For my first weekend in Germany, I took a drive down south to see the castles along the Rhine and Mosel rivers. A confused concierge at one hotel couldn't understand my enthusiasm, asking, "But can't you see castles in Canada?"
I began in Koblenz where the two rivers meet, toured the fort of Ehrenbreitstein, then drove south along the river to Marksburg. Having seen one castle, I was determined to see as many as possible and spent three days stopping at dozens of them.
| Although
having fallen into disrepair, Burg Liebenstein (right) is being renovated
as a bed and breakfast. I couldn't pass up the chance to stay overnight
in a 12th century castle and returned for the final evening. The only other guests were from
Montréal, but had once lived in Winnipeg.
I saw the fairy tale castle of Burg Eltz near the Mosel river, which we followed to within sight of, although not to, Trier, the former Roman city. I also stopped in Rudesheim, known for its wine festival, and spent the afternoon seeing its museums. The first, which I had believed to be a wax museum from the outside, was in fact a very graphic depiction of medieval torture instruments and their modern-day counterparts. After this stop, I needed something a little less chilling, and happened upon the Mechanical Music Museum. |
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| This collection of mechanical instruments included everything from player pianos which could manipulate 18 other separate instruments, down to miniature birds made of real feathers and no bigger than my thumb, whose singing was so realistic that it attracted birds outside the windows. This museum is housed in a former 11th century castle, with the chapel dating back to the late 10th century. The tour guide was very enthusiastic to have a chance to practice her flawless English and I passed the afternoon so quickly that it was dark before I returned to Koblenz. | |
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On the way back to Hamburg, I stopped at Cologne to see the Cathedral, but arrived
just as it was closing. As I went to look at the outside, the skies
opened and I was caught in a torrential downpour and had to splash through
traffic to get to a restaurant where I hoped to wait out the storm. I was drenched right to the skin in the few
seconds it took to cross
the street. The rain did let up enough to take a few photographs
of the exterior of this colossal structure, which celebrated its 750th
birthday this summer.
I am the green and white streak in front of the doors. |
This page was last updated 22/04/2007 13:04:40