"Ruedesheim am Rhein - Love it or Loathe it." Rüdesheim am Rhein by Maryimelda

Did I like Ruedesheim or didn't I? I'm still deciding. I guess that I had heard so many contradictory comments about this little town that I didn't know what to expect and this, coupled with the fact that I was only there very briefly indeed, has left me still wondering what I thought about the place.

I sidetracked to Rudesheim on my way from Hannover to Koblenz just for a quick visit of only a few hours. As there were no lockers at the tiny Bahnhof, I had to drag my suitcase around with me for the duration of my visit. For this reason, I opted to get a taxi from the station to Drosselgasse. The taxi driver was not amused that someone should be wasting his time driving such a little way and he made no bones about letting me know. I explained that I had very bad knees and I didn't know how to get there so I felt it was easier to take a taxi. He still was not impressed. However, his stern demeanour became very sheepish when I gave him double the fare just to see his reaction. (Don't worry, I'm not made of money, the fare was only 4 euros and it was worth the extra 4 to stop his whining.)

In contrast to the taxi driver's behaviour, the staff of the restaurant where I had lunch was quite the opposite. They took my suitcase and put it in a safe place and couldn't have been more friendly and efficient if their lives depended on it. It was a lovely lunch as well.

I think that some people think that it is "uncool" to like Ruedesheim and for the German people, I guess I can understand their thinking that there are many other places in Germany that are better than Ruedesheim, because I certainly agree that there are many German towns and villages that I have found to be far more interesting and charming. That does not stop me from having no regrets about visiting Ruedesheim. I certainly didn't look on my visit as a waste of time and I certainly wouldn't recommend to other likely visitors that they shouldn't go there, because like so many German destinations, Ruedesheim has its own charm and plenty of it. Depends upon your likes and dislikes I guess.

• Pros:Lovely location, easy to walk.
• Cons:Really crowded at times.
• In a nutshell:Love it or loathe it, everyone is different.