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Hike through Germany’s Rhine Valley for views, castles and wine on the grandest scale… Words and photographs by Gary James Merrill ven if you don’t speak German, it’s so closely related to English that a guess at a meaning will often bear fruit. Nouns such as Fisch, 86 E Finger, Glas and Bier, for example, need 87 the merest tweak to convert into perfect English. But there are times when the common link is lost. Take the first question from my guide, Frank: “So are you ready to do some climbing?” Climbing? I thought I was in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley for a straightforward riverside hike. In panic, I look out of the window across the dark, creeping expanse of water to grey cliffs that sheer 120m. There’s a matching wall of slate on our side of the valley so I check under the table for A mile-long gorge populated by helmets, rope and Frank’s first-aid certificate. lanky beech trees and carpeted with sun-streaked leaves at He reassures me, though, explaining that English the Ruppertsklamm. doesn’t differentiate between subtle meanings of the verb. The Germans use ‘klettern’ for rock climbing. What Frank said was ‘steigen,’ or climbing in the context of a ladder or stairs. With my school- level language skills, I should have guessed as the clue is in the name of the trail: the Rheinsteig. The route was opened in 2005 and follows the Rhine for 320km from Wiesbaden in the south to Bonn in the north. Nature, history and route designers have united to create a trail that is visually stunning, packed with numerous worthy diversions, and never far from good food, drink and welcoming hosts. And it’s easy to divide into civilised, day-sized chunks, too. Today’s walk starts with a steady, moderately steep climb up Pulsbachklamm, a wooded gorge near Kestert. As it levels out at the top we pick up the Rheinsteig to wander through tranquil, open woods of oak and beech, flower-dotted meadows and slumbering hamlets. After lunch, a minor detour takes us to the twin castles of Liebenstein and Sterrenberg, with their square towers and Temperatures on the south-facing slopes of the Bopparder Hamm vineyards can hit 50 degrees. The 82 wooden steps of the crenellations high above the river. Then Bohlentreppe, near the CHECK IN the route takes a turn inland, away from castles of Burg Sterrenberg itTHRee MORE GREAT RIVER WALKS the waterway and back into woodland, and Liebenstein. Check up No vaccinations making the return to the river four required. kilometres later at Pfählsberg all the more intoxicating, the views of the imperious Cheque point Rhine all the more impressive. Take euros. If you run out, banks and It’s a quick path down and then we’re ATMs are never far on that water, on the ferry to Boppard for from the trail. a glass of local Riesling to toast day’s end. And thanks to the trail’s architects it’s Travel checks Ryanair (www. impossible to get lost. We don’t need GPS ryanair.com) flies to Jo Schmaltz Ra-smit Burke Tom but just in case, the precise location is Frankfurt-Hahn etched on the signposts. The Rheinsteig from Stansted, the JinSHA, chinA The LOIRE, FRAnce The WAIMEA, HAWAii logo – a sweeping R in white, representing Birmingham, Tiger Leaping Gorge is where the Jinsha Easy-going river strolling at its best, the The extinct volcano of Waialeale is one of Glasgow-Prestwick, the river, against a blue background – Edinburgh and River cleaves the Jade Dragon Mountains, Loire draws a wide curve through the heart the wettest spots on Earth, with up to 17.3m appears with comforting regularity. Manchester. chiselling one of the world’s deepest gorges. of France. At over 1,000km it offers plenty of of rain a year. Wet weather means big rivers Frank tells me the trail was originally Alternatively, take Cliffs lift to summits 3,900m up, and the choice, but we like the area around the World and Koke’e State Park gurgles with them, its marked with small metal plates nailed to the Eurostar (www. riverbanks crush to just 25m apart, where Heritage-listed village of Chaumont, where lava plateau carved into incredible ravines. eurostar.co.uk) to posts and trees. But they now use a stencil Brussels and then a legend has a tiger leaping across to escape the mighty waterway intertwines with its Waimea is the star, a canyon where lush and indelible paint because walkers were high-speed train to hunters. The high path is spectacular, pretty tributary, the Cher, their banks rich vegetation clings to red rock, and a hike from detaching the plates for souvenirs. Cologne. Deutsche though stomach-skitteringly airy; the low with beautiful chateaus from Chambord to rim to river leaves the crowds behind so you “We lost over 4,000 in four years,” Bahn Regional road is easier but a lot less scenic. Chenonceaux. www.loirevalleytourism.com can paddle in peace. www.kokee.org trains serve the he says with mild irritation and a smile. small towns along While such petty theft might be the Rheinsteig Trail annoying, it reflects the distinctiveness (www.bahn.co.uk) of the logo and the popularity of the trail. Checking in The Rheinsteig suits walkers of all ages Peak hiking season and fitness levels and if gentle strolling is in April/May for through peaceful woods becomes a little new foliage and tedious, the trail invariably delivers a September/ October for calf-stretching climb. autumn colour. Another day takes me to the There’s a huge Ruppertsklamm. After crossing a choice of footbridge over the river Lahn near accommodation, from camping to Niederlahnstein, I follow a dribbling four-star hotels. stream up a mile-long gorge, populated Try Diehls Hotel in by lanky beech trees and carpeted with Koblenz (www. sun-streaked leaves. diehls-hotel.de); Hotel Krone in The valley soon narrows into a Kestert (www. corridor of slate that is steep enough – hotel-krone- and sufficiently slippery even in dry kestert.de); Pension 88 spells – to justify a handrail. The trail Bei Schinderhannes 89 und Julchen in designers have provided a steel cable for Boppard (www. this purpose, encased in green plastic to schinderhannes- match the surrounding natural colours. und-julchen.de); and In fact, they seem to have thought of Hotel Zum Weissen Schwanen in everything, although there are plenty of Looking west over the Rhine from Dinkholder. Braubach (www. places where nature doesn’t need a helping zum-weissen- hand. At Hindenburghöhe, for instance, just schwanen.de) north of Kestert, the trail takes in a rocky Check the maps outcrop some 250m above the river. The official Against a backdrop of an immense, Rheinsteig maps powder blue sky with billowing white and are pocket-sized, grey clouds, I can appreciate how the waterproof, durable, widely Rhineland has captured hearts since the available and Romans were here. easy-to-follow. It must have seemed like home to the Trail signposting is legionnaires, particularly in the summer, when clear and frequent . dusty tracks and sleepy glades of stunted oak Cheque please trees create a Mediterranean atmosphere. The hotels provide And thanks to the dark slate that absorbs heat, excellent buffet temperatures on the south-facing slopes of the breakfasts and packed lunches. Bopparder Hamm vineyards can hit 50 degrees. Diehls Hotel, Hotel There’s no word in the English language to Krone and Zum describe the subtle beauty of the Rhineland. Weissen Schwanen Maybe this is why it has plucked at the also have superb dinner menus. heartstrings of poets, painters and romantic myth-makers for centuries. Web check Like its language, there are echoes of England in www.rheinsteig. The Rhine is still an the climate, the scenery and history of the Rhine de/en/ industrial river, but the www.romantic- Valley. It has an air of familiarity but on a grander views over it are germany.info/ spectacular, like this scale. And it might be my imagination, but I’m sure A pretty forest path near panorama looking north to the wine is served in much larger measures, too. Marksburg Castle.. the town of Oberspay..

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