Celebrating Easter at Rheinfels Castle in the Rhein Valley
Easter weekend in Europe is a big deal. In Germany, Easter Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays, so it’s a 4-day weekend! There are lots of events, festivals, activities for kids, and family and friends gathering to celebrate.
We took advantage of the long weekend and returned to the Middle Rhein Valley to stay in a castle for the weekend. And what a fun and relaxing weekend it was!
THE PLACE TO STAY
We planned this weekend around staying at the Hotel Schloss Rheinfels. I’d stayed there one night in early January (and loved it) and both Mike and I had been there last spring to visit the castle ruins (but ot overnight that trip).
ABOUT RHEINFELS CASTLE
Rheinfels Castle is a majestic castle built in the 13th century perched on a rock above the Rhein. In it’s heyday, it was one of the largest and most powerful castles along the Rhein and managed to survive both the Thirty Years’ War and the Palatine War of Succession without getting invaded or destroyed. It was, however, blown up by French Revolutionary troops in the late 18th century, leaving behind the massive, impressive ruins now famous for their extensive underground tunnels and romantic, expansive views of the Rhein Valley.
Both self and guided tours allow visitors to access one of the biggest castle complexes in Europe.
I highly recommend visiting this castle. It’s impressive clock tower, amazing views, and historic charm are well worth the hike (or drive) up the hill and the 6 euro entrance fee (for adults).
THE HOTEL
This 4-star hotel is built within the historic UNESCO World Heritage site of Rheinfel’s Castle. The hotel has 67 rooms, suites, and apartments, and features 2 restaurants, a spa, and views of the Loreley Rock. The hotel is known for its medieval character and modern amenities.
There are rooms in the main castle, as well as rooms across the road at the newer villa building. We wanted to be in the castle with an outdoor deck overlooking the Rhine, so booked the same room I’d had the first time I stayed there. This Deluxe Castle room is about 24 sqm with plenty of space, a nice bathroom with bathtub and shower, and a large, beautiful outdoor terrace overlooking the river and the town/castle across the river.
THINGS TO DO
We had no particular plans on this trip. We just wanted to have a nice, relaxing weekend and enjoy the area – which is exactly what we did! We enjoyed the Rheinfels castle, good food, beautiful views, a boat cruise on the Rhein, time in Rüdesheim am Rhein, the hotel spa, and a medieval Easter festival on the Loreley plateau.
Boat cruise on the Rhein River - On Saturday, we took a boat cruise on the river. We chose a one-way cruise from Sankt Goar to Rüdesheim on the Asbach, a K-D boat. It was a great cruise. We loved the boat. It was spacious with multiple levels, inside and outside seating, service offering food and drinks, nice bathroom facilities, etc. And the crew was friendly and attentive.
Our cruise started in Sankt Goar and made 6 stops between there and Rüdesheim. We stopped in Oberwesel, Kaub, Bacharach, Lorch, Assmanshausen, and Bingen. We could have gotten off and hopped back on after exploring any of these towns but chose to stay on the entire way as we’d been to many of the towns before.
The views were fantastic and they did a little narrating about the history, towns, and castles along the route.
The one-way trip took about 3 hours on the boat (vs our 25-minute return on the train). Despite the time required, the boat is a fun way to enjoy the scenery in a relaxing, slow-paced way!
For more information on K-D cruises, check out their webpage.
Rüdesheim am Rhein – Once off the boat at Rüdesheim am Rhein, we did some of the typical touristy things this adorable little town has to offer. We visited the Drosselgasse, rode the cable car up to the Niederwald Monument and Temple, hiked back down thru the vineyards, and enjoyed a Rüdesheimer kaffe and a baumstriezel.
The Drosselgasse, in the heart of Rüdesheim’s old town, is a two meter wide and about 144 m long, cobbled street, which is visited annually by about three million people. It is lined with shops, taverns and restaurants.
From the Drosselgasse, we rode the cable car up the hill to the Niederheim monument and temple. It is a short ride floating over the vineyards to the top of the hill. And the views are breathtaking!
At the top of the hill, it’s a very short walk to the Niederwald monument and temple. The monument, built between 1877 and 1883, is an imposing 125 feet tall. It represents the foundation of the German Empire after the victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. The monument is topped by the 12-meter-high figure of Germania, complete with an imperial crown and the imperial sword.
The temple is a beautiful round columned structure overlooking the vineyards and Rhein River. Destroyed by Allied bombers in November 1944, it finished reconstruction in June 2006.
The panoramic view from the top of this hill extending far into the Rhein Valley provides a spectacular backdrop for photos.
We’d purchased a round-trip cable car ticket but decided it was a nice enough day that we wanted to walk down the hill.
Rüdesheim is known for winemaking, especially Reisling. It’s a beautiful walk thru the vineyards with views of the Rhein River, the town of Rüdesheim below, and the town of Bingen across the river.
At the bottom of the hill, we stopped for a Rüdesheimer Kaffe and a baumstriezel before heading to the train station to get back to the castle for our massages.
A Rüdesheimer Kaffe is a must when in Rüdesheim. It consists of strong coffee, Asbach Uralt (German brandy), sugar, a topping of freshly whipped cream, and is flambéed at the table. It is a highlight, attracting tourists visiting the region.
And the Art Café on the Drosselgasse is a cute café where we always stop and get a baumstriezel. A baumstriezel (or chimney cake) is a traditional, sweet, yeast-dough pastry, famous at German Christmas markets and originating from Hungary/Transylvania. The dough is wrapped spirally around a metal pole, coated in sugar and spices, and baked until caramelized. It is known for its crispy exterior and soft, hollow interior. It is so yummy!
Spa at the hotel – The Schloss Rheinfels Hotel offers a spa and admission comes free with your room. The spa includes pool, saunas, steam bath, sun garden and spa treatments (for an extra charge).
I had an anti-stress massage and Mike had a foot massage. Neither were our favorite so can’t really recommend paying for a treatment - but do go enjoy the pool, saunas and steam room if you have time.
Medieval Spectacle (Mittelalter Spektakel) and Knights’s Tournament at Loreley Plateau – While doing some internet research about what to do over Easter weekend, I found information about this intriguing event! We rode the ferry across the river to Sankt Goarshausen and took the bus up the hill to the plateau to check it out.
It was super fun! We were at the very top of the hill with a view into the Rhein Valley below. With over 60 stalls and tents with food, drinks, arts, crafts, games for kids, etc. There was also entertainment in the form of storytelling, singing, juggling, acting, music, and knights jousting on horseback! If you came dressed in medieval clothing, there was a discount on admission – and LOTS of people were dressed up! We even saw two people dressed in full armor!
We enjoyed walking around and checking out all of the things for sale at the booths, watching the entertainers, and having some food and drink.
It’s always super fun to engage in local events. I think we were the only people there who were speaking English!
WHERE TO EAT
alla Fontana - The day we arrived, we grabbed lunch in Sankt Goar (the town below Hotel Schloss Rheinfels). We picked an Italian restaurant – alla Fontana - that got good reviews online. It did not disappoint. The food was great. Mike has tortellini and I had a yummy salad with veggies and tuna fish.
Eiscafe Italia - After lunch, we had ice cream and coffee at the Eiscafe Italia on the main shopping street in Sankt Goar. It was great!
Restaurants at the Hotel Schloss Rheinfels – The hotel offers two restaurants. The more casual one is open from 12pm – 7:30pm and has a beautiful balcony overlooking the river. The main restaurant is open for breakfast from 7am – 10:30am and for dinner from 6pm – 11pm.
We did not eat at the castle tavern, The Landgrave. We just enjoyed an afternoon glass of wine and the view overlooking the river. They serve hearty snacks to tarte flambee to regional main courses. The view from the outdoor deck is amazing!
We ate at their more formal restaurant, Auf Scharffeneck, twice for dinner. It is beautiful with gorgeous views of the river and the castle on the hill across the river. The menu includes a coursed dinner option, as well as a la carte. The food is fantastic and the service is superb!
We also enjoyed the breakfast buffet at Auf Scharffeneck every morning (included in the price of our room). The food was tasty, with lots of options including a large assortment of breads, eggs, charcuterie, yogurt, cereals, fruit, and more.
Picnic on our terrace - The other night we were there, we picked up some charcuterie items from the local grocery store and enjoyed a beautiful evening meal on our hotel room terrace.
Restaurant Café Seilbahn – In Rüdesheim, we had lunch at this restaurant I’d eaten at once before. The atmosphere is awesome with a fun outdoor patio and the food is really good.
HOW TO GET AROUND
There are lots of different ways to get around in the middle Rhein. And we took advantage of quite a few on this trip.
Car – We made the 1.5 hour drive from Heidelberg to Sankt Goar so had our car with us. Getting around by car is easy and parking is relatively easy to find (although it can be hard in some places during peak tourist season). We ended up parking our car in the hotel parking lot for the weekend and using other means to get us where we wanted to go.
Train - There are great train options in the region. We rode the train back from Rüdesheim to Sankt Goarshausen. It was packed! But a great mode of transportation.
Boat cruise on the Rhein – There are many different tour operators and the boats run all the way from Cologne to Frankfurt. We chose a one-way cruise from Sankt Goar to Rüdesheim on the Asbach, a K-D boat. See more on this boat cruise in the THINGS TO DO section above. For more information on K-D cruises, check out their webpage.
Ferry – There are several places on the middle Rhein where there are ferries that cross the river, as there are only bridges at Koblenz and Mainz. One of the ferries was in Sankt Goar where we were staying. We rode the ferry after taking the train back from Rüdesheim and when going across the river to go to the medieval festival. It’s a great mode of transportation and took about 4 minutes to cross the river.
Bus – Buses are a great mode of public transport in Europe as well. We took the bus from Sankt Goarshausen up the hill to the medieval festival and back down.
Bike – While we didn’t ride bikes on this trip, there are great bike paths and routes you can follow to explore this region. When the weather is nice, consider biking as a means of transportation. We are talking about going back and taking our bikes!
SUMMARY
Easter weekend at the Hotel Schloss Rheinfels was dreamy! I highly recommend for Easter weekend or any other time you are in the area.
We love the middle Rhein Valley. For more information, check out these other blog posts from the middle Rhein.
A Quick Weekend Trip to the Rhein and Mosel Valleys in Germany
