The Palatinate (Pfalz) wine route in the southwest of Germany is beautiful enough to attract gaggles of wandering artists and passionate writers like myself. One would find enroute gently rolling hillsides covered with vines, quaint wine villages, stimulating Nordic walking trails, great food and interesting wine festivals. The architecture is so unique and so very detailed and I must add that the towns and cities are so clean and well cared for.

Reached Frankfurt aboard Lufthansa German airlines and our cabby was waiting to transfer us to Deidesheim and later to Worms (where we had our hotel booking).Refreshed after a hot cup of coffee and some Danish moved on to the city tour of Deidesheim. More than anything else I loved the winery visit and but of course the wine tasting session. “I have already drunk as much wine as you see in this cellar”, said the smiling old cellar master as we looked on at the two dozen wine barrels. (The cellarer’s life has certainly been long!) We got to taste three white wines and learnt that there are 80% white wines owing to the grape variety in this region.  Interestingly Hospitality and beverage professionals gave high quality ratings to German wines overall and especially in regards to white wines, when compared the other nine wine-exporting countries evaluated in a recent study. While all other white wines received an average quality score of 2.93 on a four-point scale, the average respondent ranking for Mosel wines was a 3.59, the highest average rating given a white wine. The drive from Deidesheim to worms and then Mainz was awe striking. The slopes look down on a colorful patchwork of vineyards and picture book villages, where historic churches, stone buildings and cottages beckon explorers. I simply loved “Mainz”, a vibrant city with a lot of history. Visiting the “Gutenberg Museum” was quite interesting. A demonstration of the printing process (on an actual Gutenberg press) was a highlight of our visit and I volunteered to help the guide so she gave me a page of the Bible that we had printed! And a highlight at the museum includes the famous Gutenberg bible, which is one of the most beautiful printed books in the world.

Moved on to Bingen to catch the flower show which luckily was on, the number of flowers in bloom was quite amazing! We drove to a nearby castle called “Burg Rheinstein” which is just minutes outside of Bingen. Although small in size, the castle is replete with a chapel, gargoyles, courtyard garden and watch towers. The stained glass windows are also very interesting to look at. I can never get tired of looking at castles. Each one is unique in its own right which makes them all so interesting to explore. My favorite castle is Burg Eltz, stashed away in a hidden valley just a bit northeast of Trier on the Mosel River (My daughter pictured Sleeping Beauty having lived there).We listened to music and had a few Rieslings with our lunch “Spatzle and Schnitzel” before we headed to Boppard. “Ich liebe wein!”  I loved Boppard as my hotel was bang opposite the “Rhein”, I have never enjoyed breakfast so much …fancy this sipping hot tea alongside Rhein…Mama Mia…bliss! Moved on to Koblenz” (Latin for confluence) and its beautiful , “If you’ve got it flaunt it’ could well be the city’s motto .It  was built exactly where the river Mosel finishes its long way coming from France by floating into the big stream that is known as the “Rhein”. The point where those two rivers meet is popularly known as “Deutsches Eck” or the German corner. Loved the walk and later the dinner (with wine from the Mosel River) at the Fortress Ehrenbreitstein (the city’s view was breathtaking from atop). It was time to go back so headed to Frankfurt for the afternoon, so as not to miss the city’s highlights. The Romerberg is the historical center, and has always been “Frankfurt’s” market place. The “Ostzeile” (East row), six houses opposite the silhouette of the city hall, is the crown jewel of the Romerberg, with its fairy tale like facades and gables. At it’s heart the fountain of justice flows-and it is from here that statue of Justitia, without her usual blindfold, overlooks the going-ons in the city hall, with its three gothic gables-“Alt-Limburg”, “Romer” and “Lowenstein”-which have come to be known as the city’s emblem. A true Indian did a lot of shopping (including wine and a hochst mug apart from other things) as I was pre-warned that the Frankfurt duty free has nothing besides the usual chocolates, liquor and perfume.

So this and more really makes “The German wine route” a favorite holiday destination and a playground for a growing number of international visitors. Spend just a few days there (like me) and you’ll discover that Germany is a city of Dynamic contrasts. Bon Voyage!!!!!!!!

FAST FACTS
Getting there: There are direct Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt (most economical). From there on the most economical way is travel by local trains or bikes. You may hire a cab too.
Visa Wise:  Schengen Visa.
Best Time to visit: It is an all year destination.
Currency: Carry Euros. 1 Euro is approximately 67 INR