Dylan Schiemann

On May 1st, I left München to start my short tour around Deutschland and the Czech Republic by train. From the main hoptbahnhopf, I took an express train to Frankfürt, and connected to a regional train to Rüdescheim.

The train ride provided a great view of the gorgeous green German countryside. Pictures struggle to capture the essence of the quaint rural areas of Germany.

I arrived in Rüdescheim which is a small town that is a common starting point for Rhein River tours.

The Rhein River valley is where my paternal grandfather is originally from and I wanted to at least get a feel for the region. On the rare occasion that I drink wine, I generally prefer Riesling, which is something that was true even before I realized that this wine is commonly from this region of the world. I checked into the Rüdescheimer Schloss… the rooms were very modest, but the food and service were outstanding. It was a perfect choice for a one-night stay.

I walked around Rüdescheim for a while and then had dinner in the courtyard of my hotel which had live music.

The band played a few sets, with a mixture of German and American music, and some American music with German lyrics. The hotel is part of the slow food movement, so the dinner lasted for a couple of hours and was entirely too much food! I thought the appetizer was the main course…. I was about to ask for my bill when the full dinner arrived! They followed the slow food movement, and the quality of the food was outstanding. Dining alone isn’t as bad in an outdoor environment with a band playing as the focus is generally on the band, though it’s still a bit weird for me to eat alone at finer establishments. The dinner afforded me the rare opportunity to reflect on the origins of my family and to write about my trip. Alles gut!