Hey guys, welcome back!
Today I'm taking you on one of Germany's most beautiful train journeys.
This regional train stretches along the river Rhine.
Riding past old German castles, vineyards and impressive rock formations.
Our journey starts in the western city of Cologne
and takes us all the way to the medieval city of Mainz,
Germany's wine capital!
As well as spectacular scenery,
there are many myths and legends associated with this stretch of landscape.
Some of which, in true German fairytale fashion, are pretty gruesome.
So are you ready? Let's go!
Before we hop on board in Cologne, let's take a look around the city.
The cathedral is the first thing you see when you arrive in the city by train.
This magnificent work of high gothic architecture is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
You can get a great view of the city from the Hohenzollern Bridge,
which overlooks the river Rhine.
Alright, let's go catch our train!
That's our train!
...and we're off!
Very important tip: you should sit on the left-hand side of the train
so you'll get all of the best views of the river Rhine.
The Rhine is a lifeline and an important transport route through Europe.
On its way to the North Sea, it flows through 6 countries.
Tourists from all over the world come to this part of the Rhine
to explore the fairytale castles and villages here.
The journey from Cologne to Mainz takes about 3 hours,
if you ride the whole way without stopping.
Several trains run the route every day and tickets start at around 20 euros.
Our first stop is Saint Goar, to see the Loreley.
This massive rock is associated with an old German legend,
which was immortalised by German poet Heinrich Heine,
making it globally famous. It's also symbolic of the
so-called Rhine Romanticism, which honours the landscape and culture of this area.
I'm heading to a restaurant which overlooks the Loreley to find out more about its story.
- Hi. How are you? - Hi, I'm good, thank you. How are you?
- Fine. What can I do for you? - I would like to try the Schnitzel here, please.
- Okay. That's a very good decision. Thank you very much.
And since we're here and we have such a beautiful view,
maybe you can tell me why the Loreley is so famous.
Of course, this is a long history. Because the Lorelei, she was a maiden and she was sitting on
the top of the Lorelei rock, what you can see here. And she was doing her golden hair with
a comb and she was singing songs and, you know,
like you see here, the ship and the fisherman, they would come by here
and they are looking up to her because she is a maiden and she's
very beautiful. And then because they're just looking up, they don't look on to the Rhine river.
And there were many, many big rocks in the river.
And then suddenly they crashed into them and their ship sunk.
And I take it that's a legend more than actual fact.
Of course it's a legend. We have to say that.
But the legend is because this is the deepest and the thinnest point
on the whole Rhine River. And in this point here,
there was many, many accidents in the past.
Nowadays, it's much safer of course.
So I can eat my lunch in peace and enjoy the view –
no glimpse of a golden haired maiden today though...
And while we're here, let's take a look around the area.
It's thought that the nearby town of St. Goar here
was actually settled in order to help treat injured sailors
who couldn't navigate the narrow waters
and whose boats had been shipwrecked.
It's part of the Middle Rhine Valley – which is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
So it's difficult to catch them from the train but this is just one of
dozens of castles along this whole stretch. Super cool!
Oh my goodness. This is how you know we're in wine region.
Obviously, I have to try the riesling wine ice cream!
Okay. let's hop back on board and see what else the journey has to offer!
My next stop is just 20 minutes away – Bingen.
I want to see the famous Mäuseturm here.
Let's head down to the water's edge to get a closer look.
We should find another old castle ruin here and a tower in the middle of the river.
So here you can see Ehrenfels castle.
And on this side there is the Mäuseturm or Mouse Tower.
And it got its name from an old folk tale.
Legend has it that a cruel ruler, Hatto II. oppressed and exploited his peasants.
They grew angry. But before they could rebel, Hatto devised a cruel trick.
He promised to feed all of the hungry people and told them to go to an empty barn.
But then he locked the doors, set the barn on fire
and burned them all alive, shouting: 'Hear the mice squeak!'
When he returned to his castle, he was immediately besieged by an army of mice.
He fled to his tower in the river, hoping that the mice wouldn't follow.
But of course they did.
They crossed the river, reached the island, ate through the tower's doors
and then ate the cruel ruler – alive!
Didn't I say they were some gruesome stories on this journey?
Back on board for the final stretch of the trip!
I can't believe how much there is to see here on such a short regional journey.
It's definitely the most beautiful stretch that I've seen in Germany. Wouldn't you agree?
Finally, we've arrived in Mainz!
Mainz is about an hour outside of Frankfurt,
and it's one of Germany's oldest towns. It has a beautiful old town full of old,
half-timbered houses. But the main landmark here is the Mainz cathedral.
This marvellous work of architecture from the Middle Ages
was built over a 1,000 years ago.
But the city is perhaps most famous for its wine!
There are hundreds of independent wine growers, makers and sellers here.
This local wine bar is run by Bas van Gijzen, a wine professional from the Netherlands.
- Hi Hannah, how's it going? - Hey, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, likewise. I'm happy that you made it.
- Me too. After our long trip.
- How was the train ride? - It was beautiful. We saw lots of vineyards.
So now we're here to try some of the wines.
Now you're in the wine capital of Germany.
- Exactly. - In our small and cozy wine bar, Laurenz.
So maybe you can already recommend what kind of local wine that we should try.
Yeah, definitely. We're out here in Rheinhessen,
which is actually the largest growing area here in Germany.
And, yeah, by distance, there's one wide grape variety, that is the most important one,
which is Riesling. It's almost like in all growing regions in Germany,
but especially here in Rheinhessen.
So as I told you, Hannah, Riesling, it is.
It's a dry Riesling. And I definitely want to show you this wine, because I'm kind of very proud of it.
So let's have a cheers. Cheers to that.
Very nice.
So why is this region actually so famous for its wine?
We're in the middle of two very important growing areas.
And a lot is going on over here. A lot of new young winemakers.
And this is why Mainz is one of the wine hotspots here in Germany.
And since we've just done this beautiful train journey, I have to ask you,
how do you like the region?
There's wine everywhere. Everyone drinks wine from young to old people.
You have all those wine festivals, a lot of like wine bars.
We're not the only wine bar here in Mainz. And you have them everywhere.
There's just wine everywhere. If I drive, like in a proximity of, like, one hour,
I can almost visit all the German top growing areas, top wineries,
which makes it just a very, very interesting place to live.
Yeah, and that's why there are so many amazing wines.
Yeah, definitely.
A nice glass of wine is just the perfect ending to my trip along the Rhine.
I hope you had as much fun on the journey as I did.