Germany – The Rheinsteig – Days 3 and 4 – 9.29.21

We would spend Tuesday and Wednesday hiking our way over 30 miles from Braubach to Kamp-Bornhofen to St. Goar on the Rheinsteig along the mighty Rhine.

Tuesday, September 28th – After watching a beautiful sunrise and enjoying a hearty breakfast at our castle, Burg Leibenstein, we took a shuttle back to Braubach and had a private tour of Marksburg Castle.

Located above the town of Braubach, Marksburg Castle is one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz the Marksburg was one of only two which had never been destroyed (the other being Maus Castle) and at least the only one that had never fallen into disrepair and is probably one of the reasons it is my favorite castle we visited.

Guns command the Rhine from Marksburg Castle

A stone keep was built on the spot of the castle in 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a castle around 1117 to protect the town of Braubach and to reinforce the collection of tolls from boats on the River. It was first mentioned in documents in 1231. Over the next 600 years it changed ownership 4 times, until Napoleon seized it in 1806 and gave it to his ally the Duke of Nassau, who used the castle as a prison. In 1900, the castle was sold for a symbolic price of 1,000 Goldmarks to the German Castles Association, which had been founded a year earlier as a private initiative to preserve castles in Germany.

Early in our hike after visiting Marksburg

After Marksburg, we hit the trail and hiked 10 miles to Kamp-Bornhofen where we had lunch. After lunch, we hiked another 5 miles to our lodging, Castle Leibenstein. We ended the evening with a 5-course meal.

Rheinsteig between Marksburg and Leibenstein Castles

A very German Platter for dinner – our 4th course

Before our hike on fourth day – proprietor flew German flag at half mast because of German Chancelor election results on Sunday – just kidding! It was to honor those who were impacted by the floods in this region several months ago.

The next morning after breakfast, we picked up the Rheinsteig Trail just outside of our castle and hiked up-river 9 miles to Mouse Castle, where we stopped to eat our packed lunches. Because we hiked through heavy rain to get to our lunch spot, some schnapps and wine was shared dto help warm us up.

At Mouse Castle where we ate our picnic lunch

So many vineyards along Rheinsteig and Rhine

Part of technically challenging loop that part of the group hiked

After lunch, we hiked another 5 miles and took a ferry across the Rhine to our destination for the evening – the beautiful town of St. Goar and our hotel – the beautiful and romantic Schloss Hotel, located next to Burg Rheinfels – the dramatic Rheinfels Fort and Castle. We had an excellent 4 course dinner that evening at the hotel with our table overlooking the mighty Rhine.