Rheinland Pfalz

"Die Loreley" drew us to the two towns in the Rhine valley,
St. Goar and St. Goarshausen,
where we would find the rock on which she sat.
The two towns faced each other from across the Rhine.

The train station at St. Goar was small and rather dull, so we were totally unprepared for our first sight of the town. It was right out of a story book, quaint and charming. When we walked into the town center with the sun shining on the blue waters of the Rhine, I knew I was lost.

Without conscious thought, my actions that day were leading to an overnight stay at St. Goar. As we looked for a café to have a late lunch, half my mind was on the cottages and imagining how it must be like to live here. My appetite had gone into limbo and I could manage only a cup of coffee, as I was impatient to take the ferry across to the other side. St. Goarshausen, and begin looking for "the rock" and thus find "Die Loreley".

The ferry was full, mostly with tourists that included a busload of schoolchildren on a tour of Rheinland Pfalz. The last tour bus up to "the rock" had gone a half hour ago, so we took a cab rather than do a three-kilometer hike up the mountain. Finally we stood at the top of "the rock of the Lorelei", but the sculpture we found there was a different one.

It was beautiful up there but it was getting late and we have not yet found the Lorelei that we wanted. We were told that if we walk to town, we would see it before we were halfway there. Before taking that hike, we took refreshments at the "Biergarten" where I first tasted the delicious white wine of the Lorelei region.

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When he heard me as Rolf if we could buy that same bottle at home, the owner laughed and said that they export only the "mediocre" wines because they would rather drink the good ones themselves.

Going down the Loreleyfelsen was pleasant, with concrete stairs making it easy to go down the steeper slopes. Not seeing any form even remotely resembling the Lorelei sculpture, we began walking away from town. Big mistake! With tired feet and heavy hearts we trudged back to town. Suddenly, we saw something through the top of the trees in the sandbar. It was "Die Loreley", sculpted by a Russian artist who donated it to the town. She was beautiful even at dusk in late summer. She has inspired artists through the ages, but it is the German poet Heinrich Heine, who wrote a poem to her, that would always be associated with "Die Loreley". Friedrich Silcher wrote the music to Heine's poem.

We were too tired and hungry to retrace our steps down to where we could go down to the sandbar. Tomorrow I promised myself to be up early and visit the lovely lady. But then, I thought there would be no tomorrow because we have to catch a train to Koblenz for the first leg of the trip home. So, I quickened my steps towards the quay where there was a ferry about to leave in a few minutes. Rolf laughed and said there was only one thing to do and that was to stay the night. I thought he was joking, but he was quite serious, and my heart was filled with joy. We saw the restaurant with ivy-covered walls where we wanted to have lunch earlier that day but the tables in the porch were full. As we waited for our supper, Rolf had a brandy and, of course, I had a glass of white wine. Less than a quarter of an hour later, we were served a big plate of krakauer and fries and fresh vegetable salad.

Jägerhaus is a hotel/restaurant owned and operated by Giselle Heider and her husband. Giselle is a kind and handsome woman who used to be a barge skipper. Most of all, she bakes tortes and pastries that melt in the mouth. Her face looked so young with blue eyes that sparkle as she smiles. I think she is the most charming hotel owner I have ever met, especially when she brought me to her pantry so I could choose what I wanted, as she could not speak English and could not tell me what desserts were available. When she found out that we did not have even a small overnight bag, she herself went to get us toothbrush and toothpaste. Jägerhaus offers bed and breakfast, and breakfast was as exciting as the bedroom that I imagined was once a room in a hunting lodge, a "Jägerhaus".

Instead of taking the train back to Koblenz, Rolf gave me an extra treat that made our Lorelei trip simply perfect. We took the KD Berlin to Koblenz. At about 20 kmph, it took more than two hours to get to Koblenz; it takes less than an hour by the local train Koblenz to St. Goar. Who would want to speed down the Rhine anyway? The view along the Rhine made me wish we could one day visit each of those lovely towns.