Europe,  Germany,  TDM,  Travel Journal

Along the German Rhine: Bacharach, Mainz, Worms & Heidelberg – Road trip Germany solo 2/2

After a few days spent in Cologne and Bonn, I continue my 3 weeks solo road trip in Germany, armed with all my computer equipment, my ginger shots and my moringa capsules. The goal: not to get sick, not to catch the coronavirus and to lead the trip to the end.

Note : to read the 1st part of my solo road trip in Germany, click here

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

This objective is very quickly called into question. In spite of my very comfortable Airbnb in Bonn, I really have trouble sleeping, it’s the anxiety that rises. On my Facebook thread, my Vietnamese friends are freaking out. Bad news is coming hourly. And after having written an article as long as my arm to reassure the French people present at the VN, I realize the extent that this epidemic is going to have on Europe. On the French and German sides, everyone is still quiet. There are two identified outbreaks in Germany, one identified in Alsace, everything is fine for the moment.

I rethink my itinerary and try a more cautious route: slowly go down to Munich, confine myself there and then join at the last minute the Airbnb that JB has booked for us in Vienna, Austria, where we will confine ourselves for good, even if it means losing my Berlin – Vienna plane ticket. Decision taken, I feel lighter all of a sudden.

Day 5: Bacharach

Bacharach is one of the most awaited destinations of this road trip. There are many villages along the German Rhine but Lonely Planet is adamant: Bacharach is the best. I arrive from Bonn by train, the trip lasts 2 hours (sit on the left, the landscapes are sublime) and despite my early arrival, I am given the ASAP room (it is superb by the way, in a hotel created in the 18xx’s, Rhein Hotel in Bacharach(Expedia link) 57€ per night). The village being very small, you can visit it on foot without any problem.

I’m desperately trying to find an open restaurant, but it’s low season. Most hotels only open their restaurants in the evening. I have to make do with things found at the village supermarket. I take this opportunity to warn you against the “sausages” sold here, it’s salami and it’s not good at all !

The weather is changeable, it rains, then it’s sunny, the more it rains… But when there is sunshine, it feels great. I try to show you only the pictures with a blue sky 🙂

First visit: Wernerkapelle Ruin: ruins of a Gothic church, erected in homage to the young Werner, found dead in 1287 at the age of fourteen. We do not know who killed him, but his death was used as a pretext to murder, one month after his death, nearly forty Jews… all this to take back in hand the wine-producing properties, which belonged to them. The chapel has now been destroyed and its ruins are there only to bear witness to a less than glorious past.

The church next door isn’t always open, I couldn’t visit the interior.

Continuing straight ahead, you will arrive at the Castle. If the interior isn’t fantastic (entrance is free), there is a terrace where you can have a coffee – facing the Rhine – in summer. And the view is really incredible.

There is a ferry to the opposite village – which looks very nice too.

If you are less lazy than I am, you can go to the Postenturm, one of the many old watchtowers. From above, you can take THE must-see picture of Bacharach, with the castle, the ruins, the church… on the same level.

The wine of Bacharach seems to be the local pride (I have not tested it, I do not drink alcohol), there are a lot of vineyards around, covering the whole hill opposite.

Walking in the small streets is really a delight. Everything is super beautiful, and there are almost no tourists in March. I just saw a bus of tourists, they go around the villages along the Rhine in one day and seem to stop only one hour in Bacharach.

I was very hesitant to take the ferry to go to other villages on the Rhine… coming here by train, I have already been able to admire quite a few villages on the way. I’m really in “low energy” mode with what’s going on right now. My article on the coronavirus has been shared everywhere and is very popular, I feel obliged to update it – but the information changes every 3-4 hours, which puts me in an extremely anxious mood.

Luckily the restaurant at my hotel is great, the food is perfect, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten something so well done. They fixed the heating in my room and I slept much better than the day before.

Day 6: Mainz / Mainz

I am leaving Bacharach with great difficulty, so well installed am I. After 50 minutes by train (stand on the left side near a window), here I am in Mainz, I leave my suitcase at the reception desk of my hotel and, excited, I run to the Guthenberg Museum. After visiting the excellent printing museum in Antwerp, I can’t wait to make my own impression at the Guthenberg Museum, which offers the service for only 5€. I already know which letters I’m going to prepare and how many prints I plan to make. The print collection here is larger than in Antwerp and I’m looking forward to finding out more.

In any case, the building alone clearly meets my expectations.

Look at this door with the print patterns:

Unfortunately, there is a small note on the door indicating that the museum is closed because of the coronavirus. The staff does not feel safe because the museum is very busy : ‘( I arrived 2 days late. A wave of disappointment overwhelms me, and I think back to all those tourists who are waiting impatiently for their vacations in Vietnam to find themselves with Ha Long Bay closed, Ninh Binh closed … limit driven out of their hotels. My disappointment is certainly incomparable, but makes me think a lot about the purpose of my trip here. What am I doing here? What is the point of continuing to travel?

St. Martin’s Cathedral in Mainz

I feel an urgent need to go to the Cathedral across the street to change my mind. People come to Mainz for the museum, but especially for this Cathedral.

I think I spent 45 minutes indoors, just enough time to calm down. Religious sites are always built on energy-laden sites, and I needed it. This cathedral has an unusual structure, with two choirs. The sculptures are absolutely magnificent. The austerity and the lack of oxygen are present, but through a door, one suddenly reaches a courtyard, lined with columns and vaults?

The small square in front of the Cathedral was full of people this morning – there was a vegetable market there. The facades are very colorful and very decorated, I miss this kind of facades, I had seen so many of them in Belgium, it makes me feel good to find them in Germany.

I will spend the rest of the day depressed in my hotel. More and more borders are closing for French nationals. It’s a crisis everywhere, my Facebook is flooded with alarming messages, I keep updating my article for the French people stuck in Vietnam, feeling helpless of what’s going on right now… Everybody is starting to worry about me. I decide to stop updating this article starting tonight, because it’s working too much and is ruining my trip.

Day 7: Worms

I arrived in Worms depressed. The only thing to visit here is the cathedral, which is right in front of my hotel room. The owner of the hotel is charming and lets me get the room much earlier than I expected. She takes the time to show me all her favorite restaurants. She has had many cancellations for several weeks and is uncertain about the future of her hotel in the following weeks.

I choose to have lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant. If I can’t go back to Vietnam, at least I can console myself with a delicious bun nem (the nems being homemade). In Germany, most Vietnamese come from the North so they cook very very well, unlike the Vietnamese in France who come from the South of Vietnam – and who put too much sugar everywhere. I’m a bit ashamed because since my arrival in Germany, apart from a currywürst, I’ve always avoided testing German gastronomy for the moment.

The Dom de Worms, the cathedral is surrounded by buildings, it’s quite difficult to take a picture of the whole structure, so I prefer to show you a picture of its model so that you have an idea of its impressive size.

The altar is extremely busy, but I like it very much!

In a park not far from the train station – and the cathedral – is Luther Monument, paying homage to Martin Luther. Indeed, during the Diet of 1521 in Worms, Luther refused to disavow his writings. Although he had already been condemned as a heretic and sentenced to excommunication, he was officially banned a month later.

The park is small but we can walk there quietly… Worms is a very picturesque small town.

My Airbnb in Heidelberg cancels my reservation, because I come from France and possibly carrying the coronavirus (even though I have been outside France for more than 14 days). The French combo + Asian head should not reassure many people. I also learn that it is Austria’s turn to close the borders with France. I still have a chance to join our reserved Airbnb in Vienna, but I don’t know how JB will be able to do it. All my plans are falling through… I am looking if I can visit the famous castle in the South of Germany before going back to France but it is closed too. I decide to return to France on Tuesday.

Days 8 & 9: Heidelberg

I arrive in Heidelberg on Sunday. It will be the last destination of my road trip in Germany. I decided to push to Heidelberg because I already booked an Airbnb here. Chance is right, because the city is next to two airports: Stuttgart and Frankfurt, and 15mn by train from Mannheim, from where a direct train to Paris Gare de l’Est leaves. If with that, I can’t go back to France…

I’m getting tired of moving around so much too. My Airbnb isn’t ready yet (cleaning in progress) and I am too tired to drag the suitcase with me on the paved streets. I quietly settle down at the local McDonald’s (glad I did it because with the confinement in France, no more McDonald’s for months) and wait for the check-in. Since my arrival here, I feel really uncomfortable. Some young people looked at me very badly, I feel so much hatred in their eyes that I must avoid taking the same streetcar as them, for fear that something will happen to me. I can’t explain why, but it’s just my intuition.

Once the check-in is done, I walk around in the streets and I am amazed to see so many people in the street despite the risk of contagion. Heidelberg is a city of students, maybe that’s why people don’t worry too much about the coronavirus. But the worst thing is that there are so many elderly people sitting quietly on the terraces of restaurants and enjoying the sun. No confinement is imposed for the moment, the German chancellor seems to be betting on a group immunity (contamination of more than 50% of the population which will develop antibodies and thus stop the transmission of the virus). The schools only close the next day so everyone still benefits from it.

The city center is huge but also UNBELIEVABLE! I don’t know where to put my head, it’s very very pretty, the buildings are more beautiful each other. At one moment, you can see the castle from far away. It is enormous and dominates all the city.

It’s a bit sporty to climb up to the castle, but the way is extremely pleasant, with views of the Rhine, the city and its pretty bridge. Don’t stop every 10 seconds because the view from above is even more promising. The ruins of Heidelberg Castle (Schloss Heidelberg) attract almost one million visitors from all over the world every year. Since the beginning of the 19th century, they have been a symbol of romanticism.

Access to the castle costs 8€. I strongly recommend you to opt for a guided tour (6€ extra) because by visiting alone, I think I missed half of it.

There is a building serving as a pharmacy museum. I quote: “The double gabled roof had been damaged since the explosion of the castle by the French in 1693 and was completely destroyed by lightning in 1764. Only the first floor was protected by a roof in the 20th century.”

Here you can find counters from the old pharmacies – and find out how ingredients and remedies were stored.

In the basement you can see giant barrels – so big that you have to take a staircase to see all the details

At the end you have an absolutely splendid view over the entire city center of Heidelberg, you can see the squares seen earlier, the cathedral and the bridge . Students are too lucky to live in such a beautiful city !

I walk to the bridge and find without difficulty the Brückenaffe, a statue (a monkey) holding a mirror and calls for self-criticism.

I end my visit when I get calls from all over the place: rumors indicate that Germany is closing the border with France tonight. I am so exhausted and so distraught that I decide to think about it later. I will keep my flight on Tuesday. At worst, I will take the train to Brussels and return to France with Thalys.

However, the next day, Monday – a rumor is circulating about the implementation of strict containment in France and totally closed borders. I have a hunch and can no longer stand by and do nothing. In the afternoon, I jump on the only direct train to Paris Gare de l’Est (which doesn’t even stop in Alsace, I don’t want the train to stop there because I’m afraid I’ll be quarantined alone in Alsace – another outbreak of the coronavirus). Luckily Heidelberg is only 15 minutes away from the city where the train leaves from. Until the last minute, I wasn’t sure I could go back. Even sitting in the train, the ticket inspector announced that it was a “professional train” and that we had to be able to justify that it was a professional trip. There are 6 of us: 4 French and 2 German. For the first time, the risk of being rejected at the border as poor illegal immigrants presents itself to us – and we are all in denial: “it’s not possible, we’re going home anyway”. We are so privileged with our passport – which opens the door to hundreds of countries, that it is unprecedented for us to find ourselves in this unpleasant situation. None of us know where to sleep tonight in Germany if we are rejected because we are all French residents.

I remember, when the quarantine was announced for Wuhan, millions of Chinese fled the city to return home. Many criticized them for spreading the virus all over China, but now being in the same situation, I understand all too well the state they were in. I, too, fled – even though I have much more information about the virus than they did at the time. I couldn’t help but join JB in Paris whatever the cost. I still had my 4 nights prepaid, 2 plane tickets bought – and I ran away. By some miracle, we aren’t controlled at the border (the border seems to be closed in the direction France – Germany but not the other way around). The train takes 45 minutes to wait for the French passengers who have been turned back at the German border – the poor people will have to turn around and get back on the same train as us – they will have made Paris – German border – Paris in the same day. Horrible! To see how JB lived this experience on his side, you have JB’s version in this article.

In short, my stay in Germany ended abruptly, but I was delighted by what I saw. The people were lovely, the cities were beautiful and I hope to have the opportunity to return soon.

Part 2: Practical Tips

Budget

  • Transportation (by train)
    • Bonn – Bacharach: 25€ normal rate (count -50% with Bahncard 50 2nd class)
    • Bacharach – Mainz : 10,15€ normal rate ( -25% with the Bahncard 50 2nd class)
    • Mainz – Worms : 11,4€ normal rate ( -25% with Bahncard 50 2nd class)
    • Worms – Heidelberg: 11,5€ normal rate ( -25% with Bahncard 50 2nd class)
  • Lodging :
    • Rhein Hotel in Bacharach(Expedia link) 57€ per night
    • The Niu Mood in Mainz(Booking link) 41,7€ per night
    • Hotel-Restaurant Kriemhilde in Worms(link Booking) 55€ per night
    • Airbnb in Heidelberg: 32€ per night
  • Visit :
    • Castle in Heidelberg: 8€ + 6€ for a guided tour
  • Restaurants: between 10€ and 12€/meal

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