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Bikes at the Mainz train station
Bikes at the Mainz train station We woke up well rested after our flight from Edinburgh, but a bit grumpy since there was no coffee ready and waiting for us. We quickly packed up our stuff and headed up to the gas station a local had told us the previous night had coffee. After getting a couple of so-so coffees, we decided to walk the 2 kilometers to the airport. It was a bit tiring, but we got to the airport bus stop about 10 minutes before the next bus to Mainz arrived. The bus cost 13.50 Euros each and took about an hour to get to the Mainz bus/train terminal. After a quick stop at Starbucks for some real coffee, I found a ticket machine and figured out how to buy two tickets to Sankt Goar, our next stay of the trip. We were going to take the 1:32 train after eating, but found out we could take the 12:32 train since the ticket didn't have a time on it. We got on the train, with plenty of seating and storage space available, and off we went. Strangely enough, we traveled all the way to Sankt Goar without anyone even asking about tickets. Maybe they use
Sankt Goarhausen
Sankt Goarhausen the honor system.
After disembarking from the train, we easily found our hotel, Hotel An Der Fahre, just a few blocks down the main street of this small town. Unfortunately, the reception desk didn't open for check-in until 2:30pm, so we walked back up the street looking for a lunch spot. We ended up picking the busiest place, Bistro-Cafe Goar. It took forever to get service, and when the food arrived, the tableware didn't. After trying to get a waiter's attention for a while, I ended up just going down to a street table to take tableware out of a basket on one of the tables. Fortunately, the food was much better than the service. Manoli ordered a bratwurst plate with sauerkraut and potatoes, and I ordered a cold plate with salad, bratwurst in a noodle shape with pickles, onions, and egg white, along with potatoes. Both dishes were quite good and with a apple cider drink the bill came to about 19 Euros. I gritted my teeth and left a one Euro tip anyways.
Since it was after 2:30 by this time, we walked back up the street to our hotel. The nice lady gave us a
Bistro-Cafe Goar
Bistro-Cafe Goar "tour" of the premises, showing us the back door we could use to come and go at any time, since the main door was only open certain times. She then escorted us to our room, pointing out the bathroom and shower that we'd have to share (oh well, still better in that respect than a hostel), and we quickly settled in. After stowing our gear and checking the TV for decent programming, we headed back out to reconnoiter. We did some shopping and browsing in the many local souvenir shops, then decided to hike up the hill to Burg Rheinfels, situated way above the town. It was a tough hike, but the view alone was worth it. Part of the castle is now a hotel and there is a restaurant, cafe, and souvenir shop around the premises.
After some strolling and photo taking, we walked back down into town to find a supermarket for Manoli to shop at and me to pick up a couple of sodas. Apparently, the only supermarket is across the river in Sankt Goarhausen, so I bought a Coke and a Mezzo Mix soda in the gas station. Mezzo Mix and a cola with orange
Lunch at Bistro-Cafe Goar
Lunch at Bistro-Cafe Goar flavor (I think), and tasted quite good. We do have a refrigerator downstairs which I fit one bottle in, but its mostly for guests to grab something, at a cost. The charge isn't that much, and they do have Cokes, water, beer and even wine in the fridge.
From the gas station, we strolled back down the main street, enjoying the scenery and looking for the supermarket we thought the gas station lady said was at the end of the main road. I guess either she misunderstood or we did, because we reached the end of town without seeing a supermarket. Oh well, it was a nice stroll anyways. On the way back, we stopped to grab a bratwurst fast food dish and a coffee to sit by the river and enjoy. Afterwards, we returned to the room to relax. Tomorrow we have tickets for the KD Rhine river cruise, so we'll see how that goes.
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