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Soak up the scenery in Rudesheim, Germany and the castle district. A visit to Rudesheim is your next stop on a relaxing river cruise. It lies at the foot of the Niederwald Mountains on the Rhine’s east bank, near the Lorelei Mountains. The town belongs to the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and is one of Germany’s biggest tourist attractions. Only Cologne Cathedral draws more tourists. With an average of 300,000 visitors a year, try exploring this gem in the spring or fall when the charming hamlet is less crowded. Rudesheim is a picture perfect community, with tiny winding streets and ample shopping opportunities. Winter brings the Rudesheim Christmas market. Home of Europe’s biggest nativity scene, ogle life sized figures on display on the market square. If you need a little Christmas off-season, browse through Katie Wolfhard’s Christmas shop. Soar in a chairlift up to the Niederwald statue. Built in 1883, the statue commemorates Germanys unification 12 years prior. Your reward is a spectacular bird’s eye view of the town and the distant Rhine with its slopping hills awash in vineyards. You have to hear, and see Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum. Tour one of the world’s biggest collections of self-playing musical instruments. Enormous calliope’s look like they came straight from the circus. Their figurines pivot, instruments magically play themselves, and carousels spin, still delivering spellbinding magic. In the over 350 exhibits, melodies tinkle from the ivories, drums boom, and violins spin to provide a melodic glimpse into the musical past. Guided tours are available in 9 languages and the museum tour with music takes approx. 45 minutes. Fresh and hot, try a baumstreizel, the local dessert. Resembling a paint roller, this hollow tube shaped pastry is made from traditional yeast dough. Rolled around a wooden roller, the dough is rotated slowly over a heat source, and brushed with butter as it cooks. It is finished with another brush of butter and rolled in nuts, cinnamon, chocolate or sprinkles. Yum. Sample the local drink Rudesheim Coffee. Served in a specially made coffee set this concoction is a mix of locally Brandy, coffee whipped cream and chocolate shavings. It will definitely warm you up on a cold winter’s day. Known for quality Riesling grapes, this area accounts for 2.5% of Germanys wine production, with over 80,000 acres in cultivation. Another locally produced item, Asbach Uralt Brandy, is featured prominently in Rudesheim coffee. As you depart from Rusedheim and slowly cruise toward Cologne castles dot the landscape. This area is a UNESCO world heritage site, and part of the Rheine Middle region. On towering hills along the river fifteen castles perch along the bluffs.
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Linda Carter
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