We’ve begun our journey to Lüneburg and already seen some amazing places. I had previously never thought of Germany as a country with such differing and beautiful landscapes and yet here we are.

Yesterday we spent the day with our friends in Vallendar near the city of Koblenz and explored cities along the Rhein. This area is renowned for its many castles that dot the banks of the river as well as its wine and the hills abound with vineyards.

This was my first time visiting the area and the weather was also amazing. A little hot for my liking (yep, funny for an Australian perhaps) at about 32C but blue skies really complement such beautiful surroundings.

We met our friends in St Goar at Burg Rheinfels (an old fortress). St Goar is a lovely town in the Loreley region and legend has it that Loreley, a water spirit linked to a rock 120 meters above the water, used to sing and bewitch men, causing many accidents as sailors were distracted by her voice.

Zell on the river Mosel was a relatively simple town but we did drive up to the vineyards on one of the hills and now I can say, I saw the Mosel too. If you are planning a trip to the Rhein though, I would say that you can give Zell a miss and instead, head to Cochem.

Cochem was by far the most beautiful little town that we visited. It is unfortunately visited by a lot, and I mean, A LOT of tourists from all countries, but I must say that the asians really stood out as the biggest group there. I actually blended in a little and for once Michael was the foreigner in Germany. It’s a huge plus in such situations to be able to converse in both German and English.

Situated also on the Mosel river, Cochem is quite a small town with about 5,000 inhabitants. The town centre is made up of an ‘old town’ with fachwerk buildings and small stores. The Reichsburg (imperial castle) is situated upon a hill and watches over the town, giving the area a great dynamic.

We’re now in Bonn and spent the day in Cologne, so that will come later. We’re looking forward to being in Lüneburg and northern Germany so stay tuned!

* all photos taken naturally by Michael because I was too lazy to take my camera with me – it was so hot!