The forecast, once again predicted rain. We packed our ponchos in our day pack, dressed warmly and headed out. Much to our delight and surprise, the sky was blue, not a cloud in sight and it was warm. In fact our jackets ended up in the day pack off and on throughout the day with the ponchos.
We are early risers in our old age and especially when we travel. Mornings are the most beautiful time of the day – crowds are less, (although we aren’t finding crowds at all in Germany) and we are refreshed and ready to go. So it was before 8 when we hit the streets and our plan for today was to find the Rhine, the famous German monument and the historical centre of the city. We headed in the direction of the river – thank you Google Maps.
As we walked we saw beds and beds of tulips. We saw meticulously clean streets and regal buildings. It reminded us of Vienna a bit, on a smaller scale. Everything seems organized and refined and beautiful.
We talked about how each of the countries we visited had their own personalities and you had to appreciate each one on its own merits. Comparing was impossible. Like comparing your favourite sandwich to your favourite cookie. You enjoy them both, but totally different items. (Everything with me can be understood by analogies to food- I’m a simple being.
We found the Rhine. Even it seems bigger and more powerful here. We walked along the river walkway and soon came to the famous Deutsches Eck, or German Corner, where the Rhine and Moselle converge. There is a huge monumental statue of Kaiser Wilhelm located here. The statue represents – the unity of Germany as a country. Kaiser Wilhelm was responsible for the unification of the many German states in the late 1870’s after his forces defeated France. We had read and watched videos about this monument but you have to see it with your own eyes to realize how huge and impactful it is.
Nearby there is a cable car that goes up to Stolzenfels Castle, a ruined 13th-century castle gifted to the Prussian Crown-prince in 1823. He had it rebuilt as a 19th-century palace. It is huge. We were actually the first ones on the cable car this morning. It opened as we were walking up. We went up and toured for a few hours, had coffee at the cafe at the top, the views were great. Then, although we had the option of hiking back, we rode back down on the cable car. As our cable car pulled into the port a Viking river cruiser pulled in and 100 plus of “us” got off and lined up. I was glad we were early.
Then we wandered till we found “old town” or the historic centre of Koblenz – always the favourite part of the city. We roamed about and had lunch followed by another stop for ice cream. We knew about Italian gelato but have been thrilled to discover German Eiscafes. Delicious “home-made” ice cream – now a daily requirement.
Jim’s watch tells us we have walked 8 kilometres and yesterday we walked 10 1/2. I can feel it. It’s time to go home and take a mid afternoon break – the joys of travelling as “mature” adults. We take breaks – sometimes naps- lots of cafe stops – ice cream stops – sometimes we even call it a day late afternoon and enjoy supper “at home”. Tonight we are going to find a nice German restaurant – too few days and too many dishes we love.