Cochem to Bacharach

Saturday 25 May

This morning we had a leisurely Frühstück and were ready to leave by 9.30am, which gave us almost an hour to get to the station.  One final shot of our Gästehaus...

...and we were on our way to Bacharach via Koblenz.  We had half an hour at Koblenz station and availed ourselves of the snack machines.  Two cups of soup, one of hot chocolate, a small block of chocolate, a small packet of dry bikkies, a pack of Mentos, a Kit-Kat and two 250mL orange drinks later, we had spent less than EU 4!  It’s like playing the pokies, Grandma, but you win every time!  We arrived at 12.30 and had found ourselves, once again, on the top floor.  Only three flights of stairs this time, though.  The room is quite small but it does have a bathroom, and considering the price we are paying (less than EU 50 / night) it’s very good value.

The train ticket we’d bought gave us all day travel, so we went back to Koblenz to ride the gondola (the furthest thing on my to-do list here). 

The name Koblenz means “confluence”, and it’s where the Mosel empties itself into the Rhein.  There’s a big statue at Deutches Eck where the rivers meet.  It’s an important site in German history.

There was a lot of activity there today.  They were running the Mittelrhein Marathon for kids.  We think there were 6000 kids entered, and they ran in age groups.  These boys were about seven.

The start/finish line made it a bit tricky to get to the gondola, but we managed.  The ride itself was fun but far too short.  I love these things!

Once atop the plateau, we walked to the viewing platform.  The wind was very strong and bitterly cold.  (We found out later that it’s been snowing in Italy.  It’s summer here next week, for goodness’ sake!)

Phil and I wandered over to take a look at the walls of the Festung Ehrehbreitstein, the fortress on top of the plateau.  We didn’t go in.

On the way back to the station, we stopped to look at the Liebfrauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady (Notre Dame in French).

We arrived back in Bacharach at 6.30pm, and headed up to Burg Stahleck for tea.  Bacharach’s castle is a very popular youth hostel, but it’s 350 steps above the town.  This makes for great views, but a high heart rate to get there. 

The meal was reasonably priced but not very nice, and poor value for money compared to what else we’ve been eating in Germany.  The big attraction, however, is wifi.  After tea I posted yesterday’s blog, and we had time to check emails.  By the time we left it was raining (of course!) and getting dark.  The lights along the Rhein are pretty. 

Forecast for tomorrow is 11 degrees and rain.  (It’s summer here next week, for goodness’ sake!)  Think we’ll spend most of the day in the warmth of a boat.