Germany – Unkel (En)

Unkel is a town located on the right bank of the Rhine, near Remagen, on the other side of the river. Unkel is one of the few places in the Middle Rhine with a car-free Rhine promenade. The path directly on the river bank offers fantastic views. The old town has nearby and excellently maintained wooden houses from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Where to stay

We stayed in the town’s motorhome area (50.598836, 7.218361 lat, long) a 5-minute walk from the town centre and the bank of the Rhine. It costs 7 euros daily to fill and empty the water at the end of the parking lot. It has no other services, but for 7 euros it is good to spend a day or two. There are supermarkets 10 minutes walk away.

What to see

Rienzo Avenue is a walk along the banks of the Rhine without cars, the boats can be seen relaxing in one of the busiest waterways in the world. Some passageways lead to the shore and there is a kiosk/cafe where you can have a drink and see the views.

We enter the old town full of wooden houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, where you find the Willy-Brandt Museum that remembers the life and work of the German chancellor, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and Unkeler Willy Brandt. Pátzgasse is a romantic alley at the end of which is the Freiligrath House where the poet Fernando Freiligrath lived in 1839 and 1840. Later, the family of the composer Carl Loewe lived here.

Catholic Parish Church of St. Panteleimon, a three-aisled Gothic hall church with its built-in west tower, is one of the formative buildings of the Unkeler Rhine Promenade. Its interior is Gothic and Baroque with the Chapel of the Fourteen Emergencies, which we tried to see when they were giving mass. It is worth going around the church and seeing the cemetery with its historic grave crosses.

What to eat

We went to a roadside restaurant for lunch because on Wednesdays the restaurants only open in the afternoon in the town, and we decided to try the typical schnitzel, which is breaded beef or pork fillet since we had not tried it yet. We ordered the schnitzel with mushrooms and fries to share. Then our friend Claudia came to have coffee and say goodbye.

The next day we went to Straelen, a small town in the Lower Rhine region, near the border with the Netherlands and where our friend Josep lives. Straelen is called the city of flowers and has received several national and international awards for its attractive centre. And you can see all this in the following blog!