Back to the Eleventh Century

Casa Grande, AZ

The MS Rhapsody arrived in Cochem at 8 am and by 8:30 we were boarding a minivan to take us up the hill to the Reichsburg Castle.  

If you look closely the ship is docked by the bridge.  Now that explains why we didn't walk up the hill to the castle.  What a ride that was with sharp turns and a very narrow one lane road.  

Even though the ship docks in these quaint towns, you can see why they had the minibus for us to ride to the castle

Here's a little history about the Reichsburg Castle.  It is believed that it was built in the eleventh century and King Louis XIV burned it to the ground in 1689.  The palace remained in that condition until 1868 when Louis Ravene purchased it to be used as his summer residence for his family.  Cochem acquired the estate in 1978 when it opened to the public.  

Bill always loves to see all the hand carving in these castles.

This photo doesn't show the intricacies of this ceiling.

I stood next to this suit of armour to show you  a comparison of how big this man's suit of armour is.  

This photo shows a typical view of the Mosel River valley.  

After the castle tour we spent some time in Cochem with our program director showing us the sites in this quaint town.





We finished the included tour in time to return to the ship for lunch and shortly afterward we set sail for Bernkastel, one of my favorite stops.  

We enjoyed sailing toward Bernkastel, Germany.  Here's how tight the ship was in a lock.

We sailed past many grape fields on our way to Bernkastel.  Next stop we will get to taste those Riesling grapes on a wine tour.







Turtle Safely......