Day 10 - Scenic Rhine Sailing and Cochem

Today began with onboard activities starting at 8:30 so we were up and having breakfast by 8am. The ship stayed docked all night in Rudesheim as the 40 mile stretch of the Rhine River between Koblenz and Binhen is home to nearly 30 castles and the view is better in the day than in the middle of the night. 

The ship pushed off the dock around 8:30am and we went up to the sun deck to take in the scenery. The temperature was quite cool this morning, around 50F and with the constant breeze from the ship being underway made for numb hands.

The castles came at a fairly quick pace—one every 1/2 km. The steep hills flanking both sides of the river were covered with terraced vineyards. This part of the Rhine river is beautiful, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castles were built in the years ranging from 1,000 to the late 1300s, strategically placed to maximize defensive positions. The cruise director narrated historical facts and stories about each castle and played music during spans between them.

Rheinstein Castle, also called Falkenburg, is an example of neo-Gothic reconstruction. Its collection of porcelain, furniture and weapons spans five centuries. 

Pfalzgrafenstein and Gutenfels castle behind it made for a formidable toll stop on the Rhine. The former sits in the middle of the river on a tiny low-lying island.

The castles were all primarily built to extract tolls from ships traveling up and down the river, enabling feudal lords to control trade along the river.  Subsequently, the castles made their owners very wealthy.

Around 9:44am we approached the trickiest and most dangerous part of the Rhine river, the Lorelei Rock. This part of the river gets very narrow and the large rock face creates a visually blind corner and hinders radios. Radio relay stations are used to allow continuous radio communications amongst the ships. The section of river is only wide enough for one ship at a time. The narrowing of the river also increases the current, making maneuvering harder still.

We safely navigated the narrow stretch and more castles greeted us.

Interesting fact: During WWII, the Germans knew that the Allies would not intentionally bomb castles, so they tried to disguise train tunnels with towers to make them look like castles. The picture below is such an example.

These two castles, Sterrenberg and Libenstein, known as the “Hostile Brothers” were built by two brothers in the 12th century. They came to despise one another so one of them built a large defensive wall between the two castles so they could not see each other. The tall structure between the two castle towers is the wall. 

Marksburg Castle, well preserved through the ages, with a distinctive freestanding tower. 

This is Stolzenfels, built in 1242, and rebuilt in the 19th century by a Prussian king. 

This portion of the Rhine was busy with ships today. Ships passed us on either side and we overtook a slower moving ship.

As a special surprise, the captain opened up the wheelhouse for us to see inside. His first mate was in charge and in training, and was laser focused on activity ahead on the water. 

The radar screen, shown with the yellow blobs, is the only way we can sail at night. 

The castles continued until we reached Kublenz. Kublenz is at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers. The Moselle is to the right where we were headed and the Rhine is on the left.

This fortress sits on the other side of the Rhine from where the Moselle enters.

This city was first established in 8BC by the Romans. The Basilica of St. Castor was established in 836.

The ship turned onto the Moselle which we will be on for the remainder of our time on the ship. The ship docked in Kublenz for about 15 minutes. Everyone on the ship that was taking the Cochem walking tour and Reichsberg castle excursion disembarked the ship and got onto buses. Roy, Rob, and Michele got off the ship and Gwyn stayed aboard. The buses drove to Cochem about 40 minutes away along a very scenic highway on the river with views of the steeply terraced vineyards.

The ship continued down the Moselle and would dock in Cochem after a 4-hour trip, around 6pm. Folks on the excursion would then walk over to the docked ship once they were done with their excursion.

The buses arrived in Cochem at about 2:30pm. Our walking tour did not start until 3:30pm so Roy, Rob, and Michele walked around the town for an hour.

The large tower of the city’s church.

This is one of the original wall gates of the town.

We returned to the meeting point by 3:30pm and our walking tour began.

High water marks are etched on the side of this building. The bottom floors were where the business shops were located and were purposefully decorated to minimize the damage from flood waters.

Plenty of half timber buildings.

The narrow alleys between building provide cool corridors shaded from the sun and the heat of summer.

We made our way to a shuttle stop to be driven up to the Reichsberg castle.

The castle originally served as a toll castle in the Middle Ages and was probably built around 1100 in the first half of the 12th century. The occupants of the castle required tolls from all river traffic. A heavy chain stretched across the river to prevent boats from passing until the toll had been paid. 

The castle was only one of two castles along the Rhine never to be overrun in the 30 Years War or the Palatine Wars. In 1689, Louis XIV had his troops blow up the castle along with 199 other castles in a single day! By that time the castle was not being used as a military fortification so it was easy for Louis XIV to walk up and pack the castle full of explosives. In 1868, the Berlin merchant Louis Fréderic Jacques Ravené had it rebuilt in the original design as could best determined from 2D drawings. 

The views from atop the castle’s walls were amazing. You can really get an appreciation of the commanding position this castle had over the Rhine river.

The exterior of the castle has a mosaic of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, on one of its towers.

The castle had five gates as a defensive measure.

Views of an interior courtyard.

The inside of the castle was beautifully restored.

The ceiling design is burned into the wood.

All the stained window decorations are painted glass. A skill that is getting more difficult to find.

All the wall and ceiling designs are hand painted. There is no wallpaper in the castle.

This armored suit is about Rob’s size!

This wall contains key dates of the city’s history in a colorful design.

Our tour completed, we returned to the city center where we walked back to the ship that had just arrived a few minutes earlier.  It was now 6:15pm so we returned to our rooms and got ready for dinner.

The ship will remain docked until 10pm tonight before continuing to Bernkastel overnight.