Haus Alexandra

The week was so peaceful and restful, with plenty of chances to walk or cycle if you don't mind the hills. Schöneberg is a small, quiet village, and Joachim and Christa gave us a warm welcome to their lovely home. We stayed in one of the two ground-floor apartments, with the owners living upstairs. Our apartment had a big living area and an open-plan kitchen that led to a terrace overlooking the beautifully kept garden and the countryside beyond. The weather was perfect, so we ate breakfast outside every day. There was a large double bed and lots of wardrobe space in the main bedroom, plus a compact but very nice en-suite shower and toilet. The living-room corner sofa also opened into a small double bed. The kitchenette had everything we needed, including a coffee machine, toaster, microwave and dishwasher. If you need anything else, just ask the owners, who are happy to help. There was china and glassware in attractive cabinets in the lounge, and the dining table was just around the corner in the open-plan space. A DVD player and a selection of DVDs were provided, though those and the TV were all in German, of course. Bingen, where the Rhein runs through town, is around 10 miles away. There are pleasant bars and restaurants in Stromberg and Schindeldorf, though they may not open early in the week. This part of Germany isn't expensive, and everyone we met, wherever in the country they came from, was friendly and happy to chat. The unrestricted speeds on the autobahns were a relief, too. Most people seemed to drive at 70-90 mph, while lorries went up to 70 mph and were often kept to the nearside lane, which is great for cars. I'd wholeheartedly recommend staying here.