Munich – Rhine Valley – Amsterdam – The musings of an Aussie traveller

We only spent one night in Munich and on the morning of the 6th we stopped off at Dachau Concentration Camp on our way to Rhine Valley. We had 2 hours inside which was sufficient for a first visit, however I would be interested in returning and spending more time there. It was a very sombre experience. It is apparently a requirement that children attending school in Germany visit a concentration camp twice during their schooling years.

The weather today was very nice and it felt only a little colder than a Brisbane Winter which was unusual! Driving into the Rhine Valley region was quite an experience – there were so many castles and everything was just so pretty!

Baz told us some legends of the Rhine, one being about Lorelei, a feminine water spirit that sung and lured sailors to their death. Lorelei is the rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea, and is the most famous feature of the Rhine Gorge, a 65 km section of the river between Koblenz and Bingen. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there.

As we arrived in the town of Baccharat we couldn’t believe our eyes when we spotted our lodgings for the night. It was a legitimate castle! The inside was very nice with lots of stone passageways and an amazing view!

Our first stop on the 7th was a cuckoo shop then a Stein shop, both in the town of St Goer which is located on the Rhine River and is very close to where my ancestors descended from.

Castle spotting wasn’t particularly difficult along the Rhine…. there was a different castle to see every five minutes.

On our way into Amsterdam we stopped at a farm and were shown how traditional Dutch cheese and clogs are made. The farmer was a bit wild and was a good example of why people should take it easy in Amsterdam.

We arrived at the hostel late afternoon. It is the nicest hostel we have stayed in to date! We had a large room with bunks, shared between 7 girls.

Some of us had dinner at an Irish pub in the city which was very quaint, like all Irish pubs!

The rest of the night was very entertaining… Amsterdam style!!