Oberwesel Germany: Home of the Wine Witch

Oberwesel, Germany and the Wine Witch

A short stop on my Off the Beaten Track tour 
in Germany, but one I am so glad I did

The trip from Koblez to Oberwesel went too quickly.  Although I love train travel in Europe, I would trade a train for a boat on a German river anytime!

photo from http://www.loreleyvalley.com/oberwesel-rhine/index.html

The boat stopped at most of the towns we passed picking up local residents and at one stop a large group of tourists.   

I almost missed viewing the Lorelei since my stop was next and the boat does not linger.  

We had just passed the famous Lorelei and in a few minutes were docking at Oberwesel.  A hike and tour of the Lorelei, overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage designated part of the Rhine river, is on my list for another visit.  Our captain was not distracted by any 'siren calls'  and we arrived safely.  

Oberwesel:  
Disembarking from the White Boat I was only a few steps from the main square when I arrived.     The well kept half timbered houses tucked between larger stone or brick buildings were just as I imagined a German town should be, or an impression left over from a movie set.   I was completely charmed.

Every town I visited on my Off the Beaten Track adventure was steeped in history.   Far more events, invaders, treaties and wars than I could fit into my head on my short day trips.   But it was not difficult to absorb the feel of a town, meet some of the locals and understand a little of their traditions.

Oberwesel was a walled city in the middle ages with more than the surviving 16 watch towers that protected the town from all foes.    The renovated sections of the walls are a perfect vantage point to view the city and the surrounding vineyards or enjoy a 'city' hike.

If you look up you will see row upon row of grape vines ascending the hill to the imposing Schonburg Castle.  The original building dates from the 12th century.  Today the castle houses a luxury hotel as well as a youth hostel. 

The castle complex.  Photo from www.loreleyvalley.com/oberwesel-rhine/index.html

A short walk from the central square where many festivals and events are celebrated each year, you pass shops, restaurants and private homes on your way to the Stadtmuseum, a perfect start to your understanding of Oberwesel and the surrounding area.

The Stadtmuseum is the first stop on my tour.   This interactive museum takes you through the history of the Upper Rhine river area via a 'time machine', large screens that react to a single touch.  Visitors and choose what interests them from a virtual tour of the town, use the

remote controlled camera on the river bank to see, even hear the river as well as have a radar view!

You could spend hours trying all the innovated systems within each section of the museum.  But do not miss the cinema in the vaulted cellar to see a film of the history of Rhine shipping, the old steamboats, toll booths and the need for icebreakers when the river sends ice.  

The Minorite Monastery is a former Franciscan monastery, church, garden, cloister and sacristy covers over 800 years of history.  The ruins are privately owned now.  After a fire destroyed the monastery in 1836 private homes were built in the area and it is still a residential area.

Contact the museum for details on how to arrange/book a tour.  em into@kulturhaus-oberwesel.de

  

 With only a short time remaining before my train leaves I took a fast paced tour of one of the highlights of Gothic architecture in Oberwesel:  Liebfrauen Church know for it's golden alter.

The building was started in 1308.  

Entering from a side door it takes a few moments to appreciate the soaring ceilings and massive size of the church.    The gold altar is the most prominent part of the church but do not miss the larger than life painting on the walls that were intended to educated the masses who perhaps did not read and own books. 

                                                        Liebfrauen Church, Church of Our Lady

Gold Altar   from Bing.com/images

The Wine Witch:   Each year the town celebrates Weinhexennacht,  the crowning of the new wine witch for the coming year.   Other wine areas may crown a wine queen but Oberwesel selects their wine witch.   And she is a good witch, representing and helping promote the area wines for the year following her election.

The townspeople vote for the next year's witch and on the night of April 30th the former witch is burned in a straw effigy and the newly elected witch escapes from a wine keg in the middle of market square!   The festival continues!

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Carl Haags Tower where the painter lived and worked.   Originally called the red tower, Mr Haag bought and rebuilt the tower.  It is privately owned and not open to tourists

A short walk to the train station for my journey to Wiesbaden and another adventure.

So much to see and only half a day!  I shall return for a river trip and stop overnight in Oberwesel.

Schonburg Castle/Hotel and youth hostel

Medieval City Walls

St. Martin Church

Kulturhaus

Biking along the river

Hiking above the town

and around Lorelei

Wine Experience & Wine tasting

are all on my list for another visit.

I was the guest of Oberwesel marketing who arranged my great tour of historic Oberwesel.

KyBoot, what are they?

KyBoots

I had never heard of KyBoot before I walked down the cobbled street in Koblenz, foot sore from walking on the uneven pavement for 8 hrs a day and saw their store.   My American ‘sneekers’ were inadequate for this adventure and there were 59 more days of walking 8+ hrs a day.              

The advertisement claimed to be ‘revolutionary’, in my mind you would be walking on ‘clouds’ of some type of foam or gel filled soles. 

Photo from the KyBoot web site, My pair is a similar style

I did not find the extensive web site information until I returned to the USA and did more Internet searches.  There were very few stores in the countries I planned to visit and the lure of having an unknown product to write about and a solution to the thin soles of my current shoes, I returned when the store was finally open.  

Sticker Shock  I had no idea what the shoes cost but expected them to be over $100.   I could do nothing but laugh when I saw they were priced higher than a Niki Air Max or an I phone 5!

Trying on a pair I felt as if I had space shoes on with 3 inch soles on my feet.    Even worse I kept falling off center.  The sensation was strange.    But to give them credit I could NOT FEEL THE COBBLESTONES!

Off I went trying to learn to walk.  People may have thought I had, had wine over lunch as I lunged down the lanes practicing ‘walking’.   Each step was similar to a ‘bounce’.   

Over the next 6 weeks the shoes performed as advertised:

"Nothing like other conventional shoes"

"Your feet will not be exhausted after a day of walking"

But and there is always a but, I developed blisters.
Any traveler and tourist too, knows that you can not afford to have blisters when you have to travel between points of interest, down lanes where buses do not travel and plan to drag you suitcase the ½ mile to the train station.      After years of travel I do NOT get blisters.
KyBoot gave me several.

Thinking they were too ‘roomy’ I doubled up on my socks.    This did not solve the problem.
After 2 weeks your feet adapt to abrasive points of contact and the trip continues.   

In summary
I was disappointed with the results of wearing KyBoots for two months.  

Yes they solved the problem of cobblestones felt through conventional soles, but the fit caused blisters that were painful.
They are also very heavy so I wore them on days I took the train or had to handle a suitcase.

Maybe the sandal style Kyboot offers, are an alternative for the hot summer months.

If you have KyBoot, what has your experience been?

Germany: Cake, Castles and Cruises

Cake, Castles and Cruises was my theme for part of my Germany Off the Beaten Track tour

Photo from KD web site

Having a theme on my trips allows me a personal interest to search for in every town I visit.   

How wonderful to find cafes dating back 100+ years in most towns that featured a cake that was famous!  

Castles were everywhere on the banks of the Rhine river and I was a human pinball going side to side on the top deck to photograph everything!

River transportation is perfect:  board a boat and only worry about when to get off.   River cruises are notoriously expensive but the extensive ferry system on the Rhine river offers a solo traveler a simple option to driving or the train.  (later post on hop on hop off a river boat)

The rivers in Germany historically moved people and goods from town to town.   Castles and fortified homes dot both sides of the river and most passengers were on the top deck so they would not miss anything.   

Instead of a quick train ride, I took KD River cruises took me from Koblenz to Oberwesel my next stop on Off the Beaten Track.

Meals are available in the dining room.  Drinks can be served up on deck.

Every town seemed to have a castle to 'protect them"

I wanted to get off at every town and explore.....

Fairy
 Fairly tale villages at every curve in the river

Some towns were so close to the boat you could watch daily life in the streets.  The boats arrive frequently and it was not a special occasion to watch the 'tourists' go by.

The three house trip cam to an end all too soon.  On my return visit I will be taking the boat and the train to visit the Rhine river.


My complementary trip on the Rhine river was arranged by the Koblenz tourist office and the opinions are my own.© lee laurino