Late at night, we arrive by car at the Dölker boat centre in Poppenweiler, a district of Ludwigsburg, at Neckar kilometre 166. We park between jacked-up motorboats that are obviously being worked on during the day. It is mid-July, high season on the river. A steel displacer is moored on a small jetty at the shipyard. We read "Infinity" on the bow - this must be our charter boat. As agreed with the charter company, we board the boat despite the late hour. We want to spend a week travelling on the Neckar.
Admittedly, we've never seen the blue ribbon of Baden-Württemberg before. So where to go? Upstream towards the Swabian Alb as far as Stuttgart and then on to kilometre 201, where navigability ends in Plochingen? Downstream, in the direction of the Odenwald, Heilbronn, Hirschhorn and Heidelberg await. We decide in favour of the journey downstream. The current is irrelevant, as the Neckar is fully regulated and the current speed - at normal water levels - is 1.5 kilometres per hour. It is the sights that attract us.
Anyone sailing on the Neckar for the first time has a lot to learn: we leave the charter station in Poppenweiler astern and head for the Poppenweiler lock after a kilometre and a half. All locks have two chambers. The one on the right is full and we want to enter, but the traffic lights are red. Locks are only opened after registration by mobile phone or VHF. It is best to do this a quarter of an hour in advance so that the lock can be prepared. The staff are very friendly and then fill one of the chambers so that there is as little waiting time as possible - provided no commercial vessels have registered.
So I call the lock on the radio and get the answer: "I'll fill the comb. Then you can go there." Er? Excuse me? "I told him: I'll go for the comb. Then they can go there." But you get used to the special lock Swabian (or Franconian) after the third barrage at the latest.
The next new experience is that you never get to see a lock keeper. He sits at the top of his tower behind invisible heat protection panes and monitors the traffic with cameras. So there's no need to take a line and no chatting on the pier. And there is another difference to the usual charter areas in Germany: the Neckar is a major shipping route with a lot of commercial shipping.
After the Poppenweiler lock, we travel through to the Schiller town of Marbach, pass the lock there and look for a landing stage below to take a look at the medieval town. There are two moorings in front of a beer garden right on the Neckar. We tie up briefly and I ask the man behind the counter if we can stay here: "No, you can't stay there. A passenger ship is moored there."
We ask for another berth and are disappointed again: "There's no berth for Schbordboode. Our guests all come from the Karra." But the Schiller National Museum is enthroned high up on the mountain. So where to put it in the birthplace of the great poet?
We motor back a little towards the lock. Right at the point where the lock canal and the weir ditch meet, there is a paved bank terrace on the Marbach bank with a wooden jetty about six metres short. We slowly manoeuvre our boat, which is a little too big, towards the small jetty and, contrary to expectations, we still have a hand's breadth of water under our keel. The jetty is new and solid. There is no sign telling us whether we can stay. Maybe it's a marina for visitors to Marbach after all?
The old centre of the city of Schiller is just a few minutes away. The famous poet was born at Niklastorstraße 31 in 1759, but only lived here for four years. After his death, the town nevertheless acquired the house where he was born and set up a museum in it. The Schiller National Museum was built in 1903 on the hill above the town, which has been called "Schillerhöhe" since 1876. From there you have a marvellous view of the Neckar with our mooring.
When we return in the late afternoon, the boat is still well moored and nobody has complained. We take our on-board bikes and cycle about five kilometres along a wonderful riverside path to Ludwigsburg, the city of castles. The Ludwigsburg Residential Palace, which Duke Eberhard Ludwig von Württemberg had built in the Baroque style between 1704 and 1733, is definitely worth a visit. With its impressive gardens, it is one of the largest baroque palaces in Germany. The Ludwigsburg Palace Festival is held there every year from mid-May to the end of September. The repertoire ranges from baroque to blues - highly recommended (www.schlossfestspiele.de).
We leave Marbach astern and after two kilometres pass the jetty of the Benningen Motorboat Club on the port side - an alternative mooring for visiting the town of Schiller. Further downstream, the vineyards of Beihingen form the backdrop for the trip. We pass the Pleidelsheim lock, Klein Ingersheim Castle and the Hessigheim lock. Once again, endless vineyards delight the eye: This is where Baden-Württemberg's liquid gold matures.
After the Besigheim lock, the river widens. To our astonishment, we come across sailing yachts under sail - and the closer we get to Lauffen, the more sailors there are. In the headwaters of the barrage, one water sports club lies next to the other on the left bank. We head for a jetty and ask where guests can moor. "The head of the sailing club knows," shouts a boater and points to one of the yachts on the river.
So we follow the boss on his sailing yacht and ask for a guest berth. "Sorry, it's too shallow for you at our jetties," is the reply. "But we have much less draught than a keel yacht," we object. To no effect: "There's no room here. Try somewhere else." With that, he turns round and shows us his back.
A man on a houseboat on the shore has obviously been watching us and gives us hand signals to follow him. He leads us to a short public mooring between the club's properties. As he takes our lines, he apologises for the other skipper: "They're not prepared for guests with charter boats here yet."
Right opposite is a 100 metre long barge with the intriguing name MS "Wissenschaft". Obviously it has no cargo, as visitors of all ages are constantly streaming on board via the gangway. However, we first head towards Lauffen and look for a pub. The old town on the right bank has beautiful half-timbered houses. In Rathausstraße, we find a restaurant with a terrace on the Neckar, which is bathed in golden evening light - and there we happen to meet the owners of the eye-catching barge called "Wissenschaft".
Karin and Albrecht Scheubner invite us to come alongside with our charter boat the next day and have breakfast on board the "Wissenschaft" - said and done! Captain Scheubner leads us into the hold. The entire belly of the ship is an exhibition hall. Commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the motorised ship tours Germany and presents modern, multimedia exhibitions on science and research topics (www.ms-wissenschaft.de).
We continue on to Heilbronn via the locks at Lauffen and Horkheim and turn right into the Old Neckar, which leads towards the historic city centre. We cycle through a green corridor of parks and riverside avenues into the city centre. Unfortunately, we can't cycle all the way through because the "Götzenturm Bridge" is too low for us.
However, we would love to find a mooring in the Old Neckar and discover the beautifully situated jetty of the Heilbronn Marine Comradeship at the entrance. There are only two boats alongside, but there would be room for at least twice as many. It's late afternoon and it doesn't look as if anyone else is expected. I dial the number given in the sailing guide. But as soon as I have formulated my request for a berth, I receive a more than clear rejection.
I call our charter company and ask them to tell us where we can moor in Heilbronn. He directs us to a jetty on a park-like bank opposite the lock. The jetty belongs to the Heilbronn passenger boat company Stumpf, but the charter company has rented the jetty especially for its guests. The key for the locked gate is on board. Everything fits.
Nevertheless, it's a shame that Heilbronn doesn't have a waterway rest area for guests. The city has a lot to offer boat tourists: The navigable Alte Neckar leads directly into the city centre. The theatre ship "Roanber", a former French barge that was originally intended to be scrapped, is also moored there. The theatre presents cabaret, music and cabaret. The theatre ship in Heilbronn enjoys cult status and is often fully booked. It is best to book tickets online in advance: www.theaterschiff-heilbronn.de
From the Heilbronn lock to the Kochendorf lock, industrial areas with loading harbours dominate the right bank of the Neckar. After that, the landscape becomes beautiful again. We now enter the region of castles and palaces. In the evening, we moor at the upper jetty in front of the Gundelsheim lock and cycle through the charming old town of Gundelsheim up to Horneck Castle. From there you have a breathtaking view over the Neckar and the vineyards - definitely recommended. A good place for a sundowner or dinner is the "Alte Neckarmühle" (Old Neckar Mill) with a beautiful terrace right on the underwater side of the lock. Unfortunately, the restaurant does not have a landing stage.
Horneck Castle lies in front of us in the most beautiful light as we are being towed down to the valley in Gundelsheim in the morning. Guttenberg Castle towers on the opposite bank. And after passing a bend in the river, Hornberg Castle, one of the most famous castles in Germany, comes into view on the starboard side.
The Franconian imperial knight Götz von Berlichingen bought Hornberg Castle in 1517 and lived there until his death. In 1504, the pugnacious knight had his right hand shot off and had an iron prosthesis made, earning him the nickname "knight with the iron hand". Johann Wolfgang von Goethe created a literary monument to him in the play "Götz von Berlichingen", which premiered in 1774. However, the prince of poets could hardly have imagined that it would be a thunderous invective of his main character that would endure the test of time. For it was Götz who shouted: "He can kiss my arse!"
The castle with its vineyards is close enough to touch on the starboard side. But where to moor? There are various small jetties or floating pontoons on the right bank, all of which look homemade. We sail up and down, looking for a sign that might read: "Guests of Hornberg Castle welcome." But there is nothing of the sort. Perhaps the ghost of old Götz is watching from above as we search in vain.
Finally, we moor at a small floating pontoon in the hope that the owner won't come with his boat. To be on the safe side, we put a large note with a mobile phone number on the outside of the boat. We walk over the steep terraced vineyards to the castle. The winery is the oldest in Germany: it has been owned by the von Gemmingen family since 1612, and the current lord of the castle is the twelfth generation to carry on the tradition. The castle, museum and historic wine cellar can be visited (www.burg-hornberg.de).
The former outer bailey now houses a hotel and a panoramic restaurant, where we enjoy the sweeping view over the Neckar valley over a Hornberg Pinot Blanc - but not without keeping an eye on our "borrowed" mooring and approaching boats.
Almost opposite Hornberg Castle, but on the other side of the Neckar, is the HBV Haßmersheim marina. The sign at the entrance says "Guests welcome". We steer into the pretty little harbour and ask if we can bunker drinking water. "No problem," says the harbour master and helps us tie up to the floating clubhouse. There is a large supermarket right next door, so we take the opportunity to fill the fridge. We would have liked to stay longer, but half of the charter week is already over and our destination of Heidelberg is still a long way off.
We cast off at 7.40 pm and shortly afterwards enter the Neckarzimmern lock, then the Guttenbach lock at 9.45 pm. We are delighted that the lock is open until 10 pm. Finally, two kilometres further on, we moor on the right bank at a former loading pier in Neckargerach.
In the morning, we have the impression that the landscape is becoming more and more beautiful. Both banks are lined with mountains and mixed forests, and you can now see at least one castle or palace wherever you look. One of the most impressive fortresses is Zwingenberg Castle, where Prince Ludwig von Baden and his family now live. The route continues through the Rockenau lock down into the valley to Eberbach: finally a municipal landing stage with plenty of moorings! It is only a few steps to the old market square with its half-timbered houses, where one pub follows the next.
The next day's trip only brings us a lock in Hirschhorn, where you should moor on the right bank at the pier in front of the town wall. The town is undoubtedly a highlight on the river. The medieval old town is rightly known as the "Pearl of the Neckar Valley". A climb up to the castle, which leads past the Carmelite monastery church of the Annunciation, is highly recommended.
Once at the top, you have a fabulous view of Hirschhorn, the Odenwald and the Neckar loop. The 12th century castle is freely accessible. The Renaissance palace of the castle now houses a hotel. The adjoining restaurant is considered one of the top addresses on the Neckar (www.schloss hotel-hirschhorn.de).
We continue through idyllic low mountain landscape, but then, after the Neckarsteinach and Neckargemünd locks, we reach the suburbs of Heidelberg. At the barrage of the same name, we descend once again and then enter the famous university town in the evening light.
What a sight! In front of us is the old "Karl Theodor Bridge", its red sandstone glowing in the evening sun. Historic Heidelberg begins on the left bank, where the two round gate towers once secured access to the Old Town. This panorama is dominated by the Heiliggeistkirche church and the impressive façade of Heidelberg Castle.
We want to savour the moment. On the right bank, from where you have the best view of the old town, we discover a stylish old ship called "Heidelberg Suites Patria". It looks like a restaurant boat. We take out the fenders and cheekily go alongside. I'm just about to reel off a few words of welcome in my newly learnt dialect. A young man comes along and takes my lead line: "Buon giorno e benvenuti!" says Gianfranco, the owner of this floating Italian restaurant.
At the same moment we see a police boat approaching. The friendly officers want to see our papers. Then they ask the restaurant manager if he has authorised us to moor at his boat. "Tutto va bene!" Gianfranco shouts back. "These are my guests!" The policemen are satisfied. Unfortunately, after some delicious pasta and good wine, we have to leave again at 8 pm because the "Patria" departs every evening for its moonlight cruise (www.heidelbergsuites.com/patria).
Instead, we enjoy the last half hour on our comfortable charter boat and sail once again along the enchanting old town to the Heidelberg Motor Yacht Club, where our charter cruise on the Neckar unfortunately comes to an end.
