Following Saint Hildegard's footprints with a couchsurfer

My couchsurfer Sara from Wisconsin USA shared an interest which was not very common for the average couchsurfer. She wished to research Hildegard of Bingen's life work and history. It didn't take much time to accept her couch request and the next day we took her on a journey through the Rhine Gorge to the Hildegard sites. My daughter Angela has taken so much energy to do research on the internet, drove us all over the place and told Sara many legends about the sites

Bingen, our first station
After a beautiful ride through the Binger Loch, the southern gateway of the gorge, we arrived at the museum in Bingen where St. Hildegard's life and works were documented in an audiovisual setting. This museum did not only depict Hildegard's heritage but it had a large department of all the surgical instruments applied in the old hospice. It was located exactly opposite the Mäuseturm or Mouse Tower , a medieval tower located on a small island in the Rhine River with a famous folk tale to tell.

Rochus Hill and the chapel
Our next path took us to the Rochusberg and the chapel. It is amazing to find such a gem at my doorstep, vast tapestry of vineyards while we were gazing down at the Rhine and its beautiful castle ruines. Walking through "Hildegard's woods" has given us a feel that we had collected positive life energy and a reborn body and soul. At the edge of the woods we could see such a natural beauty over the Rhine Gorge which could be hardly described in words

St. Hildegard Abbey
We crossed the River Rhine by car ferry and continued our journey in Rüdesheim. This is a famous place for tourists from the very kitsch until the very picturesque scenery of the Rhine Valley. We drove to the Hildegard Forum where we could eat a healthy lunch buffet and watch artworks about her visions and medical insight

The highlight and the final station was the Eibingen church where her relics and bones were kept in a shrine. I must have lost my surfer Sara and my daughter Angela, then decided to take a short cut climbing through the vineyards to St. Hildegard Abbey where the guest quarters are. We visited the Hildegard shop, enjoyed the beautiful view and finally had the chance to attend the Gregorian Chant 6 o'clock vesper.

Sometimes couchsurfers can inspire you to re-explore the beauties of your home area

A day out in nearby paradise Edenkoben and St. Martin

I started wondering what to do on the long weekend of the 3rd October which is the German Unification Day. One couchsurfer and another person spontaneously decided to plan a day trip together. We really don't need to travel too far to experience a fine day of hiking in the woods and visiting an old little town in the Palatinate wine country.

The hike in the Edenkoben Valley wasn't overly vicious but hilly enough for us to have a good sleep at night. After this we visited a small town in the Palatine wine country where we had a beautiful traditional Palatine dish in a beautiful little restaurant next to the old church. Jasmin from Couchsurfing has provided memorable photo shots she made in St. Martin.

St. Martin is a historic little town which is seldom mentioned and totally unknown for many Germans, let alone foreign visitors. The forest where we picked chestnuts last week, the vineyards, the old cosy wine taverns and historic half-timbered houses where they sell wine is definitely a target just one hour drive from Mainz

I have discovered this beautiful village surrounded by the Haardt mountain range and Palatine Forest during a weekend trip with the U.S. military. During my clerkship in Neustadt an der Weinstraße we visited this beautiful place once during our weekend trip in Edenkoben.

Those people who would like to surf in Mainz may consider this beautiful place about one hour drive from Mainz, especially if they stay for a couple of days. The French border starts about 35 km from here and could still be managed in a day trip from Mainz.

The French border is so close

Wolfram Adolph is a renowned expert in church organs and church music. I have already thought that his educational tours were extensive and full of information. His knowledge of the northern part of the Vosgues added a great deal to the enjoyment. However, I didn't know that he was also a food expert and gourmet. The restaurants he chose were excellent and reasonably priced, ranging from more homemade to exclusive cuisine.

In a 2-hour-drive, we drove on the B10 through the Palatine forest until we seamlessly passed the scenery from Hirschtal in Germany to Lembach in the Alsace region in France. There was hardly a visible cultural difference except the colours of the half-timbered houses. The Alsatian half-timbered houses had coloured walls which we don't see as often in Germany.

Our first stop was a small town named Wingen where we could enjoy one of Strasburg's head organists(titulaire) Prof. Marc Baumann. He spoke German fluently and probably English as well. A beautiful concert in the ecumenical church. Prof. Baumann also joined as to a nice restaurant in Pfaffenbronn. A beautiful Tarte Flambee(Alsatian tart prepared in the woodfire oven) and a delicious green salad with fresh garlic was waiting for us. Prof Baumann was good fun and we had a lot of amusing stories about the Catholic church. Church insiders are a lot more critical about the church, expressed their ideas with sarcastic humour. Our dessert was a heavenly Zwetschgenkuchen(damson pie) with vanilla ice cream on top. The bottom was made of butter puff pastry instead of the usual yeast dough we commonly know. Zwetschgen or damsons are a kind of plums but rounder and smaller, the flesh sour and firm which makes it easier to bake or process.

In the afternoon we visited an organ building factory owned by the well-known organ builder Alfred Kern. His son Gaston Kern gave us an elaborate presentation about the mechanics of the church organ. Our program has been modified just to our liking, as we had the honour to listen to three more concerts by Prof. Baumann and M. Francois Fuchs. We arrived dead-tired at our Hotel Roi de Soleil in Strasburg Mundolsheim, just adjacent to Reichstett where my former Couchsurfing host Thierry lives. We didn't manage to catch up this time, so this trip had nothing to do with Couchsurfing. The hotel was a brandnew 2 star hotel with clean ultra-modern shower and comfortable bed. There was no real reception but instead, a breakfast buffet which was amazingly rich compared to the rather cheap hotel price.

After breakfast we headed for wine tasting at the famous "Cave Vinicole de Cleebourg" in Cleebourg. It was a bit early for wine tasting but we had a beautiful presentation, a movie and freshly baked Gugelhupf or Alsace sweet raisin bread. We continued our journey to Bruchweiler in Germany where the other Strasburg titulaire organist Prof Pascal Reber indulged our senses with organ music from 5 epoches.

We passed the border to Germany again to be pampered with a lovely 4-course-lunch in Nothweiler. A beautiful little town in the middle of the Palatine Forest and a cosy little 3-star-superior restaurant and hotel serving probably the best of the upper middle-class cuisine. Our last stop was Weißenbourg at the French border to see the organ in the old cathedral. It was still under renovation, we couldn't hear it and the stairs were not particularly safe. Suddenly it started to rain cats and dogs. I have been to Weissenbourg many times and we decided to drop the city tour and headed home instead.

A very memorable weekend with interesting company, beautiful scenery, impressive old churches, Silbermann and other Baroque organs, excellent high quality music, newly acquired knowledge and fine food