Beautiful Bacharach & Burg Stahleck – Rhine & Moselle valley, Part 6

This post is the continuation of a series documenting our travels to the Rhine and Moselle valley in Germany in the summer of 2024. We were now based in the beautiful town of Bacharach on the Rhine. We had walked up to the Postenturm to get the classical view of Bacharach and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the riverside park on our first day there ( Up the hill and down to the river in pretty Bacharach – Rhine & Moselle valley, Part 4 ).

On our second day we woke up early because we wanted to walk around the town when it was completely empty. We also wanted to walk the walls of the town which are now converted into walkways and even have cafes and restaurants adjacent to it. So walking the walls later in the day meant walking through the tables set on this already narrow walkway which wasn’t the way we did things.

We got ready and the early mornings of summer meant we had good light from 6 am which gave us plenty of time to walk around the town and walk the walls of the town without another tourist in sight. Bacharach is as close to a perfect picture postcard European town as I have seen – and I have seen a fair few by now! The half timbered houses, the cobblestoned lanes complete with old looking lampposts made it a photographers delight.

Picture postcard perfect Bacharach early in the morning

In front of our hotel – the excellent Altkolnischer Hof

We made it a point to go and admire the oldest building in town – The Altes Haus which is standing at this location from 1389! It has the typical architecture of the time and region with the ground floor made of stone while the higher floors were half timbered, in the ornate style instead of just being functional (A very un- German thing!).

The Altes Haus – the oldest building in Bacharach

We then walked back towards our hotel and went towards the walls. The walls can be approached at various points at this end of town via a short flight of stairs. We approached the walls from another tower called the Markt Turm or the market tower which had a pretty little well just below it.

The Protestant church and the Altkolnischer Hof in Bacharach

The well and the flight of stairs leading up to the walls of Bacharach

Truthfully the walls of Bacharach were not something that I would have remembered in a few years if it were not for the rows of swallows nests that were present all over the roof over the walls. It turned out that it was nesting  season for the bank swallows and there were chicks inside being fed by their parents. I waited at a nest and soon enough I got an adult swallow perched on the nest with food for the chicks!

Walking the walls of Bacharach early in the morning

A bank swallow on its nest on the walls of Bacharach

I knew that I couldn’t wait here for a long time that day since we had a day trip planned to the nearby town of St Goar and the ruined castle of Rheinfels ( Rheinfels Castle & St Goar – Rhine and Moselle Valley, Part 5 ). I would obviously return the next morning for some more photos!

We walked the walls till the next tower called the Crane tower or Kranenturm from where we descended the stairs back into town. We walked back towards the church passing some really funny metal signs for restaurants and cafes including a goat goring a seated patron in the rear!

An odd looking horned sculpture at the walls of Bacharach

The back lanes of Bacharach are pretty too !

The Kranenturm / The Crane tower – the most elaborately decorated tower in Bacharach

Notice the metal sign which has a goat goring the seated patron in the rear!

We walked past the Posthof where we had lunch the previous day (it was obviously shut this early in the morning!) and reached back near the protestant church. We still had some time to spare before we had to return to our hotel for breakfast before leaving on our day trip. The Stahleck castle above town was a bit to far to do at this time so I asked the better half if she wanted to go upto the ruins of the Wernerkapelle which was just a short hike up from near the church. She readily agreed and soon we were climbing the stairs next to the church till we reached the ruined chapel.

The closed doors of the Posthof where we had lunch the previous day

The protestant church and the stairs beside it leading to the Wernerkapelle

A view of the vineyards and the Postenturm from the path up to the Werner Chapel

We reached the ruins of the chapel which was a famous pilgrimage site from 1287 when there was first a church here till 1689 when it was destroyed in a war. It lay in a state of ruin till the 19th century when it drew interest because of being featured in various paintings by artists. That led to it being shore up and safety installations were put up as late as in 1996 to prevent the structure from collapsing. It was great to see the structure up close after photographing it with the rest of the town from the Postenturm.

The Werner Chapel ruins in Bacharach

The view of the town from the Werner Chapel

A local takes our photo at the Wernerkapelle

We then returned back to our hotel and left for our day trip after a great breakfast. We would return from St Goar and straight away visit the  Protestant church as it was the only site in town that had opening and closing hours!

The church as in most protestant churches was austere with none of the flair and decorations found in a Catholic Church. The mixed gothic and romanesque styled church was quiet as most churches are. We did our church routine of sitting in the chairs (there were no pews here) for some time before returning to our hotel which was literally next door.

The interiors of the Protestant church in Bacharach

We would pass the rest of the blazing hot summer afternoon in the comfort of our air-conditioned room before setting off again in the evening. We still had the climb to Stahleck Castle left and we didn’t want to miss the chance to see another castle.

We bought a gelato from the only shop in town and enjoyed it while climbing up to the castle. We passed the Werner chapel which we had seen earlier in the morning and kept on climbing towards the castle.

Enjoying a gelato on the way up to Stahleck castle

Stahleck Castle which has stood over the town of Bacharach since the 12th century. The present castle however like most castles on the Rhine is a 20th century reconstruction. Napoleon hated these castles and his  French revolutionary troops destroyed most of these castles on the Rhine in the 17th century. This one was blown up in 1689 which destroyed the Werner chapel below as collateral damage due to falling debris. It lay in ruins till the early 20th century when it was restored and turned into a youth hostel which is still running till date!

The walk up to the castle was a relatively steep one through the woods which we managed to do with minimum fuss. The castle grounds are free to enter and always open and we walked around the main courtyard and enjoyed the view of the town and the Rhine flowing below from this different viewpoint.

The arched gateway upto Stahleck Castle

Just inside the castle with the restored concrete path with modern drainage !

View of Bacharach and the Rhine flowing below from Stahleck Castle

The castle courtyard with the reconstructed tower at Stahleck castle

The reconstructed castle with a mix of modern and old structures

The youth hostel at Stahleck Castle running since the 1920s

The view from the base of the tower

The roofed over cellar converted into a viewing platform

The view from the viewing platform

It wasn’t possible to climb the tower or the walls without staying in the hostel so we enjoyed the windy courtyard for some time before starting our descent down to the town. We walked down to a courtyard called the Painter’s courtyard or Malerwinkel , which we hadn’t seen before since it was not seen from the Main Street. It was yet another pretty part of this town which had really impressed me a lot.

The wooded path from Stahleck castle

The vineyards and the half timbered houses of Bacharach

Malerwinkel / Painters corner -The far end of the town of Bacharach near the Wood Market tower

We walked out of this courtyard to find ourselves near the path up to the vineyards and Postenturm. I just glanced at the better half and she knew I wanted to go back up the hill again!

The Wood market tower at Bacharach

The view up to Stahleck castle from Malerwinklel

Never ones to avoid a hike with a view at every opportunity we went upto the Postenturm again. With a view like the one in Bacharach I could never get tired of it. That evening we were rewarded for our repeat hike with a beautiful sky that made the already pretty scene even more gorgeous.

Views over Bacharach from up or near the Postenturm

We sat and enjoyed the views for sometime before deciding that we still hadn’t done enough for the day and going back down to the riverfront park through the Marktturm yet again.  We reached the riverfront and found ourselves a big reclining bench to just sit and watch the river flow by.

Wild flowers galore on the path down to Markt tower

At the Markt tower going to the riverfront park

Back at the relaxing riverfront park in Bacharach

Sitting and watching the Rhine flow by at Bacharach

We returned to town after relaxing at the waterfront for a good hour to eat at what had by now become our regular haunt – The Bacharacher Pizzeria & Kebab Haus.

Enjoying the delicious Pizza and Ayran at the Bacharacher Pizzeria & Kebab Haus

It had been a long day filled with activity. We had seen 2 towns and 2 castles in what is called the Romantic Rhine valley and enjoyed it thoroughly. We returned to the hotel for our last night in Bacharach and slept peacefully.

I would return to the walls and the riverside park with the 300 mm attached the next early morning with the sole purpose of taking some bird photos. I would have a great time photographing the nesting bank swallows on the walls and the common birds in the park for a good hour and half.

Enjoying photographing the bank swallows on the walls of Bacharach

A female white wagtail

Stahleck Castle from the riverside with the 300mm

A greylag goose poses on the banks of the Rhine

A Eurasian female Blackbird looks for worms

A pair of greylag geese warily walk away from the dog

A blue tit poses for the 300 mm

A European Greenfinch poses in beautiful light

A male White wagtail at Bacharach

A European Goldfinch high up in the trees at Bacharach

An Egyptian Goose walks the riverside retaining wall

An angry looking finch at Bacharach

I returned to the hotel where the better half was waiting for me to return for breakfast. We had breakfast and checked out of our room and deposited our luggage at the hotel reception. We walked around Bacharach and went up the hill one last time before collecting our luggage and going to the train station.

The reception at the Altkolnischer Hof

Enjoying one last walk through Bacharach

It had been a great couple of days in this beautiful Rhine Valley town which had left us with some great memories. We were headed to the relatively larger town of Cochem in the Moselle valley where we would be spending the next couple of days. Whether it would live upto the high expectations set by this pretty little town is the topic for another post, some other time, some other day.

I have gone overboard with the photos and descriptions for this pretty little town but anything less wouldn’t do this town justice.

Till next time,

Tschau!

Bacharach view by a mobile phone camera