One Last Stop and One More Castle

We started off the day, as usual, with a lovely European style breakfast at our hotel (the sixth hotel of the trip).  Before checking out, we ventured out into Baden-Baden one last time, as we hadn't done much exploring the previous day (aside from the baths).  One point of particular interest was a mandatory drink from the thermal mineral water fountain, Fettquelle ("rich water source"), which also feeds the baths that we enjoyed yesterday.  Supposedly the 105 degree water fountain has restorative and healing powers.  Matt was hoping that a drink from the fountain would kick the cold that he seems to be developing, so he made sure to take several gulps of the (disgusting-tasting) hot water.  We'll see if it works!  

After taking a few more scenic shots of the baths and town, as well as a quick visit to the towns Catholic church, we made our way back to the hotel to check out and get on our way. 

 Auf Wiedersehen Rathausglockel!

We hopped in the car and made our way (on the Autobahn...Matt was loving it) to our final destination: Bacharach!  The drive wasn't much for scenery, but Matt got a new speed record on the Autobahn at 106 mph - Yahtzee!  We don't actually think that the car will go any faster (at least not with all of our luggage in it).  Upon arriving in Bacharach, we initially wondered if we had missed the memo about the town shutting down for the winter.  There was literally no one in sight, and most of the shops looked closed.  In fact, the door to our hotel was locked and we had to ring the doorbell!  Luckily, our lovely host Fatima quickly let us in and led us up to our room for the next two nights.  The hotel is charming, in a "you're staying in the spare bedroom at your grandmother's house" sort of way.  It certainly meets our needs, and also affords a bit of a laugh.  Fatima is very kind and accommodating, so we're sure it will be great. 

Guten Tag Hotel Kranenturm!

After quickly ditching our bags, we hopped back in the car to head to a destination that we were hoping would have a few more people, the Burg Eltz Castle.  According to our Rick Steves guidebook, this is the best castle in Europe, so even though we have certainly seen our share of castles on this trip, we thought we couldn't pass this one up.  The 45 minute drive through the beautiful countryside of the the Rhine river valley went quickly, and soon we were at the castle parking lot.  After a 1.5 km steep downhill hike through the woods, we got our first glimpse of the beautiful Burg Eltz castle:

It was enchanting!  Burg Eltz castle is set in the middle of a forest and has been left intact for 700 years.  It is decorated and furnished in much the same fashion as it was 500 years ago!  We were excited to check it out, but unfortunately, when we made our way to the ticket booth and pulled out our credit card, we were informed that they didn't take credit unless the total was over 50 Euros (the tickets were only 8 Euros a piece)!  This meant that Matt (kind husband that he is) had to hoof it back up the steep incline to our car and drive to an ATM (which was an adventure in and of itself), then come back down the hill to tour the castle.  We were in a bit of a rush because the last tour was departing at 5:30, which was less than 2 hours away!  Luckily, Matt managed to make it back in time, albeit a bit sweaty, and we were able to take the tour.  The ticket vendor even took pity on us and charged us the student price, as well as giving us some cookies for our trouble.  We just wish that she had been nice enough to run our card to begin with!  Anyway, we got to tour the castle at long last.  Matt claimed that the tour was well worth the sprint that he made up and down the hill, so at least that's saying something!  Here are some pictures we took in the treasury and around the lovely castle grounds.

While Neuschwanstein Castle was certainly beautiful, this was a true Medieval castle that was actually used like a castle that you see in the movies!  The owners of this castle actually had the means to defend it (as is evidenced by their large collection of weaponry and armor), and they actually lived in the castle, unlike Neuschwanstein.  In fact, one of the current generations of the Eltz family members lives in a section of the castle to this day!  After completing the chilly, but enjoyable tour of the castle, we made our way back to the car to head back to Bacharach for dinner and some sleep.  On the way, we passed by a familiar scene...

I thought we weren't in Kansas anymore?

Dinner was enjoyed at the hotel restaurant with a meal prepared by Fatima and her husband Kurt, who run both the hotel and restaurant, seemingly without much help!  They were both gracious hosts, and the food was great too!  Now we are ready for a good night's rest before our final day tomorrow!

Gute nacht!

Love,
Matt and Kim