Blogs from Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Europe
Captivating Castles
Published: August 29th 2011Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate » Bingen am Rhein
August 29th 2011
CAPTIVATING CASTLES The Middle Rhein River Valley is filled with a series of ruins, Burgs, Castles and Kirches that capture the imagination as you climb to see them closely, tour those that are open to the public or view from a distance. Castles or Burgs can be 1000 years old and have ties to the royal families and have been destroyed and restored by private or commercial entities or used by robber-barons such as Soonack Castle. They can have a history of serving as a hiding place for treasures during wars in the 15th and 16th centuries such as Ehrenfels Castle or sitting in the middle of the Rhein River as a customs tower such as The Mouse Tower with an interesting legend attached to it. The legend tells of tight-fisted Bishop Hatto II (968-970) of ... read more
Across the Universe
Published: May 20th 2011Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate » Bingen am Rhein
May 20th 2011
Time is flying! As I sat down to write this blog I suddenly realized that we have ten days left of our European Adventure! I can hardly believe it. In the days since our last blog we've been from Austria, to the Czech Republic, and on to Germany where we finally settled down for a few nights. The city of Prague lived up to all of the wonderful things that people had told me before this incredible journey began. Compared to all of the "big" cities that we've been to so far, I think that this one was my favorite. It has just the right amount of "touristy" mixed with just plain culture. It just seemed like nobody was ever in a hurry, it was very clean, and it was very easy to navigate. The city ... read more
March 4th 2011
From Bavaria to Rhineland-Palatinate– February 24th to March 4th It’s always nice when the unexpected occurs, if it’s good of course, and I really did not expect to enjoy driving through parts of Germany as much as I have. From stunning natural sights like the Neckar Valley, to fantastic medieval towns such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber, it has been a pleasant and unexpected surprise. We started on February the 24th in the snowy town of Nesselwang, and have come north and then north west to end in Bingen, on the edge of the Rhine. The ice cold bottle of Becks is keeping me company as I struggle to see the computer screen, the sun is beating down and has been for about the last week. I had been told Germany was like Manchester, it could ... read more
Los castillos del Rhin romántico
Published: July 25th 2008Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate » Bingen am Rhein
July 6th 2008
El tramo del río Rin que va desde Koblenz hasta Bingen, es conocido como el Rin Romántico. Fue declarado patrimonio de la humanidad en el 2002 por la UNESCO y debe su nombre a que es un tramo zigzagueante del río, rodeado de pequeñas aldeas, castillos, viñedos y colinas. Nuestra primer visita fue a unos 5 kilómetros de Koblenz, el Castillo Stolzenfels. Es un castillo del siglo 13, que fue reconstruido en 1842 por el príncipe Federico Guillermo IV. Se sube por un camino zigzagueante rodeado de árboles y arroyitos. A mitad de ese camino se encuentra la iglesia con un pequeño cementerio alrededor. Un poco mas arriba está la casa para los criados y al final, luego de unos 15 minutos de caminata, el castillo, desde donde se puede apreciar el río, e... read more
La fiesta de la flor de Bingen
Published: July 25th 2008Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate » Bingen am Rhein
July 6th 2008
Nuestro recorrido por el fascinante Rin Romántico terminó en la ciudad de Bingen. Esta ciudad debe su nombre a Hildegard von Bingen, considerada la primera bióloga alemana, la primera médica y la primera feminista de la Edad Media europea. La ciudad de Bingen no sólo le debe su nombre. Esta monja emancipada fue también una intelectual que logró conquistar grandes espacios durante su retiro en un convento. En el monte Rubert hizo construir hace 900 años un monasterio benedictino. Allí escribió sus obras más importantes y concibió una nueva imagen de la mujer. Describió a Dios con atributos femeninos, algo revolucionario para la época. Convirtió las debilidades atribuidas a las mujeres en autoridad y luchó por la equiparación de los sexos en cuanto al castigo por los pecados. No tuvo reparos en pelearse... read more
Once Upon A Time....
Published: September 6th 2007Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate » Bingen am Rhein
May 24th 2007
In the fairytale surrounds of southern Germany, castles dotting the landscape amidst rolling hillsides of vineyards pointing towards the languidly looping Rhine, two beautiful maidens Cherida and Amy, met their kind and generous friend Dirk. A tour of the lovely town of Bingen was had, with spectacular sunset views and a scary dark tower (turm) where the tears of many a long tressed maiden could still be heard hitting the concrete floor. The trio shared a traditional German supper of bread, meat and cheese and told tales of past travels, enjoying the challenge of conversing in each others languages. Friday dawned and Dirk, the wunderbar tour guide, led the maidens through his sehr schon homeland. They explored the charming town of Bacharach, with its cobblestoned lanes and ancient houses cheerfully lopsided. They rambled over the remains ... read more
