We wound up on a steep, winding road that brought us to the other side of Cochem, the land side
back from the river. It turned out that we'd taken a very fortunate wrong turn
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That's the castle from this side of the river with all the vineyards behind it on the other side
of the river. But, we still weren't sure how to get from here to the castle...
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On this weekend a plethora of bikies happened to descend on Cochem. A few
were reckless, and made driving a bit dangerous for us. I had to keep my eyes on the mirrors and ahead, back and forth,
constantly. The majority were fine, but, it only takes one second to hit some idiot by accident who's being a cowboy, like this guy
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Cochem Castle, from the road above the town
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From the same vantage point you can see, barely, Café Restaurant Sesselbahn, on the left, the Sesselbahn,
in the middle, and the cross on the right, way out on the end of that jagged ridge
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Ulla and I were still wondering how to get to the castle, but we were
enjoying stopping and taking pictures as we figured it out
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The Mosel River Valley at Cochem, another take
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These bikers traveled in packs, and some really were truly nuts
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One last shot of Cochem Castle before we began our descent down a twisting road to get there. We could
have walked up from the town, but, that's a long, steep walk. We drove down from behind it and saw some places we'd seen from
the Sesselbahn ridge a little more up close
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The fußball field I'd taken a picture of
from the other side of the valley
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And why is there a helipad here? Maybe to airlift motorcycle crash victims...?
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A closer view of the Sesselbahn, et al, from the soccer field...
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...and another view from much further down as we head for the castle
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...and another one...
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We are getting closer. The entrance is over to the right
and only accessible by foot
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You can actually drive up to a parking lot below the castle, but, unless you're
the König, or an employee, das ist verboten. We found a parking space very near this entrance, still
quite a bit above the town
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Another shot of the Sesselbahn, while on our way up to the castle
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There is a fascinating history of this castle
here.
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Cochem Castle is just over 1000 years old. It's had its good days, and its bad days.
On May 19th, 1689, the castle had a really bad day. The French, under King Louis XIV, burned it, undermined it, then blew it up...
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But, all the king's horses and all king's men did not put Cochem Castle
back together again... That was done by Louis Ravené
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The view from the castle's terrace of Cochem
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The rebuilding did not begin until 1868. Louis Ravené, who was a businesman from Berlin,
bought the crumbling castle from Cochem, took the original architectural plans, and rebuilt it stone by stone
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After years of work, and millions in today's Euros, he only spent eight days here
before he died. That is a royal pity, however, the work he accomplished on this structure during his life is nothing short of
awe-inspiring. We went inside for a look
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I would hate to have to wear this to work. This is in the restaurant, on the right, as you enter the castle
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Cond, across the river, growing grapes. The master of
the castle had an all-encompassing view of what was going on in the entire valley and on the river
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People in Germany often bring their dogs with them when they take a walk.
The dogs are well provided for in the places we've seen in our travels
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I could live up there... No elevator, though
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This is the main entrance
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Wine press and wine vat
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Recent renovations
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That is the top of the mountain that this castle is built upon
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Closer shot
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The well. About 400 feet deep, through solid rock. The castle had to have
its own water source. That well is bricked all the way down which shows the lengths that these people went to
to make the castle an area that was self-sufficient in time of war
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The well
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This is the timeline of the history of this castle. In 1942, Cochem
could not afford to pay either for the upkeep of the castle, or for the taxes imposed by the Nazi regime.
So, Cochem gave the castle to the Nazis. In 1978, the German government gave the castle back to Cochem because they couldn't
afford the upkeep either. Today, mostly through tourism, Cochem is able to maintain this brilliant structure
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So, we did our part and took the tour. Nice house...
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The next several shots are from inside the castle. I lagged behind a little
so I could get the shots I wanted. Right after this shot,
I found myself locked out of the next room on the tour... When I knocked on the door, the tourguide explained to the
entire group, as she unlocked the door to let me in, that a "Gepenst" or "Geist" was entering the room. A ghost.
But, "Geist" also means "a great mind" in German, so, I rolled with it
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The furniture and the windows, and where everything was placed, was fascinating.
There were no lights when this was built, just candles and sunlight. That becomes very apparent when you look at
the architecture of the rooms
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Ceiling detail
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Dining hall
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Wonderful detail
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Glass, lead and light
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Another shot through these wonderful windows
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This is where the help lived. It's an entire house withing the castle
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This figurine hangs in a meeting room which is very high in the castle.
This is where planning for war was conducted. Rubbing her, um, red area, was considered good luck
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And it's still considered good luck today, blue fingernails or not
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The larger mugs were for the monks, and the smaller for the nuns. There was a time when monks
were required to drink 5 litres of wine per day. The nuns were only required to drink 3 litres
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Centerpiece
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A Ming vase, a rug for a tablecloth, a warm fireplace, and
another fascinating centerpiece
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A closer look at the centerpiece
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The main table in front of the fireplace
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Intricate woodwork
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Ulla and I have decided to buy this castle, renovate it,
and make this our Canasta room. (Let me dream!)
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Another intricate wine holder
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The legend is that the huge suit of armor on the right was made for a German
who was almost 8 feet tall. The armor on the left is believed to be of French origin
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Three views from one balcony...
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Nice place for breakfast, lunch, or...
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...dinner.
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Cochem is behind me. This is looking down the river toward where we stayed, just
around the bend
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More wonderful German woodworking
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On our way out of these ivy-covered walls...
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More ivy!
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Ivy everywhere. The clock is wrong, by the way. It was about 2:00pm
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Another view of The Mosel from the castle
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