176. Europe Bicycle Trip-- Castle Stahleck and Leo and Mia From Brabant

I set up my tent and walked through the campground. The caravans with motors had to park in this paved parking lot.

I had supper in the campground restaurant and worked on blogs . I had this delicious dutch apple pastry and whipped cream and ice cream for dessert.

I continued my walk and went past this trailer for the Bacharach Ruderwerein (Rowing Club)

This is a beautifully handcrafted rowing shell.

I walked up to the main street of Bacharach to take a photo of the nice downtown with the Castle Stahleck looming above it.it The town of Bacharach is first mentioned in books in the 11th century.  It was important in the 12th century as a toll and revenue centre.  In the 13th century it became important as a transfer point for the wine trade, as barrels were offloaded herefrom the smaller ships that were needed to get by the Binger Loch ( a quartzite reef in the Rhine upstream near Bingen) and loaded onto bigger ones. From then on the wine bore the designation Bacharacher. The timber trade from Hunsruck was also important. Today the area thrives on tourism and the wine trade from here is still enjoying international popularity.

Castle Stahleck is a 12th century fortified castle in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley at Bacharach in Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It stands on a crag approximately160 meters  (520 feet)above sea level on the left bank of the river of the Steeg Valley. it offers an outstanding view of the Loralei valley.Its name means "impregnable castle on a crag"from the Middle High German words stahel (steel) and ecke (crag). It has a water-filled partial moat, a rarity in Germany. it was destroyed in the late 17th century but rebuilt in the 20th and is now a hostel.

Close up

Later in the evening, Leo and Mia from Brabant, Netherlands who I had met earlier had arrived back to their caravan from their bicycle ride and I stopped in to visit them. We enjoyed a nice cup of tea together and it was so nice to talk Dutch with them after being in Germany for over a week. I need to speak Dutch every day to keep remembering all the words. I got some extra duct tape from them to replace what I had used on my bicycles on my flat tires. I gave them my card and it was dark when I returned to my tent. It had been a long eventful day.