How to Visit Castle Liebenstein in Germany
- 1). Go to the Castle Liebenstein website, and look through it. This will give you an idea of what the castle has to offer and an idea of the different rooms you can book for your stay. For example, there are rooms that have a view of the Rhine or you can get a suite or room with a canopy bed.
- 2). Decide what room you are interested in, and when you would like to visit the Castle. If you pick a popular time, such as New Year's eve or other holiday, or peak season during the summer, make sure you are making the reservation well in advance. The castle only has nine rooms, which can fill up fast.
- 3). Make an online reservation through the castle's website. From the homepage, you can select a link on the left hand side of the page for 'online reservations.' For some reason, the reservation page comes up in German. However, it is easy to figure out what is being asked of you for the reservation information. If you can't read it, you can copy and paste text into a translation website such as Babel Fish by Alta Vista to translate the text into English.
- 4). Decide if you want meals included in your reservation or whether you will pay for this separately when you arrive. If you put it on the reservation, you can save some money. Breakfast is included in the room rates. If you want the meals option, make sure to include this on your reservation request.
- 5). Get feedback from Castle Liebenstein. Once the hotel manager/staff reads your request, you will get an email letting you know if your request is available. If so, you will be asked to furnish credit card information to hold the room. The card will not be charged until you arrive for your stay. You don't have to prepay ahead of time. You can also pay in cash Euros once you arrive instead of putting the charges on your card. If your dates/requests aren't available you will be given other options.
- 6). Book your flight to Germany. You could fly into Frankfurt or Cologne, which are both less than two hours from the castle. Frankfurt has nonstop flights from the Washington, DC area, and the prices are generally competitive compared to Cologne's airport. You can find the best flight deals on Yahoo Farechase.
- 7). Determine how you will get to Castle Liebenstein from the airport and get around the area during your stay. Your two main options would be to rent a car or to take trains to Castle Liebenstein. You can book a rental car through German car rental websites. Trains are a much easier way to go, but then you are subject to train schedules to get you around the Rhine River Valley during your stay.
- 8). If you decide on the train option, you can purchase a rail pass at Rail Europe. You can book a train ticket ahead of time for the time you will go from the airport to the nearest city, such as from Cologne to Koblenz or from Frankfurt to Rudesheim. From Koblenz or Rudesheim, you must get a local train to the town of Boppard. It is the closest town to Kamp-Bornhofen, where the castle is located. Once you arrive in Boppard, you can get a taxi to Kamp-Bornhofen.
- 9). Pack for your trip to Castle Liebenstein. Keep in mind that the weather in Germany is a little cooler than what it is in the United States. If it's 70 degrees Fahrenheit here, it will most likely be in the 60's in Germany. You can visit a weather website and get details before your trip. Make sure to bring the appropriate clothing. You may wish to include hiking gear as there are many options for hiking near the castle. Bring enough money for shopping as well.
