Day 12 Koblenz

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We sailed away from Cochem at 6:00 am and arrived in Koblenz at 12:30 pm after coming through two more locks.

Koblenz is where the Rhein (Rhine) an Moessel (Moselle) meet. On the photo you can see the difference in color between the two rivers where they meet. The picture(s) was made from the cable car we went on that brought us up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress that rises 118 meters above the Rhine (see photos) and offers amazing views of the famous corner *Eck* where the two rivers meet and where the statue of Kaiser Wilhelm 1 was erected in 1897 and is 37 meters high.

The Fort was built between 1817 and 1828. We walked through parts of the Fort, it had many cells where prisoners of war would have been kept and display cases with weapons, it was dark and dreary so we didnt stick around long, we couldn't wait to get outside and admire the views. After being in the Fort we felt gratitude to be living in a country/culture that has not been focused on, forced into or preoccupied with defending itself.

On the way back down with the cable car (entirely enclosed and can hold up to 18 people), the wind had picked up so there was a quite a bit of swaying, but it was a fun ride, actually more like a thrill ride and I was glad to get out!

Back in town we went for more Schnitzel, YES! Steve had a bit of an adventure at the restaurant, he went to the bathroom, well, in Germany they are not that accomodating to tourists, everything is in German and most waiters etc will not speak English or very very little, which is the opposite of what we experienced in the Netherlands. So Steve came back from the bathroom laughing and all embarrassed, he had gone into the door that said DAMEN, the other one said HERREN and since that word made no sense to him at all and the word DAMEN sounded like DA MEN - he went for it, and when he opened the main door to the bathroom he startled a lady coming out of the bathroom ... was an easy mistake, how was he to know? funny



Oh, and while we were floating along that morning on the way to Koblenz, the ship was piping in Christmas music..to our suprise

The last photo is taken from the boat as well, it was so wonderful floating along and watching the world go by.....

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Comments

[Derek]

Great photos you two. German is a language all its own, isn't it? I remember going to a restaurant and having no idea what to order. From the pictures the weather looks cool. Is it?

[Aliekat]

Cool But Beautiful
Hey Derek, it has been rather windy and cold at times. Alie is a bit disheartened that we have actually come to cooler temperatures while it finally warms up in Edmonton. Good thing we didn't come for the weather. The trip has been marvelous prompting frequent memories of our Pender trips; Alie has had a great sense of pacing and mixing up experiences in her planning. Hope all is well and look forward to sharing stories with you. When are you off sailing with Pierre? Say hi to Kevin on your next run and tell him I am eager to catch up with him. Steve