Boat Ride on the Rhine: Experience Germany's Magical Loreley Valley

They say that Germany is its most German here. Although they, whoever "they" are, may then find it difficult explaining to you just what it is they actually mean by that. Don't wait for a proper explanation. You can quickly get a feeling of what it could mean by simply enjoying a breathtaking boat ride through the middle Rhine Valley.

I recommend taking the entire, relatively short 65 kilometer stretch between Bingen (Rüdesheim) and Koblenz. It is here that you will find the highest density of ancient castle ruins of anywhere in this part of Europe, 27 structures in all, and all of them are proudly enthroned upon the Rhine's majestic banks. This favorite stretch along Germany's Schicksalsfluss (the river of its fate) is steeped in German Romantic mythology. And the most favorite myth among them is that of The Loreley.

Heinrich Heine, one of Germany's great Romantics, popularized the story with a famous poem in 1824 (although the original idea probably was an invention of the author Clemens Brentano). And the story of The Loreley has now become as much a part of the Rhine-valley as is its famous wine.

As the story goes… Once upon a time, there, below The Rock of The Loreley near the small town of St. Goarshausen, many a river traveler met a violent and untimely end. 132 meters higher above sat a beautiful, singing woman combing her long, golden hair. The power of her voice and music was so magical and overpowering that the sailors passing below threw all caution to the wind just to get a glimpse of her. This sealed their fates, of course - and some would say that this is where the term Schicksalsfluss may actually have come from.