs to go to sleep so he can be ready for another adventure tomorrow.  Well, today's adventure was fun, fascinating and lovely all at once.  We went to explore one of the castle ruins along the Rhine.  The one we chose is called Burg Rheinstein and it sits proudly above the town of St. Goar.

One section of the castle has been restored and turned into a hotel but the vast majority of it is still in ruins.  When you enter the castle you are given a piece of paper with a 'tour' that you can follow to see the castle's key features but beyond that the castle is wide open for you to explore at will.  Wide open might be a bit of an exaggeration, there are fences and such to keep visitors away from dangerous parts or places where the castle needs extra measures to preserve it.  Still, it is so fascinating to explore a castle like this.

Burg Rheinstein with the restored hotel part overlooking St. Goar and the ruin portion behind.

The view of the Rhine from the castle ramparts is phenomenal.  It is easy to see why this location was chosen for the castle.  They had a wide open view of the entire river and only a small part on the back side of the castle was vulnerable to attack.

View of the Rhine from Burg Rheinstein

Looking out a crossbow slot from the castle.

The main portion of the castle building was originally 3 stories taller than what remains.

Part of the castle seen from an interior courtyard.

The castle seen from an interior courtyard.

A large portion of the castle seen from a lookout tower.

One of the cool things about the castle is all the tunnels running under and around the ramparts.  You can explore many of these tunnels, if you have a flashlight.  Although we did bring a flashlight with us for Noah's entertainment, it wasn't bright enough to make us feel that we would have secure footing while exploring the caves with two toddlers.  We'll just have to come back when the kids are a little older.

Tunnels under the ramparts.

After exploring Burg Rheinstein, the kids were desperate for food.  St. Goar was surprisingly quiet for a holiday weekend (after we ate we remembered that there was a wine festival going on in the next town down the river) so we had no trouble finding a place to eat.  After lunch we explored the little town and then took a meander along the river so the kids could play and Doug could watch the river traffic, which has him fascinated any time we are within view of the river.

Church in St. Goar.

View of another castle across the river from St. Goar.

Catherine walking along the Rhine.

Yet another castle across the river from St. Goar.

View up a St. Goar street with Burg Rheinstein on the hill above.

Noah had seen one to many people walking past with ice cream cones so we stopped at an Eis (Ice Cream) Cafe for ice creams and cappuccino before heading home.  Poor Noah is going to have a reality check when we get home and he doesn't get treats every day.

Noah and his chocolate ice cream in a cone.

A toy car display in the window of a toy shop.  Noah badly wanted the convertible and trailer.