Schwede-Bure dream loop

The Schwede Bure Tour begins at Schaarplatz in Oberwesel and climbs quickly along a vineyard out of the Rhine Valley. The climb offers repeated beautiful views of the Rhine Valley and the historic town of Oberwesel. Several rest stops along the way invite you to linger.

Today is meteorological spring and even if the weather is not entirely clear, contrary to the weather forecast, and the sun is hidden behind a veil of thick clouds, there are a whole lot of dream loops waiting to be hiked by me. So today I took the RE2 train (RB26 would have worked too) from Koblenz to Oberwesel very early, where I started the Schwede-Bure dream loop (No. 113). From the train station, I first go through the town, which still looks quite sleepy on a Saturday morning just after 7:30. It goes past the red Church of Our Lady in Oberwesel and through the "White Tower" before I turn left and take a narrow path into the former trench and thus onto the dream loop. I now turn right and follow the path along the old city wall, past the powder tower, the cowherd's tower, the Michelfeld tower I & II, to the Martinskirche, a former collegiate church, built in 1350. I now cross the street and follow the path uphill between allotment gardens and reach the Michelfeld and a little later the promising view "On the Kackstuhl" (that's really what it's called 🫣). The advertised "great" view of the Rhine is "quite OK" at best. Shortly afterwards I see for the first time that the dream loops have mileage displays, I hadn't noticed that at all on my first dream loop, if you start at the starting point and walk the right way around it's quite nice (although the "wrong way around" would also have something to it, you would see directly how many kilometers are left instead of seeing how much you've already walked). The path now goes over very wide paths, first halfway up the slope, then over meadows, further uphill. I reach the Hardthöhe and from here, via a small detour, I would have reached the old Jewish cemetery in Oberwesel, where the oldest burial was around 1718 and the most recent in 1942. Unfortunately, I missed this detour and rather stubbornly followed the meadow path, which after another kilometer, this time slightly downhill again, led me to the "Rheingoldschänke" inn, which obviously looked pretty deserted. However, there was someone in the caravan parking lot who was just getting his dog ready for a walk. So maybe not quite so deserted after all. I now follow the road parallel to the road for a few meters before turning right into a small forest and shortly afterwards I come across meadows again, where I reach the Guckshöll lookout point, a rest area with more benches and tables as well as a slightly lower seating area down the slope. If the weather was clear, you would have a beautiful view through the Niederbach valley to the Rhine with St. Martin's Church and the Katzenturm and Ochsenturm. But as the weather was unfortunately quite hazy today, I was denied the beautiful view and I continued on. But I was able to see a colony of fir trees in their entirety, where the sacrifices for the next holy festival are already being grown in large numbers. Behind this fir tree cultivation area, the highest point of the tour is reached. I now walk in a wide arc around Damscheid and make my way gently downhill again on meadow paths.

Today we were out hiking with my in-laws – this time on the Schwede-Bure dream loop. The start and finish was in beautiful Oberwesel, a town on the Middle Rhine. Located in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, it is known for its historic old town and impressive location directly on the river. The hike was very varied and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The tour offers magnificent panoramic views, interesting sights, and some geological features that give the route its very own character. The trail mostly runs on wide paths and is largely unshaded, so you should ensure you have adequate shelter in sunny weather. We were particularly impressed by the excellent signage, which provides orientation at all times. Beautiful benches with magnificent views invite you to take a break and relax all along the route. We really enjoyed the tour – varied, informative, and scenic. We would love to come back.

After finding a free parking space, I head to the starting point of the hike into the heart of Oberwesel. We go to the medieval well and turn left there, continuing up a narrow path. The medieval city wall lies in front of me. The path leads along there and I see the defense towers, one even with a drawbridge. A road is crossed and now the narrow path takes me uphill. This is followed by a change of direction to the right and I've arrived at the poop chair. There is a place to rest and a great view. You should try the chair. Now the path continues to climb to Hardthöhe, always passing meadows and fields. Take a quick rest and enjoy the view. It goes well through the open nature with a wonderful view until you reach the junction to the former Jewish cemetery. Of course I'll visit it. It is very hidden and steeply laid out in the forest area. This is followed by the Rheingoldschänke. I could stop here and sit outside nicely. The path now continues along the road and soon turns right into the woods. Forest. - and meadow paths alternate. We go to Guckshöll, where there is again a fantastic view. Now there is another short climb and the highest point of the hike is reached. Next is the Hardt hiking car park. The next viewpoint "Hunsrück" brings a change of direction to the left into a small path through Niederwald. The grassy path is pleasant to walk and now it's time to return. I pass a quarry and can clearly see the old layers of slate. At the next fork in the road we turn right and I pass fallow vineyards. The stone wall accompanying me now stays with me for a longer time. Many cultivated vineyards followed later. Read on information boards about the vines that grow here and what work in the vineyards used to be like. The hiking trail takes me briefly up to the vines and takes me a little further. The route then continues on asphalt and climbs steadily through the vineyards. My view to the right. Below shows the village of Engehöll and the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. Embedded in the vineyard wall, there is an old winegrowers' shelter on the left and the Schönburg castle lies ahead. There is another large rest area beforehand. I'm heading for that too. Now there is actually another path that I have to climb steeply up to find a rest bench with a view. I need that directly too. We continue narrow, wooded, rocky, on a serpentine path downwards. Come to the “Swede Bure”. A wildly romantic place, with an information board and seating. This is followed by the Kalvarienberkapelle. Unfortunately it is closed. I didn't dare ring the bell. The Way of the Cross follows and when I reach the bottom I slowly approach my starting point. I will take a separate tour of the city itself. Today I'm too sweaty to learn more. Conclusion: A varied hike to cultural sites and places steeped in history. Past the city wall with its towers, the Jewish cemetery and the Calvary Chapel. Of course to Swede Bure, the wildly romantic place that has been a refuge for Oberwesel residents for centuries. Overall, more strenuous than expected. You should plan enough time and fitness.

Actually, I thought I'd do the last tour on vacation alone. But oh wonder, after 1.2km two hikers seemed very familiar to me. I knew that Katja and Daniel were traveling along the Rhine, that they would be running this tour today, but not. I was all the happier to run the tour together with the two of them. We were so incredibly lucky with the weather. The sun was shining so beautifully and the blue sky looked really amazing with the yellow leaves of the vines. The tour was varied with beautiful views of the Rhine, the valley and the Schönburg, and also great routes along the slate walls and the vineyards. All in all it was a great tour with very nice company. Thank you both 😀.

Hike with Gabi. We have walked the Schwede-Bure dream loop several times, but never in such bright sunshine. Well, today it was a bit exhaustingly warm. We were particularly lucky when we observed 2 small fawns. They romped about 10 meters down the slope from us and then hid themselves in low bushes. We went down carefully and were able to benefit from the danger rigidity of the young animals. They lay quietly in front of us and we were able to photograph them up close (of course we didn't touch them). In contrast to the criticized Rabenlay tour on Wednesday, the many meadow paths here were mowed in an exemplary manner and easy to walk on. The Schwede-Bure Tour is really an outstandingly beautiful hike. Oberwesel with its city wall, the churches and the Schönburg is great, the views of the Rhine and the side valleys are wonderful and the paths are sometimes steep but mostly very easy to walk.

I had seen the information signs by chance on one of our last tours in the Middle Rhine Valley, a side tour of the Rhine Castle Trail. Today I see that it has since been elevated to the status of a dream loop, and it certainly deserves it. The route is varied, with good and comprehensive signage, making checking the GPS tracker unnecessary, and numerous rest stops along the route. Outdooractive provides detailed descriptions of the numerous cultural highlights along the route. I always find the landscape impressive when nature reclaims cultural areas (abandoned vineyards). When I look at the old vineyard walls, I imagine horse-drawn carts traveling along the old vineyard paths during the grape harvest, with the harvesters cutting the grapes into buckets, and men carrying the grape barrels on their backs up the sometimes steep vineyard steps in the walls to the grape vats. The manual labor in the vineyards—something I remember from my childhood—had a certain flair that has been lost with increasing mechanization. In humid weather and just under 29 degrees Celsius, our hike ended at an ice cream parlor on Koblenzerstrasse.

It was a lovely walk near Oberwesel that we spontaneously discovered during breakfast... There were endless blackberries, and the weather stayed dry. Beautiful views of the Rhine and Oberwesel—the town itself isn't that great, but the walk along the city wall is very nice.