3. section Rheinsteig - From Unkel to Linz

Today we headed directly to the next trip to the gaffer Rhein and the dastardly Rheinsteig. The knees are crunching and the calves are tweaking. However, the juicy green summerfields let you forget every pain.



Route:
Unkel - Stuxhöhe -Orsberg - Erpeler Lay - Kasbach - Ockenfels - Linz
Length: ca. 10 km (6.2 mls )
Duration: 3 hours
Demand: easy with some sporty up and downs

After a chilling train ride from Koblenz - like always - we took the way following the yellow signs through Unkel. You have to cross the "Bundesstrasse" and go straight to the right up the the "Stuxhöhe". Here you will start to sweat directly. The Rheinsteig shows his face. Every now and then you can catch a view down to the Rhine and the other river side. Here you will see the monastery Kloster Apollinarisberg.



After that the trail is very comfortable. You walk through green forests. You follow the direction Orsberg and cross this little village. There is suddenly a sign "Zum Brünnchen" and the Rheinsteig passes through narrow streets along the typical old German stud work houses.

On that day it used to be a gorgeous weather with blue sky and mild sun. So it was more a walk to the "Erpeler Lay" than a hike.



When you arrive at the plateau of the "Erpeler Ley" you have a perfect view on the bridge piers of the "the Bridge at Remagen" or Ludendorff Bridge.



It goes on with an extreme steep walk down - slippery. Passing an inviting ghost house (see picture)



Direction Kasbach and then through Ockenfels. Last town on this track --> Linz. There you take the train or go further to Leupsdorf. We decided to take care about our painful knees and bones. So we went home.


Costs for two persons:

Train (back) 11,90 €

2. section Rheinsteig - Rhöndorf to Unkel

Today we hiked the second section of the Rheinsteig from the last stop Rhöndorf, steep up to the Löwenburg and through compace, green woods to the village Unkel.



Route:
Rhöndorf - Löwenburg - (Himmerich) - Leyberg - Unkel
Length: 22 km
Duration: 7 Hours (13,67 mls)
Demand: exhausting and long

We took again the Deutsche Bahn to come to Rhöndorf. Jumped in the train in Koblenz (Direction to Bonn) and after aprox. 45 min we stood at the train station in Rhöndorf. Through the wonderful old village you can go to the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus and to its foundation central. It is only worth it when you plan an hour visit. We put it on another date.

The access to the Rheinsteig is close to the forest cemetery, which we had to pass at our last visit in Rhöndorf. On a loooooong climb, which has a feeling like bubble gum, you will climb up to the Löwenburg. Take care to take the right Rheinsteig and only follow the typical blue signs.

When we arrived on the top of the mountain at the "Löwenburg", we had to take a breath first. The amazing view over the mountains of the Siebengebirge invites you to sit down and chill out for a while. You can rest on a cosy bench under a huge German oak tree and look into the valley. If there is no wind blowing ...







If you take the way back to the main Rheinsteig from the Löwenburg, you should take care to find the right way and directly search for the blue signs. Otherwise you will have the same experience we had! We took the wrong way and walked the whole way down again - just on the other side of the mountain . We ended up at the same cemetary where we started. We took the wrong branch :)

So: You can get lost, even on the good-signed Rheinsteig!

It was too frustrating for us to take the same loooong way up again. So we decided to walk through Bad Honnef. We crossed the "Konrad-Adenauer-Haus". YES, we took a shortcut. On this way you see behind the curtain of the German upperclass. You pass wondeful villas and 8-family-buildings which are mostly inhabited by one elderly couple. At the youth hostel of Bad Honnef we found back on the blue-signed Rheinsteig.

The trail corsses deep green woods and goes up to the Auge Gottes (engl.: God's eye). Shortly after this tiny monument you will find the rests of a V1-launching platform (Fieseler Fi 103). There is a sign for the direction!







After that the Rheinsteig goes steep down the mountains again. Knees crunch! The way is not that beautiful here. You will pass by an old brickyard where you will find the possibility to rest and order some drinks and meals. Or you go further the dircetion to the village Unkel - along a field with the next generation of christmas trees. At some point you arrive a school youth hostel with a lot of horses inside. Here you will find a place to buy some drinks - a very strange supermarket, so to say.



After a short steep stepdown you will arrive Unkel and can jump into the next train back to your place!

Costs for 2 persons:

Train to: 8,10 €
Train back: 8,10 € (If the ticket machine is not broken ;-) )

1. section Rheinsteig: Bonn to Rhöndorf

Yesterday our tour started. The first long section of the Rheinsteig from Bonn to the village Rhöndorf:

Route:
Bonn - Beuel - Oberkassel - Kloster Heierbach - Petersberg - Königswinter (only from above)
- Geisberg - Drachenfels - Rhöndorf
Length: ca. 23 km (14,3 miles)
Duration: 7-8 hrs
Demand: average

We came to the start point by train from Koblenz. It takes half an hour with the "IC"-train by Deutsche Bahn and the costs are aprox. 6,75 € with a "Bahncrad" (without aprox 13,10 €). It is definetely the most comfortable way to travel around the Rheinsteig. You do not have to return to your car at your starting point.

You chill a bit in the train. Maybe enjoying an early meal and suddenly you already arrived in the city of Bonn and the northern start point of the Rheinsteig. Very close to the train station you will find the first signs directing you through the pedestrian zone to the Rheinsteig. Along the beautiful old houses of Bonn (e.g. the Renaissance Haus) you will find directly to the first blue signs of the Rheinsteig. Those blue signs are the main markers for the next 320 kms! All side trips are marked with the same stilized "R" - however in yellow colour.

The Rheinsteig leads you along the Rhine river. You will see the old "Abgeordnetenhaus" (assembly building). You will cross the area of T-Mobile campus - a big German telecommunication company. From now on the track winds slowly up into the "Siebengerbirge". On wonderful green forest tracks you move step by step up in the mountains over Bonn. On and on you will find spots where you have a gorgeous view into the valley and on the city of Bonn, e.g. the blue lake. Here we made a rest with a salami and some goat cheese. Where the heck tastes goat cheese better (leave a comment)?







We moved on to the direction "Petersberg" and the federal guest house - passing still green grapewines. There you will find a chance to have a rest and take for example a drink at the hotel porch. You will enjoy a wonderful view. Take care! It is quite expensive! Our advice: Go a little further and you will find a little restaurant in the middle of the forest called "Milchhäuschen". It is shortly before the "Drachenfels"!





Here you can go further or take the chance and follow the yellow signs downhill to Rhöndorf. Crossing a forest cemetery where the first Bundeskanzler Konrad Adenauer is buried, you reach Rhöndorf. Enjoy the old houses in this village and maybe take a rest in a cosy restaurant there! Or you go back to the train station and catch a train.

Rating: A very diversified track and if you ahve a good sight a beautiful leg of the beginning Rheinsteig. It is a bit long!

Costs for 2 persons:

Train: 13,50 € and 8,10 €
2 apple ciders: 8 €

The project -Hiking the "Rheinsteig"

We planed to hike the "Rheinsteig" for a long time now. The wonderful and new trek is so close to our home. It is marked professionally and tourists come from all over the world to enjoy the medieval castles and the gorgeous sights on the Rhine river. So, why not to walk this hike, for which we do not have to travel around the whole planet?

The only problem: THE TIME.

The whole hike is over 320 km long (with all the side trips and places of interest). So only for senior citizens walkable in ca. 22 days.

Our solution: We take only sections of the Rheinsteig and walk only at the weekends

How to hike sections of the Rheinsteig? How to plan them?

The project and the experiences we will get on the Rheinsteig will fill this blog during the next days, weeks and probably months with content.