"When god created paradise - he created Palatinate" Top 5 Page for this destination Land Rheinland-Pfalz by Trekki

I must confess this beforehand – when it comes to Palatinate and Rheinland-Pfalz, I am completely biased. This is why you will find only positive and enthusiastic remarks, descriptions and suggestions for visits on this page. But well, I grew up here from age 2 to age 13 before our family moved to Siegerland. All the years I missed my Palatinate tremendously, but it was only just some years ago that I came back to visit my beloved region. To my surprise or maybe my still biased eyes, Palatinate didn’t change much in terms of landscape and warmhearted, friendly people, but I found that it did change much for the better in terms of – well – “marketing strategies”. Websites, brochures and books praise the picturesque villages, the historical relevance, the countless activities in the so beautiful landscape and last but not least the very much delicious local products. The latter is something that fascinates me most: it seems that many Palatinate locals (people and businesses) returned to a very much ecological life. The products consumed and sold are not likely to be contaminated by chemically produced substances for enhanced crop growth, but are biologically safe and often even organic. A good sign for this is that the oh-so famous “BASF The Chemical Company” (HQ located in Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz) which brutally excercises its power in the chemical industry otherwise, was not able to test her newest addition to the heavily critizised GM “food” (Amflora) on Palatinate fields but are doing this over 600 km away in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania…. I don’t know how the farmers or the government has managed to keep Rheinland-Pfalz Amflora-free because The (mentioned) company would without doubt have done their usual blackmailing when it comes to governmental restrictions. Whatever it was, I am happy that the farmers can keep their fields GM free. I found that many young people took over their parents’ business and offer an even bigger variety of interesting products – chocolate, cheese, bread, herbs – whatever your heart and soul desires! Websites and books are full with seminars and guided tours about these delicious goods, herb walks, cooking lessons and mushroom picking for example.

Since roughly two years I come to Palatinate more often. It is only a brief trip across Rhein (Rhine) river from where I live and work and is my retreat for a really relaxed Sunday. I cross the Rhein at Worms or take the ferry at Nierstein and the moment when I cross the bridge with the magnificent pink sandstone gatetower or stand on the ferry, I feel it, I can smell home and with a big smile on my face I recite the title of my old schoolbook “Die Pfalz, Dein Heimatland” (Palatinate, your homeland). In this case, I swear, the old proverb is fully justified: The grass is greener on the other side of the fence… er…Rhein.

Trullo near Flonheim :-)

And I even have “infected” most of my foreign colleagues who come on business trips. Even if they want to go to Heidelberg, I tell them that we will make a small detour before diving into the tourist masses … but after extensive Palatinate sightseeing they simply forget about their original wish and we mostly leave Heidelberg for the famous “next time”. However if “next time” appears and I ask them where they want to go, I can often place bets that they say “Palatinate”. Jo, my dear colleague from Australia, even honoured Palatinate by naming her young dressage horse “Golden Palatinate” after I showed her some of the gems this end of September. Alfredo, my Mexican colleague, recently stated that “hijacking Mexicans” in the way I did it was one of the best fun he had during his work stay.

Oh and in case you might wonder about my page title – yes, I have used this twice, for Umbria and for Palatinate. But as I wrote in my subtitle, Palatinate is Germany’s Umbria and Umbria is Italy’s Palatinate. Who knows both regions might know what I mean. And those who don’t know – let me try and convince you that there cannot be another state in Germany more beautiful, picturesque, full of happy and friendly people and delicious food.

But again…. I am biased.

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“My Rheinland-Pfalz” here on VT

Now the state I am writing about is called Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland Palatinate). Pfalz/Palatinate is only one part of the state. The other regions are the Upper Rhein Valley, Eifel, Mosel-Saar, Rheinhessen, Ahr, Hunsrück, Nahe and Westerwald. VT’s travel guide is already full with information about the other parts so that there is no real need for me to write about this. Or should I better say there was no need for me to write about these? The more I explore the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, the more I love it and the more I want to explore more of it. So I will include Rhein Valley as well, the part between Bingen and Braubach to be precise. I rediscovered this part only recently and also cannot get enough of the castles, the sights, the villages, the landscape. And my tips will also include Rheinhessen, the part south of Bingen with magnificent rolling hills, and Nahe (river) Valley with most fascinating mountains and hills and an extra special gift, the health spas.

I won’t write several tips per city in my to-do section but show them only in one tip. Who wants to read more about a single city or town is welcome to look at my individual pages. So far, I wrote about Speyer, Worms and a tiny wine village called Forst (Palatinate), Bingen (Upper Middle Rhein Valley) and Bad Kreuznach (Nahe region). More will follow as time permits.

The to-do section will grow over the time, so if you are interested to visit this part of Germany, please feel free to look for updates from time to time.

Magic view from Rheinstein Castle

But already now I know that this page here will inspire me to keep looking for interesting places I never heared of before to share these with you. You will ask yourself if what I describe is really a Germany state.
You will find geysirs and volcanoes as on Iceland, Trulli like in southern Italy, old Roman villas like in the region around Roma, villages which live with and love their waterchannels like Venezia, jungles like in Amazon region, beaches like at the Mediterranean, and believe me, I will find more things to see which are very much unique :-)

At this point I would like to express my gratitude also to our local TV station SWR (Südwest Rundfunk), which, with the documentations, local news and programs, has given me gazillions of inspirations for my trips. Thank you guys of the best local TV station, I am looking forward for more every day :-)

And in terms of people and (local) customs you will discover the real treasures of (Rheinland) Pfalz: the people. You will encounter the famous priest with the pipe, a castle lord, a very clever confectioner, a Rhein boat captain, a ferry master, vintners and many more (one day…)

That's my own treasure hunting. For VT, for you and for myself :-)

The restaurant section will start with typical local dishes, often intertwinded with local customs because it is often difficult to decide if something would belong here or there. But I will also recommend specific restaurants in Rheinland-Pfalz, where I was very much satisfied with dish quality, setting and service, Slow Food of Rheinland-Pfalz..

I will use the German names in the tip headings because you will likely see these on signs and should memorise them for a better orientation. But I describe their meaning in the descriptions. Furthermore, I will often use the local names or terms of things, which is to introduce you to the local dialect that is simply cute (once you try and understand it, lol).

Since my Rheinland-Pfalz writings have grown over the time, I have decided to list each individual review in a separate album. If you like, pick the ones that match your interest:
=> Rheinland-Pfalz reviews

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What more to say than

• Pros:Picturesque villages, gorgeous wine, happy people - Palatine has it all
• Cons:nothing !
• In a nutshell:You might get addicted and never want to leave :-)