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Germany

Wine Travel

Two Nights in Bacharach: Wine Travel in Germany

September 12, 2016
A wine tasting flight at Weingut Karl Heidrich in Bacharach, Germany.

I discovered Bacharach on a travel forum, where it was described as a slightly less touristy option for wine travel in Germany. Inspired by our discovery of Bernkastel-Kues in 2013, I made it the first stop of our epic German travel adventure this July. It did not disappoint.

Bacharach lived up to its billing as a traditional German wine town that, while full of things to discover, was not so packed with summer tourists as to make exploring stressful. It had all the charming nuances and stunning vineyard views I love about Germany and two nights was more than enough time to fully explore the area.

Bacharach is full of fabulous traditional buildings!

Day 1 in Bacharach:

Wine tasting at at Weingut Karl Heidrich in Bacharach, Germany.We arrived early after our flight and an hour’s drive from Frankfurt airport (the train is also an easy and central option), and well before we could check into our hotel, the charming Hotel Am Markt, which is a lovely gem located in the centre of town. We spent our time before check-in exploring the nearly empty town and then walking up to the Burg Stahlek to take in the stunning views. This trail is great for those who want to enjoy an activity that combines physical fitness and local history with breathtaking vineyard views.

The rooms at Hotel Am-Markt in Bacharach are comfortable and clean.After a quick snack, we checked into our spacious, clean and comfortable room at Hotel Am Markt (note there’s no elevator, if that’s an issue for you), took a quick nap and then headed out again to enjoy some of the local charm.

The Riesling gelato at Italia-76 Eiscafe is a can’t miss for wine lovers and something I’ve only ever seen in Bacharach. The family who runs the store is lovely and they also make a rose gelato that is so unique and flavourful. The small portions of a one scoop cone is easily walked off by a walk along the Rhine or an afternoon strolling the cobblestone streets. I love how not everything is super-sized in Germany, making it easy to enjoy small indulgences.

Sampling the local wine is a must-do and we settled in to taste a flight of trocken (dry) wines from Weingut Karl Heidrich. Their adorable patio was so relaxing that we visited twice during our stay and were impressed both times by the service and the wines. Our flight came in traditional Mosel-style glasses, which aren’t ideal for swirling and sniffing, but we opted to make this a relaxing travel adventure and not a structured tasting. We purchased our favourite wine from the flight, the 2015 Riesling Spatlese, as most of the local wineguts offer bottles for sale as well as lunch and/or dinner menus.

 

Pasta a la Bacharach at Hotel Am-Markt is named after the quaint town!For dinner, we returned to our hotel and Hotel Am Markt filled our bellies with delicious German cuisine. I had the pasta ala Bacharach (spaghetti in mushroom sauce) with a glass of local Riesling and Shawn had the schnitzel with a Fruh Kolsh beer. Both were very good and it was lovely to enjoy a summer evening on the outdoor patio.

It was an early night for us after a long travel day, but many of the beer gardens stay open until 11 or so on the weekends, if you want an evening out. Keep in mind that this is definitely not a late-night hot spot, but I suspect if you’re visiting a tiny German wine town that isn’t what you’re looking for.

The Rhine River as seen from Bacharach, Germany.Day 2 in Bacharach

I started my morning with a run along the Rhine, with fantastic views of the river and the vineyards. I had the path along the water practically to myself and it was a great way to start the day.

Afterwards, we opted to take a Rhine cruise, which is easily done from the waterfront. We went from Bacharach to St. Gore and back, which took about 45 minutes on the way there and an hour on the way back, due to the currents. In retrospect, I would have liked to take the train to a city a few stops ahead of Bacharach on the route in order to see more of the region. It really is magical to see from the boat tour and with drinks, snacks and full meals available on board, it’s easy to cruise for hours if you’d like.

St. Gore is another charming town similar to Bacharach, but we found there was less to do. We enjoyed visiting an artisanal beer stein emporium and marveling at their amazing creations and had a lovely walk around their old town before heading back to Bacharach on the next boat (depending on the timing, they run once an hour or so, but sometimes they skip an hour so be mindful of how much time you want to spend in a place).

Discover delicious flammkuchen in Bacharach, Germany.Back in Bacharach, we spent more time exploring the town and then had some of the best flamkuchen ever on the patio at Postof Bacharach. While the town isn’t huge, there are lots of small local wineries to explore and several interesting shops. After a glass of wine on the patio at Weingut Karl Heidrich, we headed back to the hotel for another early night, fully charmed by this wonderful wine town.

Have you been to Bacharach? Share your travel tips in the comments below or on social!

 

Food & Wine

A Wine Blogger at Wacken Open Air

October 21, 2015
Wacken Open Air Mudfighters T-Shirt
Shawn and I earned our shirts at WOA.

Being married to a heavy metal musician makes for an interesting conversation starter, but it also means that once a year I become a heavy metal widow when Shawn flies to Germany to spend a week at the world’s biggest heavy metal festival: Wacken Open Air (WOA). Spending several days camping with more than 80,000 metal fans is not my idea of a good time, but for my husband it’s the pinnacle of his year. When, in 2014, he wrote the 25th anniversary theme song for the festival (listen to it here) and got to perform on the main stage, I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of his life (wedding be damned).

Sunset over Wacken Open Air
Enjoying the sunset over Wacken.

So when Shawn scored a room for two on the MS Wacken Boat Hotel, a floating hotel moored just a few minutes from the festival grounds, I decided to take the plunge and find out why my husband loves this festival so very much. First, some background, while I like some of the more melodic metal bands, I’m not a huge metalhead. And camping is pretty much the thing I like least in the world. So WOA and I were not made for each other.

Rainy day at Wacken
Warming up with tiny Jäger on a cold and rainy day

Oh, and then there’s the whole lack of wine. We had spent a week in Europe ahead of Wacken and I was primed to enjoy even more of Germany’s finest, except there wasn’t much of that to choose from. In fact, the only wine on offer seemed to be mead (I still haven’t acquired a taste for that) or fruit wine (maybe in small doses).  This didn’t seem to bother most of the attendees, as one thing heavy metal fans (in particular those in Europe) are known for, is their love of beer. And it certainly flows at WOA. But I’m not a big beer fan, so I went with the only other option easily available to me – Jägermeister.

You remember Jäger, right? It’s the black licorice flavoured liquor you may have done shots of in your university days, but you probably haven’t thought much about since. Well, in Germany Jägermeister is extremely popular. It was one of the festival sponsors and readily available in the camping area, the town of Wacken and on the festival grounds. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t walking around downing Jäger shots all day, but it turned out to be a really nice option throughout five days of mud, cold, rain and metal.

Mud at Wacken Open Air
Where did our feet go?

And, here’s the thing, despite being the muddiest WOA in recent memory (seriously, ankle deep at all times, calf deep in places), I had a blast with my husband.  I’ve never been so happy to have a pair of Walmart rubber boots, but the overall vibe at WOA is just so positive and engaging that I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. The shows were spectacular, even the bands I wasn’t especially interested in put on impressive performances, and the festival is full of things to see and do even if you don’t want to spend all your time watching the multiple shows happening throughout the day.

Store at Wacken Open Air
One of the many Wacken Stores in town.

There’s a Viking village, a Mad Max style village and the entire town of Wacken shuts down to create a WOA party in the streets with bars and shops set up on just about every front lawn. The 80,000 people who descend on the town are pleasantly toasted most of the time, but so very positive and polite. I saw no fights, no aggression and I didn’t even have people knocking into me all the time like at shows in Toronto. Sports fans could learn much from these lovely, muddy people.

MS Wacken Boat
The welcome sign at the boat hotel.

Having a room on the boat is what made this really work for me. Camping in the mud and rain would likely have put me in a miserable mood, but the M.S. Wacken was a warm, dry space to come back to each night. Our room was tiny (we had bunk beds!), but it was clean, dry and cozy. There was a bar on the ship where we could hang out when we weren’t heavy metaling and the staff was absolutely fabulous. If we could afford it, I’d happily go back to Wacken again if staying on the boat was an option. Really, even though I cannot stress enough how much mud I dealt with over the course of five days, I would still go back. Because WOA is such an incredible experience and I had a fabulous time doing something completely outside my comfort zone.

Amorphis at Wacken Open Air
Watching Amorphis with so many people was a lot of fun!
Milkshakes at Wacken Open Air
Spiked milkshakes – these were beyond delicious.

And Jägermeister was part of that. It’s not something I would have chosen before this trip, but I ended up really enjoying the flavour, and it came in handy as a tipple on the colder days. When you’re completely freezing (I had on jeans,
double socks, a tank top, a t-shirt, a light hoodie and a heavier hoodie at some points, and I was still cold), a shot of Jäger is actually pretty warming. I also credit it for keeping me from getting sick in all that wet, cold weather. I stand by the theory that alcohol in moderation can stave off a cold. It certainly seemed to in this case.

While I didn’t indulge as much as some folks, I’m glad I had a little bit of liquid courage to get me through the rougher points of an outdoor festival with weather challenges (thankfully the last day was really warm and sunny), and I’m glad I got to rediscover Jäger as an adult. When we got home, Shawn and I picked up a bottle and we’ve been experimenting with cocktails and other ways to enjoy this spirit.

Mud at Wacken Open Air
Shawn strikes a pose before the crowds descend.

And, no, it doesn’t fit into my newly sugar-free lifestyle (there is some added sugar). However, I have declared it a worthy “cheat” option once in a while and when paired with sugar free mixers.

In honour of my big once-in-a-lifetime experience, I asked the amazing people at Jägermeister Canada if they would provide some cocktail recipes, which I wanted to share here.

While I will forever have memories of Jäger attached to my heavy metal adventure, it made me want to remind my readers that this is a surprisingly versatile addition to your liquor cabinet that pairs well with much more than metal.

Some more stylish ways to experience Jägermeister.

 

http://www.jagermeister.ca/en-ca/home/

 

http://www.jagermeister.ca/en-ca/home/

 

http://www.jagermeister.ca/en-ca/home/

Have you ever had a Jager cocktail? Or rediscovered a drink on one of
your travel adventures? Share your thoughts in the comments or on
social.