10/08/2019 Tuesday Cochem, Germany

10/8/19, Tuesday. Cochem, Germany.  Day 10 Grand Circle, Day 43 total travel.  Ave. Temps. 57 high,  45 low. Weather  40% cloudy,  26% rain

• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

• Accommodations: River Ship

Reichsburg Castle above the city of Cochem Germany.

10/8/19 Tuesday Cochem, Germany.  Day 10 Grand Circle, Day 43 total travel. Temps. Ave. 57 high,  45 low. Weather  40% cloudy,  26% rain.  Phone says I walked 8,110 steps for 3.5 miles and climbed 14 floors.
Reichsburg Castle above Cochem, Germany.  

TOUR INFO "Disembark this morning for a tour of Reichsburg Castle, believed to have been originally constructed some time in the eleventh century. Burned to the ground by King Louis XIV of France in 1689 during the War of the Palatine Succession, the castle remained derelict until 1868, when it was purchased by Louis Ravene.  Louis, a Berlin entrepreneur, converted the castle into a summer home for himself and his family. In 1978, ownership of the castle fell into the hands of the city of Cochem, which has since opened it to the public.

Your motorcoach will take you on a scenic ascent from the river valley to the top of the rocky hill on which the castle sits. You’ll explore the exterior and interior, and have free time in Cochem, before returning to your ship to sail toward Bonn."

Today, while we cruised along the scenic Mosel river, we also had the opportunity for a quick visit to the galley.  I don’t know how they cook and present all the food so beautifully with such limited space.  Impressive.  

The captain also gave us a presentation on the ship and his job.  Points I retained:  The ship is 36.5 ft wide and a lock is 38 ft. wide. The ship has two engines and three generators.  We use about 55 gallons of fuel per hour.  It would be cheaper for the ship to run generators for electricity when in port, but people complained about the noise of the generators.  The solution is to get the electricity from the port.   The ship holds 39,000 gallons of fuel.  They have 55,000 gallons of drinking water, which I think is enough for five days. We reload water every time we are in port.  The water is purified and treated with ultraviolet light.  There used to be a lock master in each lock, but now one lock master operates five locks.  Given the amount of traffic on the river, that is hard to imagine.  

My information.

Reichsburg Castle looks like a fairytale castle overlooking Cochem.  It was rebuilt by Berlin Banker, Louis Frederic Jacques Ravene, as a summer home for his family in the 1870s.    The original castle dates back to the 12th century.  The guided tour takes 40 minutes and includes tapestries, fine wood paneling, Louis XIV furniture, Baroque paintings, stained glass windows, and armor.  There are remnants of the Medieval building in the wall surrounding the castle, the octagonal tower, and Hexenturm witch's gate.  

Near the castle entry on the back side.

Near the castle entry on the river side.  

Dining Room


Small sitting room with a lovely fireplace and this window.  

Another small sitting room.  Touching the mermaids belly was supposed to grant your wish.  

This small room had two secret doorways.  This panel lead to a spiral staircase going up and the other led to a different spiral staircase going down.

Family Room table

This was a game table.  We didn’t think the side chairs looked all that comfortable. Family room had at least four tables.  There was an interesting collection of furniture throughout the house.  

The house had many suits of armor.  The castle was full of grand dining rooms, Neo-Gothic halls,  secret passages,  suits of armor and baroque furniture. The castle once housed as many as 4,000 knights.

View to the left from the porch of the castle.  

View to the right of the Mosel River.

On the way out of the castle.  Good bye, Frog Prince.  

Enderttor is the largest of the three medieval gates in Cochem.  It dates back to 1332, it has served as defense, prison, and a landmark for stagecoaches.  

Edert Gate is the Old Town Gate.

The Balduin’s Gate led from the cemetery to the Old Town.  

Moselpromenade along the Mosel River is enhanced by pretty flowers.  It is a lovely walk or place to sit and enjoy.

Altstadt or Old Town has half-timbered houses around the market square and the town hall dates back to the 1700s.  

Old “Marktplatz”

On the way down from the cemetery.  The decoration on the right is a castle replica.  

I visited St. Martin’s Church which had some very modern and colorful windows.

German cemetery for soldiers.  Many of these soldiers were in their late teens when they died.  Johannes told us how Hitler came to power.  In the beginning, concentration camps were for Germans that did not agree with Hitler or who were politically active against him, or just expressed counter opinions, or perhaps helped a neighbor that was Jewish, homosexual, etc.  They were sent to the concentration camps and treated brutally.  The German people then returned to their neighborhoods and spread the word about their treatment.  This partly explains how Hitler gained power as no one was going to say anything.  The German people were often lied to and they believed the lies.  Of course, there is much more to this.