Rhineland-Palatinate Region Travel Guide

I went to Germany not expecting to fall in love with it. I thought it would be cold and antiseptic and, well, Germanic. And my first stop, in Trier, wiped the slate entirely clean. Trier has been occupied since Roman times (the most notable evidence of which is the Porta Nigra, a former city gate). It's a lovely city for wandering about, and its cathedral is, if you're into ecclesiastical architecture, a marvel of Romanesque style, blunt but elegant and haunting in its austerity. The surrounding countryside is what stole my heart, though. The Mosel river, to me, tops the Rhine in scenic value. The slate bluffs are ideal for growing the grapes that go into the incredible white wines of the region (this is an ideal place to go for an on-site education in Rieslings, Gewurtztraminers, Eisweins, etc.). Come to Trier and you will leave enchanted.

my daughter Jamie, and I drove to Manderscheid to visit the castle but after driving along for a long time without finding the castle Jamie stopped to ask directons from a man working on the roadway. This poor thing kept looking from Jamie, then over the top of the car, and then back at Jamie. I finally turned to see what he was looking at. The darn castle was sitting right next to us down in a valley....we had been looking up trying to find it. We laughed so hard I'm surprised he did not call the guys with the little white jackets to haul us off. This castle has local ledgen that goes on about two brothers having been in love with the same woman. When the older one married her the younger brother built his own castle up the hill a aways from his brothers. After a bit the two brothers mended their ways, and dug a tunnel to connect to two castles. If you go up to the top level you can see where the history of battles have been inscribed in stone. This castle goes back to around 1140 A.D.  or so.

The historical roots of today's community association Manderscheid formed the electorate Trier and the Duchy of Luxembourg. Die beiden Manderscheider Burgen symbolisierten die beiden Machtblöcke im hiesigen Raum. The two castles Manderscheider symbolized the two power blocks in the local area. There's a little cafe across from the two castles that serves good food, and its not only clean but inexpensive. Just don't expect ice in you drink without asking for it.