`Germany`s Koblenz`

Getaways
story and photography by Don Douglas
C
Traveler Report Card
One route to the Rhine and its castles
astles dot the landscape all
along the Rhine, from its from the Koblenz-Winningen airport takes
headwaters high in the you northeast along the Moselle River
Swiss Alps to its mouth at (spelled Mosel in German and pronounced
the Dutch port of Rotterdam. When people with the accent on the first syllable) to
speak of castles on the Rhine, however, it’s a Koblenz, where you turn south, cross a
safe bet they’re talking about one fairly short bridge and follow signs for highway B-9.
stretch of the river, the Middle Rhine. This is This involves making only one road change,
where Wagner set the Ring of the Nibelun- but it can seem confusing as you wend your
gen. It’s where underwater maidens guarded way through the city on the lookout for the
treasure and caused shipwrecks with their signs that will keep you on B-9. A quicker
siren songs and where Siegfried, Germany’s and more direct way is to go to the Autobahn A61, which isn’t far
version of King Arthur, led his
Most of the castles
from the airport. Head south
knights into mortal combat.
on A61 to the Boppard exit,
Middle Rhine myth and fac- are perched on hills
which leads past farms, ortual history combine to weave
chards and vineyards to the
a long and fascinating story. above the river and
Rhine and its castles.
And the area is as scenic as it offer commanding
With the exception of the
is intriguing. Steeply terraced
Pfalzgrafenstein castle, which
vineyards, quaint villages, the vistas. Several have
sits on the island of Falkenau
beautiful Loreley cliff and mul- been converted into
in the middle of the river, most
tiple castles make the region
hotels
that
exude
a
of the castles are perched on
well worth a visit.
the hills above and offer comFor most people, flying to medieval ambiance.
manding vistas. Several of
the area means arriving by
commercial airliner at Frankfurt, 60 miles them have been converted into hotels that
east-southeast, or Düsseldorf, 80 miles exude a medieval ambiance.
You might wonder where the castles’
north-northwest. For the business jet traveler, however, a much more convenient op- original inhabitants got the wherewithal to
tion exists: You can land right at the build so many grand structures in such a
region’s general aviation airfield, Flugplatz compact geographical area and why they’re
Koblenz-Winningen (see “About the Air- so close to the river. The short answer is that
they were robber barons who were able to
port” on page 30).
exact tolls from the merchant ship traffic.
Their ways of controlling that traffic included heavy chains across the river, which
were pulled up to block passage and lowered
out of the way only when the high fees had
been collected. Today, the region’s money
comes mostly from wine and tourism.
Castles Are Us
Germany’s
Koblenz
Castles, vineyards and a heart-stopping trip to Green Hell
Schönburg castle
One castle with a colorfully violent history is Burg Rheinfels, which is situated
above the town of Sankt Goar. What you see
today is only the partially restored ruins of a
giant palace. For half a millennium, it was
the most powerful fortress on the Rhine. Beginning as a relatively small castle in the
mid-13th century, it proceeded through several expansions and proved its strength
through numerous battles and sieges.
Finally, around 1795, its inhabitants surrendered without a fight to the French revolutionary troops. Having conquered the
castle bloodlessly, the French blew the place
to ruin. Much of the stone was carted off for
building elsewhere, but a lot of the old structure remained.
Restoration began in 1937 and has continued to the present on the ancient fortress,
which now houses a hotel and restaurant.
The castle also offers plenty of opportunities
Continued on next page
28
Accommodations (A+): It’s hard to
beat staying in a remodeled castle with
panoramic views of the Rhine.
Burg Gutenfels hotel
Food (A-): The restaurants around the Middle Rhine are quite good. Why the minus?
Everything’s relative, and Koblenz is only
65 miles from France.
Rhineland wine country
Activities (A-): Sporting activities include
kayak trips on the river, miles of paved bike
trails and unpaved mountain bike paths, as
well as excellent hiking routes. There’s golf
in a beautiful setting with river views in the
valley of the Loreley at Jakobsberg Hotel
and Golfanlage. Parasailing and hang
gliding off the cliffs is popular. To arrange a
short cruise on an excursion boat, you
simply need to show up and pay a small
charge. Of course, there’s world-class
elbow bending and premium beer in local
pubs, not to mention Rhineland wine
tasting at various vineyards.
Cruising on the Rhine
Quietude (A): Traffic can be rather busy at
times on roads on either side of the river.
When you get up to the grounds of the
castles overlooking the river, however, it
can be quite serene. The pace along the
Moselle near the Koblenz-Winningen airport tends to be a little more laid back than
in the more heavily visited destinations
along the Rhine.
29
Getaways
The hilltop “enemy brothers” castles
Continued from preceding page
for hiking and exploring the grounds and
is the site of historical reenactments.
Sankt Goar, at the river’s edge below the
castle, is home to many shops and a great
beer stein collection.
Another castle hotel we especially enjoyed is Auf Schönburg (the “Beautiful
Castle”), which once belonged to Emperor Friedrich I and dates from the early
12th century. Over the years, it went
through the usual process of expansion
in peacetime and destruction in wartime.
In 1689, the forces of French king Louis
XIV pretty well demolished it. In the late
19th century, an American named T.I.
Oakley Rhinelander purchased the castle, which lay in ruins. Rhinelander resumed the process of restoration. Its
location is above the town of Oberwesel,
which now owns it.
Today, one section of the castle houses
a summer camp for underprivileged children while another serves as a hotel and
restaurant. A little over ?200 (about $240)
will get you an authentically decorated
medieval-looking suite with a four-poster
bed and a spectacular view of the Rhine.
Across and down the river from the
Schönburg and Rheinfels, you’ll find two
castles that are often referred to as the
“enemy brothers”–Sterrenberg and Lieb-
enstein. Various stories explain how the
two siblings came to hate each other; one
popular version has it that while one of the
brothers went off to fight in the Crusades,
the other remained behind and took up
Sankt Goar is home to a great
beer stein collection
with his brother’s girlfriend. Today, you
can ponder such tales while dining and
lodging at the castles and exploring the
Continued on page 32
About the Airport
Flugplatz Koblenz-Winningen (EDRK) is
at an elevation of 640 feet on a plateau
above the Moselle River, directly above the
small town of Winningen.
“Except for the occasional visitor from
Denmark or Switzerland, we don’t get many
corporate jets here,” said Hannelore Kaindle,
the air traffic controller in charge of the tower
when we arrived. “We used to get race drivers on their way to Nürburgring, [like] Mika
Hakkinen from Finland and David Coulthard
from Scotland. Then they moved up to jets
that are too big to land here.” In June 2005
the runway was extended from 3,819 to
3,949 feet. However, to use the full length requires opening gates, which block the road-
30
way leading into the airport. So you need to
call ahead. Phone ahead, too, for hangar
space at Koblenz, which is available on a
rather limited basis.
The airport maintains several apartments,
which are located between the tower and the
hangars. These might prove useful in a pinch
or if your party includes crew members who
need to stay near the airplane.
For more about the airport, visit
www.flugplatz-koblenz-winningen.de, send
an e-mail to [email protected] or
call +49 (0) 2606 822. From inside Germany,
phone 02606 822. You can find information
and Web links for other airports in Germany
–D.D.
and Austria at www.airports.de.
Getaways
BJT Bulletins
Continued from page 30
area. There’s also much to see in the pilgrimage
town of Bornhofen, located just below them.
A White-knuckle Ride
Grob Light Jet Makes
Airshow Debut
The Grob SPn light jet, from
Germany’s Grob Aerospace,
flew for a large public audience
for the first time at the Berlin airshow in May. According to the
manufacturer, the twin-jet can
be used as an executive airplane, corporate shuttle or cargo
carrier capable of employing
gravel and grass runways. The
SPn, which is being certified for
single-pilot flight, can be configured for six or eight passengers
and will have a range of 1,280
to 1,850 nautical miles, depending on payload.
The new Grob SPn during certification testing.
Jet Aviation Reports Demand
for “Road Show” Service
Jet Aviation’s U.S. charter division has reported increased demand for its IPO Road Show
program, which it launched last
year. According to the company,
12 major financial-services firms
are among clients of the division, which provides customized
charter for multicity itineraries,
24-hour flight-following reports,
ground transportation, concierge
service and catering.
Strategic Partner Propels
Piaggio Jet Program
Piaggio Aero Industries is
preparing to launch a new jet
program, now that Mubadala
Development, a governmentowned Abu Dhabi investment
company, has purchased a
35-percent stake in the Italian
aircraft manufacturer. Piaggio,
which has struggled to meet
demand for its twin turboprop
Avanti II, had said it would not
proceed with new aircraft
development without securing
another strategic partner. Now
the company is considering two
possible designs, said Piaggio
director Albert Glassi, both of
32
which are about the same size
as the Avanti II. The program
isn’t likely to be officially
launched before early 2007.
Sentient Jet and
Air Partner Go Global
Sentient Jet of Norwell, Mass.,
a private jet membership service in North America, has
formed a “broad strategic
alliance” with Air Partner of
West Sussex, UK, one of the
world’s largest private jet brokers and the only one with a
warrant to service the British
royal family. As a result of the
alliance, Sentient members will
be able to fly privately within
Europe under the Air Partner
program at fixed hourly rates
with guaranteed availability
and terms comparable to those
for their current travel in the
Caribbean, Mexico and the
U.S. Air Partner clients will
receive reciprocal membership
benefits from Sentient. The two
companies will also work
together to provide jet solutions
for prospective partners, such
as resorts and destination clubs.
Flight Options’ JetPass Card
Gets a Makeover
Flight Options has replaced its
JetPass card with JetPass Ultimate Travel. The new product
gives cardholders access to
light, mid-sized and large-cabin
aircraft with a deposit of
$100,000 (fuel surcharge
included, occupied hours only).
Flight Options claims its program is the only one of its type
to offer a fully refundable
deposit and to allow for access
to Cabo San Lucas, Bermuda,
Mexico and “virtually all” of the
Caribbean without ferry fees.
Members of the former JetPass
program, who paid fixed
amounts for access to a fixed
category of aircraft, will be
allowed to fly out their contracted hours. Membership
renewal in the JetPass Ultimate
Travel program costs $50,000,
and those who refer a friend
may earn up to $10,000 in
flight time. o
Among the most interesting things to visit
on a trip to Koblenz lies a 45-minute drive in
the opposite direction from the Rhineland castles. It is west-central Germany’s famous old
race track, Nürburgring/Nordschleife, which is
also known as “Green Hell”–a name inspired
by its treacherously tight blind curves.
Of course, auto racing is a popular spectator
sport, but why be a spectator when you can get
out on the track? For ?175 ($212), up to three
passengers can take a lap around the Nürburgring with an experienced racing driver in a 10cylinder BMW M5. This is a white-knuckle
ride, not a leisurely tour, but great fun for those
who are ready for it.
DENMARK
Baltic Sea
North Sea
Hamburg
Bremen
POLAND
NETHERLANDS
Berlin
GERMANY
Bonn
Koblenz
Frankfurt
LUXEMBOURG
CZECH
REPUBLIC
A48
Munich
L98
AUSTRIA
Koblenz
B9
SWITZERLAND
Traveler Fast Facts
What it is: Koblenz is one of Germany’s most
beautiful vacation destinations, where your
lodging might be an ancient castle with
panoramic views of the river below, served by a
nearby airport with facilities for business jets.
Nurburgring race track
Where it is: In the southwestern German state
of Rheinland-Pfalz (also known as RhinelandPalatinate), near the borders with Belgium,
Luxembourg and France.
Ambiance: Medieval stone castles sit atop steep
hillsides covered with vineyards that descend to
the banks of one of the world’s great rivers.
History: Koblenz (also known as Coblence) can
be traced back to the Holy Roman Empire,
when it was Apud Confluentes, a camp named
for its location at the confluence of the Moselle
and Rhine rivers. Its history intertwines with
medieval myths to form an intriguing yarn that
spans two millennia.
Koblenz-Winningen
Airport
B416
Winningen
For even whiter knuckles, you can try driving
the course yourself, dodging the mountain bikes
and motorcycles. The catch is that it’s there for
Europeans to do it in their own cars. It’s a safe
bet that the rental agencies would frown on
using one of their vehicles for laps around Nürburgring, but where there’s a will there’s a way,
as they say, and if you’ve always wanted to drive
a track at racing speeds, you can probably find
your way into a vehicle.
Just remember that this program was designed to satisfy those Germans for whom driving the autobahns without speed limits isn’t
exciting enough. If that doesn’t sound like you,
maybe you’d be happier with a leisurely afternoon tour-boat cruise on the Rhine, followed by
dinner in a castle.
o
Aulte Mühle, hotel/
restaurant in
Kobern-Gondorf
For More Information
Hotels with restaurants:
Auf Schönburg, 55430 Oberwesel am Rhein,
+49 (0) 6744-93930;
www.hotel-Schoenburg.com,
e-mail: [email protected].
Schloßhotel Burg Gutenfels, 56349 Kaub am
Rhine, +49 (0) 6774/220;
www.rhinecastles.com/
castle-gutenfels-rhine-germany/index.html.
Castle Liebenstein, 56341 KampBornhofen am Rhine, +49 (0) 6773 308;
www.castle-liebenstein.com; e-mail:
[email protected].
Alte Mühle, Mühlental 17, 56330 KobernGondorf an der Mosel, +49 (0) 2607 6474;
www.alte-muehle-hoereth.de/; e-mail:
[email protected].
Cruises: Köln-Düsseldorfer, Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt AG, Frankenwerft 35, 50667
Cologne, +49 (0) 221 2088 318; www.
k-d.com/englisch/; e-mail: [email protected].
Golf: Hotel-und Golfanlage Jakobsberg, Im Tal
der Loreley, 56154 Boppard,
+49/(0)6742/808491;
e-mail: [email protected].
Wine-tasting tours: Winery Stahl, 55430
Oberwesel-Dellhofen, +49 (0) 6744 1486;
www.hotel-germany-rhine.com; e-mail:
[email protected].
Don Douglas is a travel writer and photographer
based in northwestern Germany. His article about
California’s Mendocino appeared in our last issue.
Auto rentals: Europcar, +49 (0) 261 889180;
Avis, +49 (0) 261 800 366. Both have nearby
fleets and will deliver a car to the KoblenzWinningen airport.