Koblenz and Rhineland

A short trip South saw us at Braubach some 10Kms up the Rhine (East bank) from Koblenz. Our site was on the banks and overlooked by Marksberg castle. 

A late lunch in the shade watching the barges was a great soporific start to our 6 day stay.

Marksberg castle was started in about 1000 and is apparently the only one on the Rhine not damaged by war. It has also been in continuous use.

We took a walk through and I purchased a page of a book from 1570. It is a map of Syria and Turkey but we will need some assistance interpreting the olde German.

We joined a tour in German which with the help of a handout Helen translated perfectly (it was in English. I was given the opportunity to try on a helmet and looked more like a modern day Ned Kelly than a knight. How anyone saw, let alone fought an enemy is beyond me. The only thing I could see through the slits were my feet. ( I can confirm I had not suffered any flesh wounds.)

Later masks had a mask that was hinged which you could raise so that the warriors could see each others faces. This is where our modern day salute originated.

The town of Braubach is small and has not changed in years. The only real activity was refurbishing old buildings. The square has two restaurants. Sunday is a busy day with both open but during the week there is an alternative day arrangement. We thus had the opportunity to eat on both sides. The red wine was fairly ordinary but the dry Riesling was excellent (enhanced by being in 1000ml bottles rather than the more usual 750ml). 

Our first day trip was to Koblenz which is a lovely city on the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. The castle on the East bank is huge and would have been a formidable challenge for attackers with at least 3 inner walls to breach.

We took the Gondola across the Rhine to the castle and were treated to some interesting memorabilia. The cross bow could have driven an arrow across the river. The bow was in two sections and gained its power by being pulled against taught vertical ropes bound together. The film dramas where an arrow is broken off the wounded would not apply here, this arrow would have gone clean through.

Right on the confluence is a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm 1^st on horseback with a woman alongside. As she had no stripes on her clothing we can only assume she is his under-secretary. The statue itself is huge. For comparison my under- secretary is in the foreground.

We also decided on a trip to the beautiful city of Heidelberg. There are two feniculars up the mountain. The first stage was a modern day affair that took us  a little beyond the castle. We then travelled on a second heritage fenicular. It was work of art.

Even the wheel house is manicured.

At the top there was a take-off strip for para-gliders. What a view to soar over.

However, step 1 is to take off and the substantial audience were rewarded for the moment all were hoping for – a crash. No injury fortunately other than to pride.

The old bridge overlooked by the castle is a frequently seen shot, so, as not to disappoint.

The next day we followed all that activity with a ten hour return boat trip up the Moselle to Cocham. Although this should have been relaxing there was so much to photograph it turned out to be quite busy. This is a typical village and church.

By contrast something very much atypical. Heritage is viewed differently in Germany compared to other parts of the world. Nothing stops the road authority here. There were similar railway examples. 

For our 39^th wedding anniversary Helen had booked a medeival feast at Cocham castle. On our drive to Cocham we decided to took a five minute ferry crossing of the Moselle – why, because we could. 

The coachmen saw the car onto the ferry…

While others decided to stay in their carriage during the crossing. (Are we there yet?)

The castle is picturesque from any angle. The town however, was exceedingly busy and we were fortunate that Martin was with us together with his disabled sticker so parking was a breeze. 

When we drove up to the castle we got all the way to the drawbridge. I was turning around to park neatly when a taxi driver came up to me and let off a huge aggressive torrent of words. With my limited German and given I had not mentioned the war, I could only guess at why he was upset. (Apparently some signage banned us from the area). Fortunately, Helen’s booking email recipient then appeared. He was very welcoming and advised we could park where we were (and ignore the taxi driver).

Martin subsequently advised the taxi driver that as we were visitors he should be nice to us and that we had permission to park. I am sceptical that this English explanation would have been understood and even less likely to have changed behaviour.

We were given a tour of the castle before dinner. Just beyond the gate was a colourful and meticulously maintained garden.

The views from the leaded windows within the castle were even more dramatic.

The tour included some interesting pieces including wine tankards (3 litres for the ladies and 5 litres for men). To assist what must have been quite a stagger to the bedroom were door plates which incorporated a guide to direct the key into the lock.

The food was eaten with fingers and after lard and bread, came soup and a main course of a turkey leg. Martin considered the best way to attack his while Susan could barely lift hers. A fun and memorable evening.

The following night was our last supper with Sue and Martin which we had back in camp. Note the size of the duck thighs – a bit more manageable.