Cochem

We arrived in Cochem (Germany) before breakfast after cruising smoothly all night.  Before falling asleep, I did feel one pretty good bump while going through one of the locks.  I guess we quickly learned to sleep through the minor bumps.  The only exception was a few days later when I awoke to what sounded like we ran over something which scraped along the bottom of the boat.  I was instantly wide awake and wondering if I should get out the life jackets.  Of course Ron slept through the whole thing.

Anyway, Cochem, bless you, is a pretty town guarded by impressive Reichsburg Castle.

Although the castle was originally built in the 13th century, it was destroyed when the French conquered the town in 1689 (obviously a common problem with castles.)  It was rebuilt in a mixture of styles in 1866 which made for a very interesting tour.

I was very impressed with all the tour guides and places we visited, but the thing that I feel made them exceptional was the use of the 'QuietVox.'  You see Ron wearing one of the units in this picture with his new friend.

Using one of these nifty boxes with attached earpiece, we could always hear our guide regardless of how many other people were in the vicinity.  I could run off a bit to snap a picture and not miss a word.  A couple of times the group moved off without me realizing it, but I managed to find them again.  That sounds easy, but you can't imagine how many other tour groups we encountered and all their different languages.

Castles are like dogs, you can't get far enough away from them to get a good picture.

The interior was luxurious.

With Dresden tiles around the fireplace.

And a jade stove.

This thing, whatever it is, is supposed to be good luck if you rub its belly.  I wasn't going to touch it, but noticed the fancy ceiling.

Although I associate beer with Germany, this is wine country.  In fact, since the water was tainted in the past, everybody drank wine in large tankards like these.

I wondered how they accomplished anything with all that drinking, but we were told the alcoholic content was less then.  Uh-huh . . .

In keeping with its reputation as the center of the Moselle wine trade, Cochem enjoys an annual wine festival.  Previously, this fountain in the town square actually flowed with wine during the festival.  I guess the health department put a stop to that.

Ron was always looking for good German bakery and found the best in Cochem.

Once we were back on the boat and cruising, we noticed this fancy building with the highway running right through it.  Strange.

And the vineyards just kept getting steeper.

In Koblenz, the Moselle empties into the Rhine.  We were told about a face on a wall that had moving eyes and stuck out his tongue on the hour.  We thought we had found it and were standing with cameras at the ready, but nothing happened.  I finally asked a local young person if it stuck out its tongue and received a negative reply along with a look that said, "You crazy American!"

I guess I should have listened to the directions better.  One of my many faults.  Some of our shipmates did find the correct head, but said he wasn't as cute as ours.