Koblenz and Rudesheim

Day 4 - Koblenz and Rudesheim (September 2)

We both woke up around 5:45 AM and decided to go topside for coffee. The morning sun was peaking out from behind light clouds and it looked like it was going to be warm. The ship had been traveling since last night and we expected to reach the town of Koblenz around 8:00 AM. So we grabbed the NetBook and headed for the coffee bar to check email and wake up. By 7:00 AM we checked in on Shanda and Denise, they were still getting up so we went to the dining room and had breakfast.

The ship tied up to the quay in Koblenz and announced a tour of Marksburg Castle would leave at 10:00 AM, so everybody should be ready to get on the bus fifteen minutes early. On the quay next to us was a huge bronze statue of Deutsches Eck or William I, whose Chancellor Bismark united 32 German states in 1893. The statue is in a large square covered with native stone pavers, all of which is on the point dividing the Rhine and Mosel Rivers. While we waited Denise and Shanda had breakfast and I did a little research. Located at the junction of the Mosel and Rhine rivers Koblenz was originally a Roman military outpost built about 9 BC. The town that developed on the site became a residence of Carolingian kings and over the years has become an important center of tourism and commerce, particularly the wine trade. Manufactures include machinery, pianos, paper, textiles, and chemicals.

We got on our bus and took a twenty minute drive to Marksburg Castle, the only hill castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed. It has been lived in for over 700 years and thus represents an ever-changing and developing building complex that has been growing into its present shape over the centuries. The castle rises above the town of Braubach on a hill high above the Mosel River. Its unusually slender keep towering above the surrounding courts and ramparts. Beginning with the construction of the keep in the 12th century, the castle grew into its present shape throughout succeeding centuries. In the Middle Ages, the strengthening of the castle's defenses became essential and urgent by improvements made to firearms. Huge outworks date from this time, as does the conversion of a gateway in the outer wall to a strong bastion. It is mainly due to these extra defense works that the castle was never seriously attacked.

We made the trek up to the castle along a series of switchback service roads and met our guide. Our tour took us through the main entrance under the “murder holes” and along the horse way which is carved out of the local bedrock. We passed through the guard area and onto the lower battlements where canon and small arms were deployed. From there we advanced into the kitchen and living quarters for the castle owners, including the spinning room and bedroom. We also passed through the knights eating room, confession room (with implements designed to elicit confessions), and the knights armor room, which had a display of battle armor covering nine centuries. We ended the tour at the small museum and gift shop then headed back down the hill to our bus for the ride back to the ship.

Once back aboard, the ship set sail for our next stop, Rudesheim. Along the way we moved through a series of deep cuts through the hills, known as the Lorelei Valley. On both sides of the river were many small towns with tall church spires, cathedrals and usually with castles above them. Another striking thing we saw, going up the side of the hills behind the towns were hundreds of acres of agriculture, crops grown in rows up and down the hills, rather than across or along terraces as we saw in China. You could see hops, corn, grapes and other crops being grown. How they manage to plow, plant and harvest on such steep hill sides is beyond me. Much of the afternoon was spent taking pictures of the castles and churches we passed on the way to Rudesheim.

Our ship pulled in to the quay at Rudesheim at 6:30 PM. On the way In we passed no fewer than eight other river tour boats like ours, must be a popular stop. In fact, no sooner had we tied up and two more Viking ships docked, one next to us and one at the quay just ahead of us. As soon as the gangway was secured we walked ashore to explore the town, do a little shopping and have a bite to eat. Rudesheim is a very charming medieval Rhine River town located in middle of the southern entrance to the Lorelei valley, famous for its white wines and Rudesheim Coffee drink. We walked along a path bordered with large “Plane” trees past the cruise ships and into the town itself where we stopped at a small specialty shop selling all sorts of unique gifts. From there we wandered through town along cobbled lanes until we reached the Drosselgasse, often considered "the most famous lane in the world", a small street that has become the top attraction in Rudesheim. Filled with wine taverns and hidden gardens where food and wine are served, live music filters out of every door inviting us to come in.

The lane was packed with visitors from the ships looking for a place to eat and have a drink. Had we been there earlier in the day we could have continued up the lane to a small square at the entrance to the cable car lifts to the Niederwald monument. The monument, perched high above the Rhine River between Rudesheim and Assmannshausen is an immense bronze statue with wildly streaming hair and is considered to be the mythical figure Germania, symbol of German unification in 1871 and is one of the most famous monuments for German people.

Since we were there too late in the day we continued to browse the shops along the Drosselgasse until we stopped at one of the many restaurants for dinner. Shanda, Denise and I had Brautwurst, saurkraut and potatoes with a glass of wine and a pop for me. Tina ordered a pork steak with fries and a beer. We were served with large plates of very good food and had a great meal ashore, listening to live music played by “Mike”, my musical German twin - heh, heh! After dinner we made several other stops including one at a late night ice cream parlor, which had stayed open just for me - hee, hee! Then we headed back to the ship to call it a night.