After finishing a task in Frankfurt, we headed to Rüdesheim to see this beautiful town. An easy hike through the vineyards and enjoyed stunning view, a historic and family-run guesthouse, a tasty and hospitable dining experience, made our Rüdesheim 2 days trip perfect!
Wandering in a lovely small town Rüdesheim
You can take a RB direct train from Frankfurt Hbf(main station) to Rüdesheim and it takes around 1.15 hrs only.
Rüdesheim town centre is quite small, only 51 km². It’s famous for winemaking especially Riesling wines. Most of the shops are located at Oberstrasse and the 2m wide alley called Drosselgasse. Many of them offering wine tasting and local food, while some of them selling souvenirs. To us, instead of really go shopping, it’s more like enjoying the vibe and looking at the lovely half-timbered houses.
Stay overnight in a 150 years old Wine Bar
The guesthouse/pension we chose is called Gästehaus Zur Lindenau which has almost 150 years old history.
Since we will be arriving in the evening, the owner emailed us in advance showing how to get the key. She gave us a passcode to unlock a key box, inside we found the front door and room key and a paper. Nobody was there, nobody check us in, and the whole building is old and decorated with aged photos which I found the whole experience quite adventurous!
Unexpected huge and nice breakfast
To us, the breakfast is another highlight!
We found a big basket of different kinds of breads on the table, together with glasses of orange juice and a pot of hot coffee. Once we’ve seated, a lovely girl came to serve us, bringing along the cheeses, ham, yogurt and marmalade. She also asked us if we wanted boiled eggs, fried eggs or scramble eggs, with bacon or not. Of course, you can also ask for hot tea as well!
Breads tasted good, ham and prosciutto were super tasty, everything were perfect! Seating in a cosy and time-back dining room, we really liked this Rüdesheim breakfast!
Coffee on FIRE! @ Art cafe
There are not so many cafe in Rüdesheim, Art cafe is one of them. They open daily, but only from 12:00-18:00.
Because we had to wait for the fully booked restaurant(I will mention later), we stopped by here to satisfy our hungry tummy. They also serve the local alcoholic coffee “Rüdesheimer Kaffee” here, putting fire on a German brandy “Asbach” and burning the sugar cubes, then pour in the hot coffee, at last top with cream. And for the food, their signature is Baumstriezel, like a bread freshly baked on a skewer, offers different flavours such as caramel, cinnamon and sugar, chocolate, coconut……
Enjoy freshly made schnitzel in a cosy restaurant
Firstly, I would say, Wein Eck has the best hospitality among our Germany dining experience (so far). We arrived at 18:30 but were told they’re fully booked. We were leaving but the owner stopped us politely, said we can leave our contact number and see if there’ll be vacant table at around 20:30. I was really impressed and appreciated his good attitude, since it is rare in Germany haha.
So we got a short break at Art cafe and walking around the river, and back at 20:30. Although it’s still full, but he managed to get us a table.
Their menu was small, serving 6-7 kinds of schnitzel(fried pork fillet) and some local wines. We had a seasonal dish asparagus creamy soup, schnitzel with asparagus, onions and cheese with schnitzel.
All food were freshly made because we’ve been waiting for 1 hour for our food :P. Although it’s a bit longer than I expected, the quality of food and the service they offered, still make me think this restaurant is worth a try!
Even we’ve finished and left, the owner came out and apologised again for the late service. We really felt his sincerity and we hope all the best for him and his restaurant!
Easy hiking through vineyards
Even though the cable car is there, when the weather allows, and you can walk a bit, we really recommend you to climb up to Niederwald monument(Niederwalddenkmal) on foot!
From town centre to Niederwald monument is just 2.3km, approximately more than half an hour walk. To us, it’s a pretty simple hike. Gentle slope, few stairs, wide roads, seeing lots of green vineyards…in a slightly warm sunny day, it’s a really pleasant hike.
On the way you will find clear road signs so you won’t get lost. Niederwald monument is on a high hill of 225m. You can enjoy the amazing river view, look over the other city Bingen, it’s just breath-taking!
After that, we slowly hiked towards another town called Assmannshausen. It takes around 1 hour walk for 3 km. During the journey is a bit up and down, but those are very gentle, so no worry even you’re not a hiker. Bear in mind that there is only one restaurant nearby the Niederwald monument. Only nature on the way, so it’s good to bring little snacks or fruits and water with you, especially in hot weather.
To conclude our short stay in Rüdesheim, “probably it’s the most beautiful small village I’ve ever seen”, said Curry Boy. I agree. It’s a touristic yet quaint place, but not over crowded and too much commercialisation(when we visited). Before living in Germany, I only knew the big city names, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich…… I had no idea Rüdesheim is so lovely! Thanks to 9 Euro ticket!
