From the Nahe to the Rhine: A Day in Bad Kreuznach and Bingen
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The second full day eases the group further into the rhythm of the Nahe Valley before the pace picks up. The morning stays close to home: a walking tour of Bad Kreuznach’s historic downtown, time to wander its riverside paths and quaint shopping streets on your own, and a traditional German lunch together at a restaurant with real history behind it.
Then the scenery changes entirely. After lunch, the group transfers to Bingen am Rhein for a river cruise downstream through the Rhine Gorge — one of the most photographed stretches of river in Europe, lined with vineyard terraces, castle ruins, and small towns that have watched the Rhine’s traffic pass for a thousand years. It’s a striking contrast to the quiet of Bad Kreuznach: suddenly the landscape opens up, and the scale of what Hildegard’s world actually looked like becomes visible from the water.
Bingen itself carries its own weight in Hildegard’s story — this is the town near which she would eventually found her own monastery at Rupertsberg, breaking from Disibodenberg to build something entirely her own. That story comes later in the pilgrimage. For today, it’s simply the backdrop for a boat gliding past castles and vineyards, with the evening’s return to Bad Kreuznach for dinner and a first real conversation about Hildegard herself.
Registration for the September 2026 pilgrimage is closed, but we’re already planning ahead — Hildegard’s 850th anniversary falls in 2029. Join the waitlist to hear about future journeys first.