I had a really bad night. Coughing had me up 3 times. Luckily, I knew exactly where the Mucinex was and could find it in the blue light from the bathroom.
My husband K's alarm went off at 6:50 and he left to be able to exercise. My alarm went off at 8:15 and I was ready by 8:45 to meet our daughter J for breakfast.
As always, there was fruit on the table, when we arrived, along with rolls, butter and jam. J got me a pastry from the back, when she went to order her omelet. I ordered apple juice for her and orange for me, along with blueberry pancakes. The pancakes were a lot smaller than you'd get at home and had far more than blueberries, but they were good.
We finished at 9:20 and agreed to meet up at 10:30 to "take a turn about the deck", as Miss Elizabeth Bennet might put it were she on a boat rather than in a drawing room. While I was in the cabin, I stepped out onto the verandah to take a photo of the town we were approaching. The backlighting made it look pretty cool. I believe the town is Neef.
It was sunny and 60°, but felt like 59°, when we got up there. We were glad that we had put on coats. There was an oval walking track and we quickly found that we had to stay far to the right and even off of it at times, if we were to keep from being run over.
It was a beautiful day to be on the river. We quickly found ourselves going round a bend on the river not far east of the town of Mesenich.
After the bend, we were able to study the vineyards on the steep slope. I saw this curious structure and was thrilled when I was able to find what it was through Google. In fact, I found the website of the winery to whom it belongs. It is Weingut Alfons Schausten, which is in Poltersdorf farther down the river. In fact they are quite proud of this structure, which they call a Lebensturm or tower of life that they built themselves out of both new materials and those left over from renovations. They are aware of one thing: they live with nature and from nature. It is a habitat for lizards, birds, bees and small creatures. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that I noticed this and photographed it.
Oh his website, Schausten also talked about building a Monorackbahn. This word is evidently untranslatable. However, I think that looking at the photos below, you get the idea of what it is. With these really steep hillsides, you'd need something like that to safely transport the grapes downhill.
What I'd really like to know is what is this thing that looks like a brick oven.
Just west of the village of Briedern, we saw this marvelous fold in the mountainside. The truly amazing thing was how close to the fold they got their vineyards. I guess they use every inch of land they can.
We soon came opposite Briedern itself. It looked a bit rundown. I don't suppose it is high on the traveler's list of must stop places. Just beyond it, we even saw a rather disused ramp into the river.
However, we soon saw a leafy park along the river that looked inviting.
The village of Polterdorf on the north bank was much more photogenic.
We made another cool discovery - Chapel "Bracher Häuschen" in the vineyards above Ellenz-Poltersdorf is in the middle ground of this photo. The chapel gets its name from a nearby field.
At 10:51, we could see Burg Metternich ahead of us on the right. Across from it was a campground with a terrific view of it. However, the view and the boats docked in front of them must not have been enough of a draw, because most seemed to have satellite dishes. There were a pool and bathhouse, but I suspect it was too cold for swimming even on a Saturday.
By 10:54, we could see Beilstein, the handsome town below the ruins. Then, we had a nice view back at both.
At almost 11:09, we entered the lock just barely west of Bruttig-Fankel. If I understand what I found, this lock was to take us down 7 meters. I'd seen some locks from inside our cabin and on our verandah, but it was seriously cool to see it from above. I think that the big red arm that came down was basically to say to stay back and not hit the gates. The whole thing took about 13 minutes.
We got a really good view of the nearby campground. Look how nice their set up is. Have I mentioned that folks just pick a spot and set up their camp for the summer? They come out when they can.
The east end of Bruttiger-Frankel actually looked like its own village.
At 11:36, we could see the K35 bridge, which was obviously modern.
Three minutes later, there was yet another bend in this snaky river before the town of Ernst (Serious- what a name for a town!).
At noon, we went to lunch. The appetizers on the table were beef salad, vegetable samosa, beetroot salad, and black olives spread. J and I chose the Monte Cristo Sandwich with ham and Gouda cheese on fried egg-dipped toast served with French fries and a bit of salad. K decided on margarita pizza.
For dessert, I ordered raspberry mousse cake with roasted almonds and whipped cream. J chose mango sorbet with peach compote and raspberry sauce. We split these between the two of us. K got the mango sorbet.
We finished at 1, which gave us plenty of time to get ready for the afternoon outing. At about this same time we docked in Cochem.
We were docked next to another boat. So, we had to climb up to the top deck again. From there, we got a bit of the lay of the land. On the riverbank, we could see people gathering. Beyond them was the Residenz Villa Sonnenblick. On the other side of the river was the high point of the area and we could see that there were folks up there near the cross. Looking down the deck, we could see that we were on the north side of the Josef-Steib-Platz, which, granted, is a weird name for a bridge, since Platz means "square" or "place". We could see the Reichsburg Cochem (Imperial Fortress Cochem) high above the city.
We crossed over onto the other boat and down the other side. I suppose the other boat did not like the idea of us walking through the center of their boat.
We were on the shore at 1:55 and getting organized took them time. There seemed to be some problem with the transportation.
Our guide used the time to tell us about Cochem. It is in southwest Germany and has 5500 people, but it is visited by 2.5 million people. The castle was begun in 1020 AD to collect taxes. It was an imperial castle and as such belonged to kings and emperors. In the 1600's, it was completely destroyed by the French (we were on the left side of the Rhein now). The ruins were bought by German entrepreneur and merchant Jacob Louis Fredéric Ravené. As per the agreement of sale, he was to rebuild it in accord with historic parameters. The guide said he built it for his wife, but she wound up falling in love with a house guest and leaving him before it was inaugurated in 1877. In 1978, the town bought the castle.
Another castle ruin in the area is Winneburg. That whole left side of the Rhein thing, I guess. That hill with the cross is Pinneberg and the cross is Pinnerkreuz.
53% of the town was destroyed in WW II, including the church, because they were trying to hit the train tunnel.
Finally, at 2:23, a bus/van showed up for those of us on the pink easy tour. At 2:24, we were on our way and immediately, there was a problem. For some folks, walking down into the town was going to be a problem after the visit. They were expecting to be driven back to the boat, but the driver was dropping us and leaving. To be honest, I lost track of where the situation went, because I had a terrible coughing attack. The three of us were wearing masks, as we had been on all the bus rides. The mask made it worse, because I was having trouble catching my breath. I didn't have the inhaler and I didn't have Coke to calm it. It just had to run its course.
At 2:40, we were let off in the area of the ticket booths, but still had to climb up a roadway to the entrance area.
On that side of the river, the biggest building was the Pfarrkirche St. Remaclus (Parish Church). On this side it was Pfarrkirche St. Martin . Both are Catholic. I found this about St. Remaclus on mosel-inside.de:
The Parish Church of St. Remaclus is situated in the district of Cond. It holds a special position among the new church buildings of the post-war period. The church is built of red-brown slate quarry stone and was constructed based on the concept of church architect Emil Steffann (1899 – 1968). Steffann set the Parish Church of St. Remaclus as a counterpoint to the Gothic Reichsburg (imperial castle) on the opposite bank of the Mosel.
Some late Baroque and Neogothic altarpieces and figures were taken over from the destroyed old parish church, of which only a Romanesque west tower from the 12th century still remains today.
St. Remaclus was the church architect's final work, as two months after its consecration he was killed as the result of a car accident.
As to St. Martin, visitmosel.de has this:
The chronicle mentions a St. Martin's Church as early as around 1130; a second one is mentioned around 1456. The "Old Choir" of the present church dates from this time and is its oldest part, which also survived the Second World War. According to the designs of the architect Marx from Trier, a new nave with choir and the tower were rebuilt in 19331/33. This new building was totally destroyed by bombs on 5 January 1945. In 1959, an extension was built according to plans by Prof. Dominikus Böhm, Cologne, which embedded the "old choir" in the architecture. The present onion dome was built between 1959 and 1963.
When I looked up at the castle wall, I saw this and I swear it looks like Kermit the Frog in a costume.
Even though this was rebuilt in the 1800's, they did a good job of capturing the massiveness of old castles.
It was emphasized to us that this was not a medieval castle, but what one man fantasized it to be. One thing that really struck me about the place was the ceilings. They were so detailed!
And, of course, there were leaded windows, some of which were quite pretty.
Not to be left out were the doors and floors. So great!
We really weren't taken in that many rooms. And those we were in often didn't photograph well. One that did was this dining room.
There were some object of interest, like this old chair and the cornice on the chimney piece that looked like Kermit again, of course, a knight.
Views into the courtyard could be very nice.
Outside, the guide showed us the 1000 year old well. It seemed pretty deep. Nice cover over it.
They did a good job decorating the outside and making it seem older than it was.
I could not figure out who LR was. The guy who rebuilt it was Jacob Louis and his son was Louis, but he didn't take over until Dad died in 1887. A genealogy site listed him as Louis Frédéric Jacques or Ludwig Friedrich. So, it may well be for Jaco.
There was a lovely little rose garden and a very old grave marker. Behind the marker, I couldn't help by notice the rock formation. It definitely showed signs of uplift.
When the tour finished, we had just a very few minutes to use the restroom and go into the shop.
Somehow, the town guide had gotten a bus/van to pick us up at the entrance to the castle at 3:48. It gave us a 3-minute ride down the hill to where the buses and vans were to go no farther. Here, we got out and started walking, slowly.
A couple of random things I noticed: There was a retaining wall made out of wire with stones inside for stability. I've seen them in several places in Germany and even as a counter in the office of a lava tube tour company in Iceland. There were houses and apartments with those roll down metal shades that I've seen elsewhere in Europe. If someone was home, they were partially down. I also noted some nice flower boxes out on railings.
At 4, the guide pointed out an old tower up on the ridge next to us. It was from the old town wall. I'm pretty sure she called it "Guck Guck". That makes sense, since "gucken" means "to look".
We were down in the town a few moments later, when we saw this painted on a building:
The architecture of this building was unlike any I've ever seen in Germany. Or, more specifically, the facade.
We passed the oldest restaurant in town, which is in a building that dates to 1642. They serve specialties of Rheinland Pfalz.
Soon, we found ourselves in the Markt. It was very busy and crowded. If it hadn't been for our earpieces, we never would have heard the guide. Here we could see the onion dome of the Martinskirche and also the Martinsbrunnen (St. Martin's Fountain) with its depiction of St. Martin giving part of his cloak to the beggar.
Looking down Unterbachstraße, we could see one of the old gates of the city.
Back on the square, the guide pointed out a building that had a carillon at the top.
It was now about 4:10 and we felt we'd had enough of the tour. We gave the guide 3 euros in tip and headed off for the shops on the other side of the square.
Cochem is famous for mustard. In fact, we'd been hoping to take a mustard factory tour, but it wasn't offered this year. Luckily, one of the first shops we went in had local mustard. K and I got some made with honey and another kind specifically for Bratwurst. As we entered a souvenir shop and I started picking out things, I was hit with another coughing attack. K found me another Coke Zero nearby. Once it subsided, I went back inside to do my shopping.
When we came out, I went to the shop where K had gotten the soda to see if I could find any packs of Kleenexes, because I seemed to be going through my stash. For the life of me, I couldn't remember the German word for it. I tried explaining -in German, of course- what it was I was looking for, when the clerk offered help. He then told me it was "Papiertaschentücher" and sold me several packs.
Since it was Saturday, and I knew there was no chance of getting to Mass tomorrow, I suggested we see if we could get into Martinskirche which was down Bernstraße, which went right by the Markt. On the way, we were surprised and delighted to see their version of a Little Free Library.
They were not having Mass this evening, but the church was open.
As noted above, this is fairly modern version of the church. Just looking at the white walls, the style of the crucifix, and the organ pipe placement told you that.
The special windows of the church on the Moselle promenade surprise the visitor with their intense, three-dimensional colourfulness. A wave movement of watercolour light connects the 8 windows of the old choir and makes it clear that they have a common theme in their sketched narratives: "God is experienced in world history and in the personal history of the individual." The large nave attached to the old choir (a Dominikus Böhm church built in 1959) is also bathed in pastel light from the sun, which the "butterfly windows" reflect onto the white walls. Worth knowing: The new church windows were installed in 2009, artistic design of the colourful three-dimensionality: Graham Jones, England, pictorial representation of the biblical narrative: Patrick Reyntiens, England. Execution studio: The internationally renowned glass studio Derix, which also executed the Richter windows in Cologne Cathedral.
And from the website of the aforementioned Graham Jones (graham-jones-glass.co.uk):
The Story Behind the Stained Glass Artwork at St Martin’s Church, Cochem, Germany
In the oldest part of St Martin’s, this church, along the adjacent wall, the church decided to commission the British stained glass artist Graham Jones to design and build eight separate windows.
Stained Glass Artist Collaboration
The pastor, it emerged, was keen to have extensive imagery referencing many different biblical stories and events littered across all eight windows. As the requirement for imagery expanded Graham decided this was more than he could tackle on his own. Primarily he is an abstract artist, and his knowledge of biblical texts was clearly insufficient for this level of detail. He asked Patrick Reyntiens, who by this time was in his eighties if he would like to collaborate on the designs. Patrick was delighted to join this enormous enterprise. For the next two years, they spent a huge amount of time discussing, designing, amending and finally executing this very significant commission.
The colouration of the window is bold. In the choir alone there is a central triple lancet in bright red, with a double lancet on the left and right – one in yellow, the other in green. The effect is quite disconcerting but at the same time energising. In addition, there are two blue windows to the right and then a further three yellow and green windows. The whole effect is full of drama, both in the swirling figures and the bold primary colour.
Really lovely.
It was nice to be able to visit to see it and to have a chance for quiet prayer.
Back out on Bernstraße on the side of the church just before an arch under the church tower, we found the memorials to the Jewish synagogue, which was destroyed on Kristallnacht (9. November. 1938), and to the Jewish residents of Cochem who had been murdered in the Holocaust.
Farther down the street, we came upon the Café Flair. With its doors wide open and display cases visible from the street, we just had to go in for a peek at the candy and pastries.
A few minutes later, as we neared the Endertplatz, we saw the most amazing thing- a wine machine. We'd seen a video about the Mosel in which the girl found such a machine and bought herself a bottle, but we hadn't run into one yet. This was a huge hit on Facebook. We should have bought a bottle.
We walked the square a bit. We had a lovely view of the castle, as well as of the hillside behind this part of town. We also encountered yet another old city gate, this one appropriately called Enderttor.
It was now time to climb up on the bridge and cross over to the AmaPrima. I'm not found of bridges, but there would be views. In fact, when we turned to go up the bridge, I looked across the street and saw a lovely mural of the city. It was done on a transformer by the local Youth Art School.
Looking down as we went up, we could see the Endertplatz below us. Looking up, we saw baskets of flowers on the lamps above the bridge.
The views from the bridge were terrific. We could look upriver and see the castle and the Altstadt and then we crossed the bridge to see downriver. Of course, before we crossed, we did take selfie with the castle behind us.
We stayed on the downriver side of the bridge, because it would be closer to the boat. This wound up giving a chance to photograph it from the back.
At the end of the bridge, we were close to Remacluskirche. Zooming with my camera, I could see a bunch of grapes up on the top of the steeple and the moon beyond. Pretty cool. We thought about going inside, since the sign said it was open, but the idea of climbing the stairs up was unappealing.
We did, however, have to cross back over the bridge to go down the stairs to the riverbank. Definitely not fun for me. Even with the new knee, going down stairs is tough. But, once down there, we had views again of the castle and Altstadt. So, there's that.
When we checked back in on the boat, it was 5:23 and a warm 73°. K went down to the cabin, while J and I went upstairs to see Rolf in his "office" that overlooked the atrium. K had decided that the Kölsch tour in Köln (Cologne) would not be the best idea because he wasn't feeling that great. We wanted to make sure that J and I could just tag along on the city tour, because there was no point to the Kölsch tour for us, since she doesn't drink and I didn't have a burning desire to try that beer. He said that it was actually more of a problem to get on the tour than off. I said something about missing Mass and he had found out there was one in the cathedral at 5. That was perfect!
J and I went to our cabins, but met in the lounge at 6:45 for the port talk. I've been to Köln a couple of times and J had visited the cathedral on one of those trips. I didn't feel a great need for a city tour, nor did she. So, we were both very excited to hear that we'd actually be docking near the place I've long wanted to visit in Köln - the Schokoladen Museum (the Chocolate Museum). We quickly agreed that we'd ditch the city tour and go to the museum before Mass.
At 7, it was time for dinner. J and I had our regular sodas, but K decided to have a Bitburger beer, which was served in a substantial German mug.
As you can see in the previous picture, we were seated by the window. I found it too difficult to get between this table and the inner one, so K sat on the bench seat alone. Chairs are more comfortable for me any way. While we waited for the appetizers, I noted that the evening sun had made a rainbow in front of me.
J and I each started our meal with a refreshing apple-poppy seed smoothie, while K went with "beef carpaccio"- thinly slice prime beef, lime hollandaise, tomato salsa, pesto sauce, cress, parmesan, and potato crisp.
j and I had the creamy leek soup with leek crips, croutons, and foam next.
For our main course, J and I had herb crusted pork tenderloin with porcini sauce, broccoli, baby carrot, and potato mousseline. Excellent. K enjoyed pan seared white grouper fillet with saffron sauce, lime, buttered vegetables, and herb bulgur.
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J and I agreed that we had to try the warm cinnamon pumpkin pie with lemon sorbet, chocolate chip, and pistachio tuille basket. She agreed to eat the basket for me. It was different. K decided to just get the fresh fruits.
We were finished at 8:40. On the way out, I made an excuse to stay back to talk to Nina. We'd seen people receiving cakes and rousing renditions of "Happy Birthday". Some even got them for anniversaries. I told Nina that J's birthday would be the day we got off the boat. I asked if there was any way to get a cake for her for the night before. I was willing to pay. She said that the boat usually paid for it, when the occasion was onboard. She said she would talk to her boss about it. I thanked her and headed off to the room.
Around 9:30, we all went up on the top deck to try to see the sunset and to see the castle lit up. We'd be setting sail soon. The first thing we saw was a boat sailing up the river playing loud music. It was obviously a party boat and they were playing John Denver's "Country Roads". We thought it was hilarious and were amazed that they all seemed to be singing along. When it passed, I read on its side that it was an evening trip with dancing. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.
A crewman overheard us lamenting no real sunset.He told us that it was because there were no clouds. Thinking about it, he was right- all the colorful sunsets at home involve clouds.
We had our last views of the castle, which never did light up but the moon was up there, and headed to our cabins at 9:45.
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