Oct 1, 2019 - Mosel River Valley

Cochem was settled in 886; no I didn't leave out the 1; during early Celtic and Roman times. During WWII, great parts of Cochem's old town were destroyed. Also, during the war, the Nazi's set up a concentration camp here. It held 13,000 people who were imprisoned. They worked as slave labor for the Bosch company making spark plugs for the bombs that flew to England and bombed London. The Castle we saw today towering over the scenic town of Cochem is not the castle that originally stood there in the 12th century. That castle had a long and...

Sep 15, 2018 - Free day in Cochem

Today was a free day in Cochem, Germany, a small village on the Moselle River, about 10 minutes from Cochem. My cousins were going to Luxembourg today, so I just planned to wander around this charming tourist center, take a short cruise on the river and visit the Reichsburg Castle, perched on top of a hill overlooking the town. Cochem is full of tourists this time of year, but closes down almost completely in the winter. So people who live here really have to make hay while the sun shines. Their friendliness rivals any place I’ve ever...

Sep 14, 2018 - Driving in Germany

Sept. 14: Driving from Strasbourg not Germany Eleanor Roosevelt once said that you should do one thing that scares you every day. Well, I did the Segway tour a couple days ago and conquered that fear. And I have sort of overcome some of my fear of derision for trying to speak French to the French. But nothing compares to the terror I experienced today, having rented a car and tried to drive out of Strasbourg in the pouring rain, in the dark of morning, in rush hour traffic, with a manual shift, not realizing that I really didn’t understand...

May 24, 2015 - Cochem, Germany

We visited the beautiful town of Cochem, Germany by train. This is one of my favorite towns in Germany, so far. We left the train station and walked down the Promenade to the bridge and town area. The Promenade is a really beautiful area of town, it has a beautiful lawn with flower gardens that line the Moselle River. I spotted my first European Robin on the lawn. It has very nice sitting areas to watch the boats go by. After enjoying the Promenade we walked to the bridge where we noticed a cute tour train, we paid our $5 and took the tour...

May 2, 2015 - The trek to Burg Eltz Castle

Castle #2 in this area is a well preserved Berg Elz Castle. It is located about 23K from Cochem. Again we rely on the shuttle bus. From the parking lot, it is a short steep walk to the castle enterance. We have some time before our tour (we got smart and asked for one in English version this time). The outside of the castle is in good condition. We strained our necks looking up at the walls and spires. The interior is very simular to #1. Rooms for weapons, entertainment and meeting, plus the cooking, eating and living areas. I think the...

Apr 30, 2015 - Cochem on the Mosel

Today we travel to Cochem, Germany. Our destination is the AM Hafen Hotel & Restaurant. This is our only 4 day stay at a hotel and we are not sure what to expect. We were very happy with the comfort and view. The hotel could not have been nicer. The staff is friendly the dining room looks nice. The view from our room is what we had hoped for. The river, in front, with all kind of boats and barges sliding past our balcony seats. On the other side of the river the city of Cochem. A bridge only steps from our hotel connect us. At the south...

Jun 14, 2013 - A trip down memory lane with a little detour

Today we travelled once again along the river valley our intention was to visit Cochem a place we had stopped and enjoyed on a trip to the Black Forest over 15 years ago. We were driving along the river when we sudden saw a rather picturesque village on the other side of the river. We noticed there was a small car and passenger ferry so we decided to take it across the river to the lovely village of Beilstein. The crossing was only a few minutes but we could now say we had been on the Mosel River (Heather cannot do boats as she can get sick...

Jul 10, 2012 - Cruising Mosel to Cochem

We awoke to look out our cabin window and see our campground in Koblenz! What fun to relive some of those memories. After breakfast I planted myself at one of the tables in the covered area topside to enjoy the lovely scenery (vineyards, small towns, a few castles) as we cruised the Mosel River. (Note – not much clearance on either side of the boat when we went through locks.) After another lovely lunch while we were docked in Cochem we were driven up to tour the restored Reichsburg Castle. We basically saw the first floor with its...

Jul 10, 2011 - Burg Eltz, Germany

We left the Rhine and drove a little further north, then along the Moselle River to Burg Eltz. This is an impressive castle, which is unfortunately under major renovation and therefore covered in scaffolding. We knew this ahead of time, but decided to visit anyway, since it is known for its beautiful interiors. Since Burg Eltz has been in the same family for years - even to this day - it has many of the original furnishings. No pictures allowed inside. So, with the scaffolding outside and no pictures inside, it makes for a pretty easy time...

May 21, 2010 - Cochen, Germany - On The Mosel River

May 21, 2010 Cochem Germany on the Mosel River (commentary by Cindy) We are ecstatic! Finally have a day of sun and warm temperatures!!! Today we are at Cochem, Germany and we started the day with heavy fog, but we were told that a foggy morning leads to a clear sunny day, and they were right. Finally the temperature reached about 65 today (the locals are all complaining about the coldest May since the 1980's (when we went to Scotland and England 2 years ago it was the hottest on record, so now we're experiencing the coldest on record!). ...

Apr 30, 2008 - Wednesday from Cochem

Steve: After spending the day touring the old town of Trier with many ruins from Roman times we came here to Cochem to spend the night. We stayed at a very nice place that has onlý six rooms and is in a vineyard. Cochem is on the Mosel River in what our host Hermann assures us is the premier wine region in Germany. Today we are off to Oberweisel on the Rhine. Since we don't want to spend much time hanging out in internet cafe's I'm keeping a journal as is Sue and we are going to give you a more detailed view of our trip next week when Terry...