Rhine River Valley: Castles Galore! (Part 2)

We visited Fortress Reinsfels.
What remains of Fortress Reinsfels are just ruins, but there is also a hotel and a restaurant overlooking the Rhine. The Fortess was built circa 1245 as count Katzenelnbogen's residence and center of cultural life in the region. Two hundred years later expanded as a fortress. In 1692 it resisted the troops of King Louis XIV. In 1794 it fell to the French Revolutionary Army that blew it up. Today it is a property of the City of St. Goar.




From Reinsfels we can see Castle Maus (the one that has the eagles show)














Fortress Reinsfels

We enjoyed a typical German lunch overloking the Rhine River Valley ...

... and the town of St. Goar.

This picture shows Schonburg Castle. Built in the 12th century it is today a hotel. We tried to stay there but it was booked solid for over months ahead.

Another Castle that we saw from far away was Castle Sooneck. It was built in the 11th century. Unfortunately, it was closed that particular day.

One would need over a week to visit all castles and fortresses in this narrow strech of land. We managed to visit just few of them. The whole experience of driving along the two banks of the Rhine already pays off since at every turn a new castle can be seen or just seen in a different angle. The picture below shows the ruins of Furstenberg Castle.

There are also several tunnels with its outside looking like the entrance of a fort.

Another one seen from the road. This on is Stahleck Castle.

The Toll Station Pfalzgrafenstein, seen below, was buit in 1327 and used until 1866. At this location, Prussian Field Marshal Blucher crossed the Rhine in his way to meet Napoleon in Waterloo.

Sometimes, two castles can be seen side by side. The picture shows Castle Sterrenberg and Castle Liebenstein.

One last thing. We slept in a small hotel in the town of Ingelheim. There, we had a very nice dinner in the hotel's restaurant (located in a different building). The main dish there is celery. I was reluctant to eat celery but accepted as a cultural experience. Well, it paid off. I could neve imagine that celery could taste so good. And the size of the celery is also different. They are bigger than the ones we have in Canada. And the sauce was fastantic!