Koblenz, Germany

I woke up at 5 am and went out in the small park in Rudescheim to get some fresh air.  I was back on board well before the 7:30 am breakfast.  I have really been enjoying the cheeses here.  I had Limburger, goat and brie cheese this morning along with some heavy German bread.  As we were finishing breakfast the ship pulled away from the dock at Rudescheim am Rhine and turned downriver toward Koblenz. 

Since the morning was very cold we all wore jackets to sit up on the sundeck and watch the landscape of the Middle Rhine go by. 

Because of all of the historical structures, this 65 km stretch of the Rhine has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The number and beauty of the old castles and ruins amazed us.  We all had binoculars and were able to see details of the structures along the way.  As we went through the countryside and small villages Ian spotted several interesting birds.  At one point we floated by the Lorelei which is a very narrow and deep point in the Rhine River.  Legend has it that sailors who attempt to sail through this passage will be dashed to their death on the rocks.  A beautiful maiden, Lorelei, lures the sailors close to the rocks as they crash.  Local superstition prohibits passing through the Lorelei at night.

We opted to have the informal lunch in the lounge which was shrimp Po Boys and English style fish and chips.  There were also soups and salads as well as lemongrass tea which was quite good. 

By the time we were finishing lunch we were pulling up to the dock at Koblenz just a short distance from the “German Corner” where the Mossell River joins the Rhine.  We all decided to take the guided tour of Marksburg Castle.  This is one of the few castles in the area that was never destroyed in the nearly 1000 century of the castle.  Our guide was a local resident and had a lot of knowledge about the castle and took us to see a lot of the old structure.  It just astounded us that the timber supports that were put into place over 900 years ago are still able to support the building.

As we were leaving the castle we had the first rain of our trip.  The shower didn’t last very long but it felt very cold to us.  We made a dash for the bus for the ride back to the ship.  We dropped off a few things and went for a walk around the “German Corner” or “deutsches Eck” that includes a gigantic statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I who was the German ruler of the late 1800s and early 1900s who brought the separate Germanic states together into what we know as Germany today.  Ian went up into the Kaiser Wilhelm I memorial and posed for some snapshots.  We also walked around some of the area near the dock and found a couple of interesting statues as well as a few geocaches. 

At a cache by the Rhine River we met a group of three geocachers from the Netherlands who were searching for the same cache.  Like most geocachers, they were a very pleasant group.  Fortunately, Emily made the find on the cache.  After we walked into town, I met with a geocacher from Koblenz who helped me make the find.  It was very nice to meet other geocachers.  We walked into the Altstadt and found a really funny statue that portrays a “Rascal of Koblenz” or Schangelbrunnen in a public square.  Each panel surrounding the fountain pictures one of the boy’s many transgressions.  While reading the bronze sign in front of the statue, the boy will spit water on unsuspecting visitors. 

We returned to the ship to dress for dinner that was a celebration of German culture.  The problem was that most of the décor, traditions, music and food were from Bavaria which was not visited by this tour.  That being said, it was all in good fun and everything was good.  The servers and many of the kitchen staff were in traditional Bavarian Lederhosen and dirndl dresses.  Local musicians were hired to play an accordion and mechanical crank organ during dinner.  The menu was a buffet of pork, kraut, pig knuckles, German meatballs and wursts.  Desserts were gelato, kirsch tort, and Apfel tort.  A dry Riesling was offered as was a local Kolsch bier.  Many of the staff came to each table to have shots of cherry schnapps with all of the diners.  After we ate we took a tour of the kitchen with Chef Mario which was nice to see how such meals came from a very small space.

After dinner we changed back into walking clothes and walked back into Koblenz.  We strolled up the Mossell River and through part of the city of Koblenz.  We found a few more interesting statues and a display of three panels from the former Berlin Wall. From our previous trip to Germany, we knew that the town shuts down after 9 pm so we started back to the ship around 9:30 since darkness was setting in.  We had some decaf tea and headed for our rooms.

The ship departs for Cologne at 4 am and we should arrive by 9 am for a guided tour into the city. We will have the afternoon to explore the city on our own.