Day 6 - Berg Rhinefels / Interlaken [Germany 7 Switzerland]

The day began with glance out of my tower window at a fog-obscured Rhine valley, followed by a reluctant climb down the stairs from my fortified keep in the middle of Berg Stahleck to the cafeteria for breakfast. Along the way, I realized that about 50 of the night's guests were part of some sort of Akido Club. I realized this because they were all in the courtyard prancing around in gi's and smacking each other with sticks. Breakfast was ok, more bread, cheese and coffee. I left the slabs of mystery meat and mystery meat with olives on the counter.

The fog had me worried, but I wasn't going to miss Berg Rhinefels for the world, besides, the early fog seems to burn off by late morning. Back in St. Goar, the ruined remains of that once-great castle lay, waiting to be explored by me. So I boarded a train downriver, in a big hurry to get to the castle so I could have tons of time to explore. Of course, because I am an idiot, I forgot that it was Saturday, and everything opened late. This was ok, I just pulled up a chair at a cafe in St. Goar, ordered a delicious looking cherry streusel, and watched the sleepy town wake up.

At 10, I dropped my bag off at the tourist information and got another surprise - they would be closing at 12, so I would have to hurry. I practically ran up the vineyard trail to the castle and jumped up the stone stairs to the entrance.

EVERY CHILD SHOULD GET TO PLAY IN A REAL CASTLE!

Berg Rhinefels was like a time warp, teleporting me back 800 years. Even though what remained was only a small portion of the mighty castle it used to be, it was enough to make me run around like a little kid, exploring every crossbow slit, every hole for burning oil, tunnels, slaughter houses, prisons - you name it, this castle had it. Every fantasy book I had ever read, or video game I had ever played, immediately came to life. Unlike Berg Eltz, a union of powerful houses, this castle was built for war!! The place was fortified to the teeth, defenses and thick heavy walls that seem impossible to breach. Ancient cannon balls stood in piles of imperfect spheres, welded together by time. I scurried around the castle grounds and scampered through its many rooms and tunnels. The entire time, I wore a huge ear-to-ear smile.


It was early, so for most of the time, I was alone. And as the fog cleared, it gave way to dramatic lighting that only heightened my sense of adventure. I learned what minutemen really were: these poor suckers were soldier peasants who literally lived less than a minute away from their defensive positions at the castle walls. They would stand their watch, and them climb a ladder down to a straw filled hole right beneath their watch-station, ready at a moment's notice to wield arms and defend the castle if necessary.

Eventually, my time ran out, and my bag would have been locked away until Monday if I didn't return to town. That's when I got lost. It took me at least 6 minutes that I didn't have to find my way back to the entrance gates. From there I had to beat feet to make it to the T.I. in time. After that experience, I wasn't ready to leave just yet, so I toured the Bier Stein shop, home of the worlds largest Bier Stein. I took a picture of it. Then I perused the Cuckoo Clock shop, home of the worlds largest free hanging hand carved cuckoo clock, which I took a picture of as well.

Then I ate lunch, broiled pork with a seasoned butter sauce, salad, and of course, Pommes, or fries. I washed it down with a local Riesling wine, all the while taking in a wonderful view of an old German street with its shops open and bustling with business; its ancient castle looking down from the hillside approvingly.

After that high, the only thing left to do was leave the country, so I boarded a train for Switzerland. The trip was noneventful, except that I read an entire book (A Thousand Splendid Suns, great read, moving) and played with a german kid for a while. He was funny, he kept trying to open the trash lid in the table, but I held it down so he wouldn't get into the trash. He asked, bitte, BITTE, BITTE! as kids do, asking if I would please open the lid. Which I did, and then when he reached inside, I closed it on his hands. Ow is the same in german as english! I stuck my hand in, and he closed the lid on me, and I said Ow in german too. We played this game for quite a while. When I stopped playing, he actually closed the lid on his own hand, Ow!

In honor of that german kid, here's a little clip some of you may recognize - German Boy

Oh. And I accidentally threw away my train ticket in Mainz. I honestly tossed it in the recycle and walked away. I didn't even realize this until I checked my pockets for my ticket 5 minutes before the train rolled in. Somehow I remembered that I had tossed some papers away to clean out my pockets, and by an even greater miracle, I remembered which recycling bin it was in. And there it was, right under a discarded newspaper. I made my train :)

I eventually made it to Interlaken late at night. Too tired to search for a reasonably priced hotel, I stopped at the first one I saw, and crashed. Tomorrow, the Alps!