Contact Admin. Sleeping in a Castle. With my cheek pressed against the portal glass of a orange and white Easy Jet plane, I absentmindedly began to flip through my Lonely Planet Germany. I was on my way to Freiburg and to get my holiday spirit on hopping from one Christmas market town to another in south-west Germany.
Sipping on an overpriced cup of coffee, I was searching for ideas of places to visit after Freiburg. I had a tentative idea of where I wanted to go, but booked nothing, hoping to keep my options open and my plans flexible. Perusing on the section of the Romantic Rhine, I struck gold. And not just any old castle. A restored 12th century medieval castle, turrets and all overlooking the mountains, vineyards and forests lining the Rhine river. Burg Stahleck , burg meaning castle in German.
That night after setting into my 16 bed dorm room never again! Snorers, you are the bane of my hostelling existence! You know who you are, book a private room! I went online and sent an email in horribly bad German to the hostel in Bacharach asking read: T his meant that this hostel was relatively unknown and mostly occupied with Germans and locals, also a lot of families, making it a unique experience.
After confirming my reservation, I spent the next few days buying trinkets at the Christmas markets and drinking far too much mulled wine. Finally that magical day arrived when I hopped on the train to Bacharach, well I used my Rail Pass to hop on and off to little cities on my way to Bacharach. The sun had set and frost had already begun to settle on the grassy platform. Twirling around I looked up and saw the castle keep high above me covered in twinkling Christmas lights.
But looking around, my heart sank when I realized I was the only person who got off the train. There was not another soul in sight and it looked liked the little village had already gone to bed meaning no one to ask for directions.
