We were originally going to head from Freinsheim across the South of France towards its Atlantic coast, but…Covid-19 happened.
Most of our winey traveller activities in Germany have been along the Weinstraße but there are lots more spots to visit for a tipple. Like the whole Rheingau. So, with a lot of the travel demand reduced in general and all regions of Germany back to school (whether in classroom settings or otherwise), the selection of Ferienwohnungen on short notice when all the relevant regions of France hit the Risikogebiet list was surprisingly rich. We picked out a Ferienwohnung in a former nuns’ home directly on the banks of the Rhine in Lorchhausen.
Truth be told: that area has nice vineyards for hiking, but NOTHING else going for it. Fortunately, our FeWo had very convenient parking and the house was about 200 meters from the train station (and about 10 meters from the tracks, so it kinda felt like being at home in Regensburg). We used all three modes of transportation:
- vineyard hikes and
- drives around the area
- rode the rails with an RNV day ticket
in order to:
- hit up a winery in Eltville-Erbach (buying directly from the vintner makes us feel extra cool)
- walk along and above the Rhine in various towns
- chill out in our FeWo with its nice Rhine views, watching freighters and a few cruise ships chug by
- seize the opportunity for a fancy lunch when it presented itself, but otherwise ate a lot at “home” in the FeWo
Making use of the vacation apartment’s kitchen actually was more conducive to trying local wines than you might think. If you’re driving around, you can’t sample as much as you’d like. And if you’re town-hopping via train, carrying bottles around all day kinda sucks. Best compromise: hit up the supermarkets’ local wine shelf. They’ll have representative wines you can pack in your car, enjoy that evening at your vacation apartment and the next day you can buy more of the ones you like the most.
After four days of mixed weather in the Rheingau, it was time to head south towards the Swiss border, for … EIGHT days of mixed weather. Stay tuned!
Sad that the weather didn’t cooperate better. Those views look spectacular!
Pretty countryside! Also I like the pictures with the two of you in them much better than the pictures just of countryside. Y’all are both super adorable.
Aww!