Rhein In Flammen 2013










First of all, I need to invest in a tripod. Taking great photos of fireworks is pretty impossible without one, I've decided. Secondly, is there anything in the world more fun than watching a beautiful firework show? Before Saturday night, I would have answered no. There's nothing more fun. But pair an epic firework show with a castle view and twinkle light adorned boats sailing down the Rhine River in Germany...and you've got yourself the Rhine in Flammen (Rhine Aflame) experience. 100 times more fun than your average run of the mill fireworks display. Guys, I've been living in Germany for over 2 years now and JUST NOW got my butt to one of these events. I'd heard about the Rhein in Flammen, saw friends' photos from the festival, and even looked it up on the internet once, but never really had the desire to go see it myself. Boy, was that a dumb idea. So glad some divine thought came into my head and made me start researching where to go to get the best Rhine Aflame experience this weekend. Lucky for you, I'm going to share all about it right here.
Every year, 5 stretches of the Rhine River go up in flames. No, you're not in danger if you go, but you will see a river-illuminating firework show that is nothing short of spectacular. Accompanied by wine and folk festivals on the shore, Rhein in Flammen brings in thousands of visitors to the Rhine & Mosel Rivers to witness a tradition that's been carrying on since the 1930's. The best spot to experience the show? On one of the 70+ illuminated boats that parade down the river. From there, you'll be able to watch fireworks coming from all directions as you sail past numerous riverfront towns and castles (that are lit up with Bengal lights) to the festival's ending location. Second best place to be for the show? On the banks of the river with a bottle of wine and a picnic basket. That's exactly where we were for Saturday's Spay to Koblenz Rhine Aflame show.
At 10:00pm starting from the town of Spay, opening fireworks signaled the start of the boat parade up the Rhine. We decided to set up shop in the town of Lahnstein, a few towns up the river a bit. As the boat parade sailed by various towns along its course, fireworks went off above castles, from harbors, and along the riverside, virtually filling the night sky with blasts of color and fire. It's honestly like nothing I've ever seen before. You experience a bit of sensory overload as you're trying to watch the fireworks explode above a glowing red castle across the river while simultaneously trying to see the fireworks behind you in the harbor...and the boats all lit up sailing down the river. I never knew where to look first (as you can see from the video above)! For an entire 30 minutes, it felt as if we were right in the heart of the firework show. And the the Rhein River...it definitely was in flames! As the boats began to dissipate from our area of the Rhein, they continued on to Koblenz, where the big finale firework display occurred...thus ending our Rhein in Flammen experience for the year. Friends, if you ever find yourself in Germany during the summer months, make sure to plan your trip to include Germany's largest and oldest firework show. I've said it once and I'm sure I'll say it a million more times before I leave this beautiful country, but Germany REALLY knows how to throw a party. Don't miss this one!
[Linking up with Bonnie & Belinda for Travel Tuesday!]
Wow that looks amazing! I love fireworks!
ReplyDeleteI will never ever get tired of seeing fireworks or pictures of fireworks. This sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteThis.is.awesome. Thermabadens AND firework shows amidst castles! Germany is quickly rising to the top of my list of places I NEED to visit in Germany. It looks like such fun :)
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Jenna
This looks so awesome! I love fireworks and castles, so it is the perfect combination!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I love fireworks. This year for Independence Day we hiked up to a high spot in the city and saw about 10 different shows. Fireworks make everything right in the world. So fun!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about firework photography! it is so difficult to do them justice. Looks like a great time and a really neat time to visit!
ReplyDeleteA Golden State of Mind
oh wow, Casey, these are incredible! very impressed with Germany's party throwing abilities right now :)
ReplyDeleteBeyond awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible, I've always wanted to visit Germany!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures came out great though! I can never get good firework pictures!
ReplyDeleteThis is stunning! Even without a tripod, it still looks great! We visited this area just once but I can imagine it would be a perfect location for a fireworks display.
ReplyDeleteI love fireworks hell I even love photos of fireworks, I am so jealous that you have managed to see these fireworks in such a wonderful bloody place
ReplyDeletei admit, i'm not a HUGE fireworks fan, there's really no reason for it. BUT paired together with the castle, river and boats? now that i would go see! oh and you should invest in one of the gorilla tripods! it's what we use and we love it! very compact and you can twist and shape it to hold your camera several different ways. we've even hung it from a tree for an aerial view!
ReplyDeletethat sounds AMAZING! I love fireworks - a friend has them at the end of her wedding and it was the most spectacular thing ever. I bet they're incredible reflected in the water :)
ReplyDeleteThese fireworks are beautiful!
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Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
How beautiful! And it's super cool that you had a picnic and comfy spot... we went to Kolner Lichter and our experience was rather different! (http://thebartlettsabroad.blogspot.de/2013/07/what-weekend-some-of-you-might-have.html) But I also didn't think I liked fireworks until I saw them on the Rhein... totally magical!
ReplyDeleteI love firework photographs and those are gorgeous. so many brilliant colours! You should totally pop up to England for November 5th for Guy Fawkes Bonfire night! x
ReplyDeleteThat looks fabulous and your photos are great!
ReplyDeleteLouisa @ My Family & Abruzzo
I had never heard of this festival but it seems really fun to enjoy at least once! Nice photos of the fireworks, despite the lack of tripod!
ReplyDeleteKeep on enjoying the summer in Germany! x
These are pretty good for no tripod! You should get one, though. They're so handy and a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteAh love it! We went to a show in Pforzheim the other day and the glittery gold fireworks are just too cool!
ReplyDeleteYou did an awesome job of capturing the fireworks! They're so pretty :)
ReplyDeleteI always love fireworks. My husband does not so much. I wanted to go to the one in Koblenz but ended up working on a paper all day and didn't like the idea of a couple hour drive after the show. Maybe I'll get to the one in September. If not, hopefully next year. I'd like to see it at least once before we're out of here. Fortunately I did make it to the castle illumination in Heidelberg this year (which also has a fireworks show).
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