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Published: April 16th 2012
Koblenz #1
Our first stopLeah and I were up early as we spent the day watching the beautiful German countryside fly by as we headed from Berlin down to Koblenz, our starting point for the Rhine River cruise. We arrived in here in the mid afternoon and after checking into our hotel, we headed out to explore the town, which to call it sleepy would be an understatement. Little did we know this would be well beaten over the next few days. We headed down to the river and caught the gondala over to the other side and got some very dramatic sunset pictures and randomly explored a small farming expo, which was held in the castle grounds. After this, we headed back into town for dinner and found a place that served up a delicious schnitzel for me, and a pork knuckle for a truly converted Leah. We also had a very interesting 'discussion' with a very drunk German woman who could not speak English. Dinner and a show!
Next morning, we jumped up and when we joined the boat, we realised how out of place we were. We looked like a honeymooning couple as the boat was full of either elderly people
Koblenz #2
Looking over the river or couples enjoying a romantic trip away - not the backpacking excitement we had anticipated! Saying that, the scenery either side of the boat was pretty impressive with castles dotted up and down the river as well as some beautiful little villages. It also gave us a chance to rest a bit after out non-stop travelling and partying of the last couple of weeks.
We came to our stop for the next couple of nights, St. Goar and went to explore the town. We were done after about half an hour! There were about 3 tourist shops and about 25 in total including restaurants - definitely a honeymooners paradise. We instead walked along the river to pass the time and came back in time for me to do a bit of stein shopping from a shop specialising in them. I found a couple I loved and spent up large while managing to avoid doing the same at the shop selling cuckoo clocks. After Leah's initial surprise and delight at seeing a Birkenstocks in amongst the 25 shops, she left disappointed in not finding what she was looking for. By this stage, it was about 4pm and time for dinner
Koblenz #3
On the gondala over and by 7pm we were back at the hotel and ready for bed. The sleepy town was getting to us!
The next morning, we escaped the general malaise of the town with a hike up to the nearby castle and got some great views up and down the river and explored some 'secret' passage ways in the castle. After some lunch, we jumped on the boat and headed down to Assmannhausen and not only for the name. The area was supposed to be famous for it's vineyards and this place was supposed to be one to explore. If anything, and we didn't believe it was possible, it was even sleepier and after a quick jaunt up and down the chairlift, and a drink in possibly the fanciest restaurant in Europe (of course, we didn't feel out of place.....), we jumped on the boat to head back to St. Goar.
It was with a sense of relief the next morning that we jumped on a train and headed out of the region to Frankfurt. Although the scenery is truly beautiful, the pace and lifestyle here is definitely catered for those over 70. Not for us. In Frankfurt, I left
Koblenz #4
Looking up the river Leah to shop to her hearts desire as I retired to a Starbucks and sat on the sofa for hours reading. Bliss! We had heard that Frankfurt was purely a commercial city with little to nothing for the tourist and we came to the same conclusion and we headed back to our hotel for the evening - my last of the trip!
Leah and I both had early flights so we were up before the crack of dawn heading to the airport and I bid a quick farewell to Leah as she headed off to party with the Irish as I returned to my last few weeks in London before I make the big move back to New Zealand.
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