World Adventure

Hello All,

We didn't get going until 12pm which was our late checkout from the ibis. Wanted to get  our money worth. During that  time I had decided that I wanted to go to the Rhine river as it was reasonably close. Unfortunately at that stage we found that the next train was not due for 1.5hrs but at least we could sit in the lobby and sneak onto their internet terminal while we waited. the schedule  was going to be tight but we fitted in a trip up the most spectacular region of the Rhine. It was quite spectacular with vineyards growing up steep hills, castles ruins on many peaks and barges slowly cruising along the river. We were impressed and headed back to Mainz to the hostel. Well actually not at Mainz at all. I thought that we just had to catch a couple of metros to the hostel but it turned out to be about 25km or 1hr away in the middle of nowhere and next to the train tracks. We got to the hostel. More like a traditional German inn. It was dim with two people playing backgammon at a table, a bar, Austrian hats on the hat rack and the stock standard deer heads mounted above the door. Hmm. The Russian owner enthusiastically met us and chatted for a while giving us lots of useful information such as "Mainz was where the gothenburg press was invented" but it just felt weird. I was glad we only booked one night. It turned out to be a nice hostel but I had found a better one along the Rhine. A hostel in a castle!!!

We caught the train early and headed to Bacharach and the castle hostel. I recognised it up on the steep hill and we found a track heading up to it and followed.It is  a 12th-century castle on a hilltop 500 steps above  the little village . The castle is called  Stahleck  castle and it sits amongst acres and acres  of vineyards which overlooks the Rhine. The goats watched us climb higher than they and the workers noted from the flags on our packs that we were Australians.. Luckily there was room for us. Actually the hostel was almost empty so we decided to take a room for ourselves and asked for one looking over the Rhine and the township. Wish granted. Even had packets of lollies on the pillows. The hostel was form the same group as the Luxembourg hostel and was somewhere between a hostel and hotel and we had a fantastic room for 45 Euros. Yes! A fair dinkum castle overlooking a walled town and we had the run of it.

We went for a trip along the Rhine again but in daylight. The Mainz to Koblenz train trip is spectacular and also good for a boat trip but we decided to just use the train. Do it if you get the chance.

The town of Bacharach is very quaint. A traditional German village. Most shops were either closed or only open for a couple of hours in the morning so we had the pleasure of walking from the castle along the vineyards and around the town without bumping into too many people. Then we walked back up the steep hill passed thee workers who were and are reconstructing part of the fortress walls and they obviously remembered us from the day before and asked if we were staying in the hostel.Probably thought to themselves tight arse Australia´s......

Next day. I went to Trier to see the Roman  ruins while Vanessa took a mental health day and rested  . The Romans were distant travellers and in the Rhine before 10 BC!

We stayed for 3 nights at the castle and could have stayed for longer. The Castle  was a bishop princes castle.

Good news. We spoke with our visa agent in Australia and we have visas for Russia and China. I spoke with them last night and arranged to get them sent to DHL Vienna. This should take a couple of days so finger crossed. We are just about on the critical path for heading into Russia but will attempt to get visas for Mongolia in Vienna. Good if it works otherwise we will just change our plans and enter China directly from Russia and head to Harbin.

Next day. We are now on the fast train to Vienna. Using our last day on our 5 day German rail pass trip. Started at 830am at Bacharach and our train change at Mainz was on time and we expect to be at Vienna by 522pm. So all day on the train. Hoping the conductor won't notice we have a german rail pass other wise we will have to pay a supplement each once we cross the border...

A little update on our travel to Vienna. We sat waiting to reach the Austrian border and expecting to get busted by the ticket inspector as technically our german rail pass finished at Passau, a town worth a visit. Vanessa had decided that it would be better just to pay and I was willing to keep on pretending but was willing to do the right thing. Once over the border a new ticket inspector came along and I showed him the rail pass and said that we needed to get a supplement. He looked at the ticket, nodded, handed it back, walked off and didn't return. Vanessa and I looked at each other in surprise. Oh well. So once he had identified us as having our tickets checked we just pretended that there was no reason to look up when he did ticket checking and he would walk right past. He came past again just after Linz looking. Vanessa was reading a travel ebook out aloud for me and I said to just keep on reading and she did, I didn't look his way either, so not didn't get any interest from us he just walked on past again. He has decided that we have a valid ticket to Vienna and we aren't letting him know any different having already tried to point out we needed a supplement.

We will be catching up with our friend Petra, and perhaps her friend Helmut, but have booked a hostel so she doesn't give up her bed for us again. Hostel is called Wombats. Very Australian! Hearings hoping  that they have vegemite .......unlikely
 
Bye,
David and Vanessa