Germany Trip Plan:
Bad Rappenau, the Neckar Valley and its majestic Castles

Moated Castle Bad Rappenau
[ source: www.badrappenau.de]

Day 1: Arrival

You will easily make yourself comfortable in your new home-from-home. Everything you might need for your first day, for example groceries, is in your vicinity. Since you are in a town who welcomes guests all year round, you will also be pleased with the wide range of cafes and restaurants around your neighborhood.

Dominikanerhof Bad Rappenau, CC- p.schmelzle
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 2: Bad Rappenau

Make the most of your day exploring Bad Rappenau, after a hearty breakfast. Stroll around town and explore its center and market square. Worth a visit is the remarkable Moated Castle and then continue your walk to the beautiful spa garden, which also includes a small lake and in- and outdoor spa facilities. In 1989 Bad Rappenau opened a museum in the Cultural Forum Frankish Court. This museum, home in a historic building from 1842, provides an overview of the brine- and spa- history of the former Imperial Knight Rappenau village.

Bad Wipfen in the River Neckar valley
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 3: Bad Wimpfen and Heilbronn

North of the city Heilbronn lies Bad Wimpfen, embedded in the beautiful scenery of the River Neckar valley. This is another historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn. The town is divided in two parts: The older Lower Wimpfen, situated on the River Neckar and Upper Wimpfen, containing the town center. Inside the whole old part of the town there are many half timbered houses of the 16th century. The most important monument of Bad Wimpfen is the royal palace. Its symbol is the Blue Tower which can be visited. The Red Tower is a second tower of the royal palace, next to the Nürnberger Türmchen. It was erected in gratitude to the city of Nuremberg for its help in the reconstruction of the heavily damaged city walls after the Thirty Years War.

St. Kilian's Church is the landmark of Heilbronn and many beautiful house ensembles are nestled around the historic town center. Go on a shopping spree and enjoy the pottery market. For a better sight of the whole town make your way up to the tower of the Wartberg-Mountain, following the Wine Panorama Trail, and enjoy exceptional views of the city and Neckar-Valley. The large port of Heilbronn is an important transshipment point and you can see more of its quays, stretching over 4.5 miles, during a leisurely harbor cruise.

Castle Hirschhorn, GNU-BishkekRocks
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 4: The Zwingenberg and Hirschhorn Castles

Today go on a scenic drive along the beautiful River Neckar valley and enjoy some perfect photo opportunities. Your first destination of today is the town of Zwingenberg, which lies on the western edge of the Odenwald, at the foot of the Bergstraße's highest mountain Melibokus, at 1,700 ft above sea level. The town has an attractive Old Town with timber-frame houses, a mountain church and the new market place, dating back to the 17th century. The nearby Zwingenburg, also called Fortress Zwingenberg, has roots dating back to 1326. Its majestic surroundings nowadays serve as the backdrop for the yearly, in August staged, open air Castle Festival. Germany's famous composer Carl Maria von Weber used the nearby Wolf-Canyon as a template for his opera Der Freischütz, so this opera is in the focus of the Castle Festival.

A real pearl of the Neckar valley is Hirschhorn and its Castle, which is strategically positioned high above the romantic River Neckar and directly above the old town. Enjoy a leisurely stroll in medieval surroundings of the town and then walk in about 30 minutes up to the castle. You also have the choice to park directly in front of the castle grounds. If you like to take a rest, the castle restaurant offers a large variety of homemade cakes and dishes, made from regional fresh products.

Market place Mosbach, GNU- AlterVista
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 5: Neckarzimmern and Mosbach

Close to your vacation apartment is the village Neckarzimmern, situated on River Neckar in the Neckar-Odenwald-County. Hornberg Castle is the landmark of Neckarzimmern and one of the largest and most important castles in the Neckar Valley; home to the knight Götz of Berlichingen. Enjoy breathtaking views from here and later visit the Neckarzimmern Kaspar crystal and glass-blowing works and see for yourself how this ancient craft developed over centuries.

Spend the rest of this day in the town of Mosbach, the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district. The town is part of the conservation area Nature-Park Neckartal-Odenwald and the UNESCO Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald. In town, especially beautiful is the market square with the Palm'sche-House, dating back to the year 1610. It is considered as one of the mot beautiful half timbered houses in southern Germany, but the oldest building of Mosbach is the Salt-House. Enjoy shopping in the many authentic shops and unique antique stores in the pedestrianized zone of town.

Maulbronn Monastery front and church, GNU-Elke Wetzig
[ source: Wikipedia]

Day 6: Maulbronn Abbey

The last day trip of your vacation brings you to Maulbronn Abbey, Kloster Maulbronn. It is the best preserved medieval Cistercian Monastery Complex in all Europe. Situated on the outskirts of the city Maulbronn it is only by its fortifications separated from town . The monastery was founded in 1147 under the auspices of the first Cistercian pope, Eugenius III. The main church, built in a style transitional from Romanesque to Gothic, was consecrated in 1178 by Arnold, Bishop of Speyer. The west, east and north cloisters date back to the 14th century, as do most fortifications and the fountain house. The Monastery Complex, which features prominently in Hermann Hesse's novel Beneath the Wheel, was in 1993 inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The justification for the inscription was as follows: The Maulbronn complex is the most complete survival of a Cistercian monastic establishment in Europe, in particular because of the survival of its extensive water-management system of reservoirs and channels.

Golf Course
[ source: h1393266.stratoserver.net]

Day 7: Departure

An exiting, action packed week comes to a close and you had the opportunity to see the best this lovely region has to offer. Of course you can take everything at a slower paste, for example with a round of Golf at the Golfclub Bad Rappenau, or relaxing a day at the spa and wellness center RappSoDie, offering lots of fun for the whole family. But for now it is time to catch your flight back home and we wish you a safe trip.

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