Koblenz is an absolutely gorgeous city and I wish we could have spent more time here. It is a city of 110,000 people, located at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel Rivers. The Lahn River also flows into the Rhine here.
While cruising this morning we went through Bonn, the former capital which had some beautiful houses along the river.
Then we went past the pillars of the bridge at Remagen, which was the only bridge Hitler didn't blow up and which became a strategic route for the Allies. Ultimately, it was weakened and fell into the river and was never replaced. There is a peace museum on one side. It is also the bridge that inspired the movie by the same name.
We also saw a nuclear reactor that went out of commission 40 years ago after less than a year in use -- turns out it is on a fault line and is still being dismantled.
As we approached Koblenz, we saw Schloss Stolzenfels towering above the Rhine. A former 13th century fortress, it was refurbished by Prussian King Wilhelm IV in 1845 as his summer residence.
After lunch we started our tour.
We took a bus to the top of a hill on the opposite side of the Rhine in the city of Lahnstein to the 17th century Fortress Ehrenbreitstein. It was once the residence of the powerful Archbishop-Electors of Trier. Originally built over 1,000 years ago, it now houses several museums and a youth hostel.
From here we took a gondola ride down to the city center for our tour.
Our first stop was "German Corner," a sharp triangle that butts into the water where the Rhine and Mosel Rivers come together, seen as we descended in the gondola.
We stopped by the Basilica of St. Castor,
The church of Our Lady which was also on a beautiful town square,
And the Town Hall and former Jesuit school on left.
We noticed there were beautiful shopping streets with boutiques unique to Europe and lovely little cafes.
Unfortunately, we only had 20 minutes after our tour, but I did manage to check out a fabric store and find a tiny treasure.
As we headed back to the boat, Ed and I got a photo with The Fortress behind us.
Tonight we went to the Chef's Table on the back of the boat for dinner -- a special tasting menu for about 28 people. The food was extremely gourmet with artistic presentations and we had delightful dinner companions.
No comments:
Post a Comment