Let’s pick up where we left off in Rüdesheim. On our drive to Oberwesel, we had to make a stop on the side of the road at one of the most beautiful overlooks I have ever seen in the lovely town of Bacharach. Like we always do, we ran to a random person and asked them to take our photo, and they did not disappoint. You can see that here:
After this beautiful moment ended, we continued six minutes up the road to our hotel in Oberwesel, called Hotel Weinhaus Weiler. It was a very mom-and-pop experience, which was nice for a change since we usually stay in Airbnbs when we travel. The place smelled like your grandparent’s house, which is kind of nostalgic, maybe? But, the bed was memory foam, and I had a fantastic night’s sleep. In the morning, we were served an absolutely lovely breakfast which was included in the room rate, and it kept us full for the entire day.
After breakfast, Fons and I continued our journey north towards a city called Koblenz. On the way, we stumbled across a gorgeous little beach in the river. Well, it wasn’t really a beach–it was more of a patch of sand where you could dip your feet in the Rhine, which is exactly what we did. Of course, we had a photoshoot, and then we stayed awhile to watch some dogs splash around in the water before deciding it was time to get back on the road.
Before heading into the town of Koblenz, we stopped five minutes outside of it to head into Stolzenfels Castle. We parked in a parking lot at the bottom of a hill and then climbed up though the woods to get to the castle. After some time debating whether or not we should spend 5 bucks a person to enter the grounds, finally we did–and it was immediately apparent that it would not be something that we would regret.
In order to see the interior rooms of the castle, you have to partake in a free guided tour. Unfortunately it was in German, but they provided us with a written description in English of every room. Aside from the rooms, the castle had beautiful gardens where you could walk around as you pleased. My favorite was the first courtyard.
After about an hour and a half at the castle, we were starving. No surprise there. So, we headed into Koblenz for a hearty German lunch to fill us up.
And this is the part where I get to tell you about the scrumptious food and, of course, provide pictures of it! I had a Vienna-style Weiner Schnitzel, and Alfonso had chicken and mushrooms with potato croquettes and broccoli in a hollandaise sauce. My mouth is watering and my stomach is growling just typing the words.
Since our bellies were full, it was time to walk it off to “help with the digestion.” As we were walking, we realized that Koblenz was kind of a weird place. I was surprised, because when I was planning the trip, I thought Koblenz was going to be the highlight (based off of what I had been reading on other people’s blogs). My first impression was that it felt as if Koblenz couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a small city or a larger “cute village.”
Koblenz is where the two rivers, the Rhine and the Moselle, meet. A popular tourist attraction is taking a cable car over the rivers where you can get a view of their convergence and get off on top of a hill where there is a fortress to visit. Alfonso and I had thought about doing it, but to be honest, the cable cars in Rüdesheim seemed better. These cars were double the price (12 euro round trip per person) and they were larger and enclosed. In Rüdesheim, they were for two people only and they were completely open to the fresh air; perfect for taking pictures. Also, after seeing Stolzenfels Castle, the fortress seemed insignificant. Instead, we walked to the Deutsches Eck, which is a triangular piece of the sidewalk that juts out into the convergence of the two rivers.
Turns out, we had a nice enough view, so we didn’t feel too badly about not riding the cable cars. It was getting really hot AGAIN, and we had to drive an hour and a half, so we made our way back to the car. On the way, we saw some more cool things (including three pugs that I sadly didn’t get the chance to photograph. One was in a stroller!!!)
The first cool thing we saw were three fragments of the Berlin Wall. Along the riverside, there was a lovely “exhibit” in both German and English on the history of the times after the Hitler-era moving into the Cold War era. The overarching message was accepting each other and living in a society that is democratic and free. Germans are pretty conscious about making sure the public knows that it remembers its past and doesn’t hide from it.
To lighten the mood a bit, the next cool thing we saw was me in Lederhosen! Well, in reality I was too lazy to try it on, it cost almost 150 euro, and Alfonso was getting impatient with me and my photo ops, so I just tried my best to look cute with it placed in front of me on the hanger.
Next, we discovered a quaint little plaza named the Jesuit square (I don’t know how to say that in German, sorry). The church is behind the statue and it’s a modern one.
And the last, but certainly not least, cool thing we saw was this monument. Actually, it was my favorite part of Koblenz. The photo below doesn’t do any of the details of the sculpture justice, but the concept of the piece is unique. The monument recounts the 2,000 year old history of Koblenz, from the Roman times up until the present. (Just so we are clear, there is a sign that explains all of the following information next to the monument, so you can be sure it’s accurate). Starting from the bottom, the monument shows the Roman settlement from the 1st to 5th century, followed by the crown dominion and meeting place of the 6th-9th centuries, the Regnum Francorum to Kurtrier period in the 10th-12th century, the crusades and slave trade in the 12th-13th century, the prospering community between the 13th and 16th centuries, the Thirty Years War and persecution of witches in the 17th-18th centuries, the French Revolution in 1800, the 19th-20th century Prussian period, the destruction of WWII in 1944, and today, a forward looking town. Cool, right? Sorry if you got bored, but….here’s the picture!
And that just about sums up our second day on the Rhine.
Stay tuned for the next part of our adventure–Cologne!
Catching Up with Carls 
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