Just Back from the Rhine on Uniworld SS Antoinette!

[acwmom]

We next crossed the bridge, seen in the prior post, went through the clock tower, and into the castle's courtyard

 

 

 

 

I'm always fascinated by the "gargoyles", there were quite a few human heads here

 

 

After seeing the huge wine barrel, we passed to the outer verandah area, which overlooked the city

 

 

[acwmom]

Our next stop was in the old town. We aren't big shoppers, so our goal was to find a beer garden, and enjoy a beer and pretzel. Mission accomplished. The view can't be beat.

 

 

Scenes from the old town:

 

 

 

 

 

[acwmom]

We left Heidelberg at 5:15. Not good from a rush hour traffic standpoint. We arrived back, and had our normal pre-dinner cocktail/beer. We learned that our new favorite beer was in short supply-only 4 left! (More on this later)

 

Our dinner menu tonight, my husband had the roasted duck leg, and I had the spaetzli.

 

First, the local baked onion pie

 

 

The spaetzli

 

 

The duck leg

 

 

And, dessert......the chocolate dome-oh my!

 

 

[helpmesailaway]

Acwmom - your review is fabulous!

 

I have just started to research river cruising and this is making me want to look no further than this exact cruise on the same ship

 

The food!!!! The sights!!!! I want to go now!

 

:)

[acwmom]

Acwmom - your review is fabulous!

 

 

 

I have just started to research river cruising and this is making me want to look no further than this exact cruise on the same ship

 

 

 

The food!!!! The sights!!!! I want to go now!

 

 

 

:)

 

 

I think the Rhine is a great choice for a first river cruise. I will say, we were very spoiled by the unexpectedly perfect weather we had at the end of March, but, I'll take it!

 

My favorite day of the cruise is coming up!

 

Robin

 

 

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[jpalbny]

Acwmom - your review is fabulous!

 

I have just started to research river cruising and this is making me want to look no further than this exact cruise on the same ship

 

The food!!!! The sights!!!! I want to go now!

 

:)

Second all of this. Robin's review is great, and you should definitely visit the Rhine on SS Antoinette!

 

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[helpmesailaway]

acwmom - I can't wait to hear about your favorite day - I'm enjoying them all!

 

jpalbny - I agree with you - we should go - as soon as possible!

[SuiteTraveler]

Really enjoying your review and all the great photos! The vinegar tasting looked amazing! How fun is that!

[acwmom]

My favorite day started with the arrival in Rudesheim. After breakfast, the two excursions for the morning departed. Most chose the Castle Vollrads wine tasting excursion. Since we don't enjoy wine, and love scenic views, my husband and I, along with 17 others, chose the "go active" hike from Rudesheim to Assmanshausen.

 

Though the brochure stated our journey would start with a short tour of Seigfried's Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments, it actually didn't. We started from the ship, and headed toward town. It was a short walk, and you can see the Niederwald Monument in the background.

 

 

A similar view, as we got closer.

 

 

The quiet, early morning streets of Rudesheim

 

 

 

We didn't have much time to see Rudesheim, nor did we see much more than this. Our trip to the monument was via open gondolas for two. These were featured in the Elvis movie, GI Blues.

 

 

 

[SuiteTraveler]

I love Rudesheim. We did the Schloss Vollrads tour in the afternoon which included a tour of the main rooms of the castle - really gorgeous and a history of the family. I had read about them some years previously in Vanity Fair magazine but I had not put 2+2 together before we arrived at Schloss Vollrads. Imagine my surprise to be standing in the castle I had read about years earlier (in the 1990's) when it had been Count Matuschka's private home. It is such a singularly amazing story, I want to share it with you. You see, Count Matuschka was the man who saved Rheingau wines and influenced the idea of wine and food pairing dinners which have become a hallmark in restaurants worldwide. Count Matuschka and his wife regularly held wine pairing dinners at Schloss Vollrads in promotion of the Rheingou wines. They influenced restauranteurs, distributors and retailers to carry their wines and taught them how to pair them with food so they could sell them to their customers. They invited everyone who could help in their cause and their dinners were legendary for both the location and the host and hostess who were such special people. Here is his remarkable story:

 

http://www.robert-temple.com/nostalgia/count_matuschka2.html

 

Tragically, Count Matuschka died in 1997 before he could fully realize and enjoy his great success. His beloved second wife had died of cancer and he had inherited a mismanaged estate near bankruptcy from his father and was unable to turn things around financially, so on the day the bank took over Schoss Vollrads, he took a gun and went to his beloved vineyard and committed suicide. However, everything he had ever imagined came to pass. Rheingau wines became popular again and wine and food pairing dinners spread far and wide throughout the world and are still popular to this day. Count Matuschka thought he failed because he lost the family castle, but in fact, he was a HUGE success who saved Rheingau wines and has influenced the world for decades in popularizing food and wine pairing dinners. He was a widely respected figure in the wine industry worldwide and very important for what he did for Rheingau wines.

[acwmom]

I love Rudesheim. We did the Schloss Vollrads tour in the afternoon which included a tour of the main rooms of the castle - really gorgeous and a history of the family. I had read about them some years previously in Vanity Fair magazine but I had not put 2+2 together before we arrived at Schloss Vollrads. Imagine my surprise to be standing in the castle I had read about years earlier (in the 1990's) when it had been Count Matuschka's private home. It is such a singularly amazing story, I want to share it with you. You see, Count Matuschka was the man who saved Rheingau wines and influenced the idea of wine and food pairing dinners which have become a hallmark in restaurants worldwide. Count Matuschka and his wife regularly held wine pairing dinners at Schloss Vollrads in promotion of the Rheingou wines. They influenced restauranteurs, distributors and retailers to carry their wines and taught them how to pair them with food so they could sell them to their customers. They invited everyone who could help in their cause and their dinners were legendary for both the location and the host and hostess who were such special people. Here is his remarkable story:

 

http://www.robert-temple.com/nostalgia/count_matuschka2.html

 

Tragically, Count Matuschka died in 1997 before he could fully realize and enjoy his great success. His beloved second wife had died of cancer and he had inherited a mismanaged estate near bankruptcy from his father and was unable to turn things around financially, so on the day the bank took over Schoss Vollrads, he took a gun and went to his beloved vineyard and committed suicide. However, everything he had ever imagined came to pass. Rheingau wines became popular again and wine and food pairing dinners spread far and wide throughout the world and are still popular to this day. Count Matuschka thought he failed because he lost the family castle, but in fact, he was a HUGE success who saved Rheingau wines and has influenced the world for decades in popularizing food and wine pairing dinners. He was a widely respected figure in the wine industry worldwide and very important for what he did for Rheingau wines.

 

Thanks for the story. It's always hard to choose between two excursions. We really enjoyed our hike through the forest.

 

Robin

[acwmom]

A couple of views from our open air gondola:

 

Just above Rudesheim

 

 

Approaching the top-you can appreciate the steepness of the hillside

 

 

Before we get to the Niederwald Monument, we stop at the Temple, and enjoy the view

 

 

 

 

[acwmom]

Our next stop was the Niederwald Monument, which was built in the 1870/80's to commemorate the Unification of Germany.

 

 

 

The views were similar of the river valley from here. At this point, we started our walk through the forest. Our guide told us that Germans cut down trees every 20 years, which is very different from the US. He also told us not to stray too far from the path.

 

 

 

We then came to a clearing of trees, which overlooked the Nahe River

 

 

We learned that Count Ostein invested quite a bit of money to turn the forest info a Romantic park, in the "spirit of Rousseau's 'back to nature' philosophy"

 

The views would only get better.

[jklc123]

Thanks for the photos of Rudesheim. We choose the Vollrads tour because we had foggy, almost rainy weather when we were on the same cruise so the view from up the hill would not have been nearly as beautiful as it was when you were there.

[acwmom]

Our hike continued through the forest/park to Count Ostein's next "creation," Burg Rossel. He had castle "ruins" constructed. There was never an intent for anyone to live here, it was built mainly as a viewing platform.

 

 

We walked through the "ruins."

 

 

Almost immediately below us was Burg Ehrenfels, and the Mouse Tower.

 

 

Another view of the river Nahe, with wind turbines off in the distance

 

 

And, in the other direction, Burg Rheinstein, on the left, and Burg Reichenstein.......three castles spotted, and we hadn't even started our scenic cruising!

 

[staceyk1]

Acwmom, Your post is wonderful and so helpful since we are on the exact same cruise on May 7th! Can I ask you a very silly question. Did the ship have wash cloths in the bathroom. I was surprised that hotels in Italy never had them so I usually bring little baby washcloths along. How about the SS Antoinette?

[acwmom]

Acwmom, Your post is wonderful and so helpful since we are on the exact same cruise on May 7th! Can I ask you a very silly question. Did the ship have wash cloths in the bathroom. I was surprised that hotels in Italy never had them so I usually bring little baby washcloths along. How about the SS Antoinette?

 

 

Yes, there are washcloths in the cabin. No need to pack extra. More pics in a bit!

 

Robin

 

 

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[acwmom]

Our last stop on our hike through Niederwald Forest was at the "enchanted grotto." The structure is approximately 200 feet in length, and ends with a gazebo which overlooks a man-made clearing. About midway through, there used to be a Merlin, which was naturally lit by a small opening in the top of the grotto.

 

 

 

Yes, we got to go through-very low headroom at the entrance, with a step down

 

 

 

To say it was dark inside was an understatement. We spaced ourselves out, so we wouldn't step on the person in front of us. There was NO light inside. We felt our way through, by keeping our hands on the walls. Finally, the "light at the end of the tunnel"

 

 

And, the view. Imagine Count Ostein's guests, entering the tunnel of darkness, being greeted by Merlin midway through, and exiting to this view......what an experience!

 

[acwmom]

As we finished our trip through the forest, we passed by the Niederwald Hotel. (well, the back of the property) There were some Roe deer in the area

 

 

We then started our descent into Assmannhausen, through the vineyards. The grade was quite steep, and the guide had us moving at a decent pace, as we had spent too much time frolicking in the forest:-) But, oh, the views!

 

 

 

 

 

[acwmom]

One last shot from the vineyards:

 

 

We had to traverse several rather steep steps, through a small cemetery, to get down to the streets of Assmannhausen. Here are a few pictures as we walked through. The shuttle bus picked us up and took us back to the ship, in Rudesheim.

 

 

 

 

 

Once on board, we had time for a quick lunch, before our cruise through the Rhine Gorge. It was "traditional German food" day. Sausages, pretzels, etc.

 

 

Robin

[jpalbny]

What a cool excursion, Robin! Too bad they didn't offer that when we were there. Though I will say that Schloss Vollrads was a very nice trip as well. Loving this trip and wanting to get back there some time soon.

 

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[acwmom]

What a cool excursion, Robin! Too bad they didn't offer that when we were there. Though I will say that Schloss Vollrads was a very nice trip as well. Loving this trip and wanting to get back there some time soon.

 

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It's nice to have options. This one wasn't a hard choice for us, others were.

 

We leave Rudesheim, 10 minutes early......that meant eating lunch a bit more quickly than planned, because we knew how soon the castles would start coming.

 

A last glimpse of the Niederwald Monument, and the Niederwald Temple, to the right, as we sail away

 

 

 

First up, Burg Ehrenfels, a 12th century fortress, closed to the public. Approaching the fortress-notice the steepness of the hillside

 

 

 

 

Remember the "fake castle ruins?" You can see them here

 

 

And, a close up of the Mouse Tower

 

[acwmom]

Next, we passed by the vineyards we had hiked through earlier. Thank goodness for switchbacks!

 

 

And, the village of Assmannhausen from the river

 

 

Next up, Burg Rheinstein. The castle dates back to the late 13th century, and was originally a customs castle. According to its website, it fell into ruin in the 17th century, and in the 1800's, it was rebuilt. It is open for touring.

 

 

[acwmom]

Our next castle spotting is Burg Reichenstein. This castle is actually now a hotel, and restaurant now. The oldest part of the castle dates back to the 11th century, was destroyed, and rebuilt. It changed hands many times. Initial restorations started in the 1830's. The current owners' family purchased the castle in 1899, and had it "rebuilt as a net-gothic English style castle residence." They lived there until 1936. It was returned to their descendants just 3 short years ago, and is now a hotel with modern features.

 

St. Clement's Chapel is in the foreground.

 

 

 

The castle complex is so spread out, I had to do panorama mode to get the entire complex in

 

 

[acwmom]

Our next castle was Sooneck Castle. Another 12th century castle, which was partially destroyed and rebuilt. It is now a possession of the state ministry of castles, and can be visited by organized tours. I include a couple of close-ups, and one wider view. As you can see, the Rhine does have some "commercial" businesses, which can detract from the view (a little)