Rheinfels Castle - St. Goar

by Katherine

          The seventh day marked our favorite day of the entire trip: good food, good company, and amazing castles! Neuschwanstein may be the most famous of the German castles, but to me, it's too touristy, the tour is incredibly limited, and it's too new to have a lot of history behind it, and beyond the picturesque outside, it's really not that cool looking. When I was doing research for our trip, the coolest castles were the ones in ruins. They looked really fun to explore and it's not about the decor, it's about the ruinous architecture. And so that's why we went to St. Goar, or Rheinfels Castle.

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          It was kind of a rainy day, which worried me, but it ended up only sprinkling occasionally once we got to the castles. I was immediately excited upon driving up to the castle. The area was so calm, too, very few visitors; it felt like our kinda place. Even the bathroom was super awesome, so make sure you stop in when you visit.

          The castle overlooked the Rhine River, making for very scenic views. You could even see two other castles while looking out from Rheinfels. Stephanie had actually been to the town before when they lite the castles along the river up at night, which she said was really cool. There are so many castles along the river, it's ridiculous, but these castles are way more interesting and way less crowded than the big, well known ones.

         The best thing about St. Goar was that you could literally explore all of the castle. There were maybe a couple of spots that were being renovated and deemed unsafe for exploration, but other than that you were free to wander about at your own risk. I had read that you could even crawl through the 3 ft high secret tunnels, but we didn't bring our crawling gear and a flashlight so we had to pass on that part. But still, the fact that crawling through tunnels is even an option was super cool. 

          Turns out you didn't even need those secret tunnels, there were plenty of other holes and passageways that were taller but still pitch black and possibly unsafe. I started climbing up a tower, expecting it to be blocked off eventually, but it just kept going. Stephanie had to get out the light on her phone so that we could continue walking, not knowing where we'd end up. And there were multiple places similar to that, and we were eager to find and explore them all.

          Most of the rooms from the castle were labeled with what they once were. You were given a map to help you on your self-guided tour, though the map doesn't point out the secret tunnels or hidden routes, so just go everywhere you can. The inside of the castle was beautiful with the ruinous towers and walls. There was even a little museum in the castle that gave the history of the castle and some information about castles on the Rhine River in general. Overall, this was a unique and very fun experience. Everyone was happy that I had found such an enjoyable and explorable castle.

Visiting Information:
          Cost: 4 € for adults
          Tour: Self-guided
          Time to Explore: 2-3 hours, longer if you crawl though the tunnels
          Opening Hours: 9am-6pm (March to October), 9am-5pm (October to Mid 
                                           November), 11am-5pm Weekends (Mid November to  
                                           March, weather permitting) 
           Tips: Bring a flashlight for exploring!