For some, the town of Lingenfeld in the Palatinate, is nothing more than a bedroom community, where they can commute easily to much larger cities, like Germersheim, or Speyer (only 10 km away).
For others, Lingenfeld is a wonderful town and collective municipality to explore the Upper Rhine Valley — and where they grow grapes to make some delicious German wine.
Both would be right. But, if you only look at those two things, you’re missing out on a whole bunch more.
OK, I’ll be honest… there aren’t hundreds of castles dotting the landscape of this 15 square kilometer town — nor, are there dozens of medieval churches. That didn’t stop me from appreciating what was here, though.
You’ll be more than content to walk along the Hauptstraße in the village of Schwengenheim; it’s just framed ever so romantically with picturesque half-timbered houses. Of course, you’ll find an Evangelical Baroque church in the village, as well.
It’s another Baroque church that’ll greet you in the village of Freisbach, which started out as a late Gothic one — so you know it’s much older than its 1780 renovation.
The 18th century must have been very good to Lingenfeld, because you’ll find yet another village church from the time period in Westheim. Along the Kirchstraße, more half-timbered houses await — along with a Local History Museum.
Sounds good so far, right? Wait, it gets better. What’s totally fun here is the Draisinenbahn, which runs from Bornheim to Westheim. You gotta work for it on this, though. It’s a trolley that runs on rail tracks. If you’re lucky enough to do the ride when they’re offering wine-tasting, even better. ;-)
You don’t have to do the trolley/track ride, you could just find a simple hiking trail. The Rheinauen is a quiet place, where you can even row along the Old Rhine if you want. But, I think the Druslach Bacherlebnisweg is more to my liking, as you can stroll this region and 5.5 km trail anytime of year.
It’s probably best to wait for it to warm up a bit before you go camping and swimming at the Baggersee (Quarry Pond), complete with its own sandy beach. No, come when it’s cold — that’s when they hold the Christmas Market. And October’s the month for the Rübenlichterfest, or Beet Festival.
Didn’t I tell you there was more than meets the eye in Lingenfeld? Go ahead, say it, Marcus you’re always right. ;-)
