Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Last Epic German Road Trip Day 5: Geierlay Bridge, Trier


From Burg Eltz we headed, wearily, for our stop for the night, Cochem. We had great plans for Cochem, but in the end visited neither the castle, nor the mustard museum, nor did we take the chair lift that probably afforded very lovely views. After checking into our hotel we wandered around the town, finding life sized chess and checker boards by the waterfront. This of course was exactly what thrilled the kids so we let them have some downtime while we watched the sunset.
 
The next morning we set off for Geierlay Bridge. A friend had mentioned German's longest suspension bridge, not too far off the road from Cochem, and it was just obscure enough to catch our attention. It's a suspension bridge over a valley. Google and online information direct people to one side as the "starting point" and that is where we went. All the reports online warn of hostile villagers and that people should only park in designated lots or else... so in some respect i do wonder what is on the other end and if parking there would have been friendlier.
There was a couple doing a photo shoot on the bridge, complete with props and costume changes. It was interesting to watch for a minute and a half, but as they had gotten between us and the kids we eventually bullied our way through to catch up.   

After getting some fresh air and exercise, it was time to settle in for the drive. Our friends put Trier on the list - it just wasn't on our radar - and it ended up being such a highlight! We got to town early enough to get the museum/sight tickets and wander around Porto Nigra - an original gate from when the town was a major Roman city.

We also wandered around the town and ended up checking out St. Ganglof Church (because it sounds so much like Gandolf! and because it's a market church, right in the middle of everything) as well as the Liebfrauen Kirche because I love the ladies' churches. They are never as outrageous and gilded as the mens'. I tell myself this is because nobody would spend all that money on silly females. We were a bit church'd out so we have no photos. It's hard to go church-sighting when the first one was Cologne's Cathedral. Few other things compare.

The other highlight of Trier was introducing our friends to doner. It is not obvious to everyone that Turkish food is quintessentially German (i.e., because of the huge ethnic Turkish population) but it was delicious and I wished we had done this sooner in the trip.

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Last Epic German Road Trip Day 4: Schloss Drachenberg and Burz Eltz

From Cologne we planned some time in the Mosel River area, ostensibly for some more wine tasting although in the end we decided to keep wine to mealtimes and do other exploring. Terry and I made a secret pledge to visit no more than two churches, or two castles, or two museums (get the picture) on any one day. So we maxed ourselves out on our way to Cochem, which was originally chosen as a nice midpoint on the Mosel on the way to Trier.

Up first, Schloss Drachenburg. The climb to the top of the tower reminded the adults of how out of shape we are, but had a lovely view of the entire valley. The rooms are exceptionally arranged with all the furnishings they would have had when the building was occupied. There was also a somewhat random exhibit of the local flora and fauna housed in a separate room that had two different entrances from outside/a stairwell but no apparent entry into the rest of the building.
Schloss translates roughly to "palace" and burg is "castle" - the difference between a building built for royal enjoyment and one meant to protect and defend. From Schloss Drachenburg we headed to Burg Eltz - one of the few stops on this trip where I had previously been. To me Burg Eltz is a total fairy tale castle. Although the group outvoted me - we did not take the walking path to the Burg but rather the shuttle bus one way and we walked on the road the other way. They thought it was a shortcut, I am pretty sure it wasn't.


We got there at the height of the day, so the line was LONG. I sent the family to check out the treasure room - a smallish museum that one can free enter and exit housing armaments, jewelry and such - while I manned our places in line. Admission into the Burg is only with a guided tour and no photos are allowed inside. It's still totally worth the visit. They were so busy they only had German language tours (although the web site says they can also do English or Dutch), but we were given pamphlets in English that did a surprisingly good job of summarizing what the tour guide said. Burg Eltz is still in the hands of the family that has owned it since the twelfth century and many if not all of the artifacts inside are family heirlooms.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Last Epic German Road Trip Day 3: Cologne


We reached Cologne on Easter Sunday, which was fitting for the city whose most iconic sight to see is a cathedral. We wandered around the city a bit, got to the Cathedral a little bit before Mass ended so had to wait to enter. The incense was overpowering so Terry and the kids beat a hasty retreat back to the fresh air. I followed a little while later.  We tried to take another look at the mosaic floor from the Roman-German Museum but it was covered. It was the introduction to the Roman theme of the trip - I constantly forget how much the Romans were around Europe. 

We also wandered into another church, obviously less imposing but simultaneously more accessible. We also saw a Ferris wheel across the river, so we wandered over the bridge and discovered a fair. It was only in town a few weeks, which would be why I didn't remember it from previous trips. The kids enjoyed the ride, then we introduced our friends to the deliciousness that is candied nuts - ubiquitous in Europe but not so common in the USA. 

We also introduced our friends to kolsch, which I enjoy more than Terry, but when in Cologne ...

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Last Epic German Road Trip Day 2: Kloster Eberbach and Schloss Johannisberg


For our second day trip, we hit the wineries. The weather was absolutely stunning, which was a wonderful reason to wander among the vines at a couple of local-ish wineries and taste some of the fruits of the vine. Pretty much everyone who drinks wine and is part of the Consulate community recommends Kloster Eberbach and I see why. It's a very well established and smooth running establishment. We tried a few wines at the tasting counter and in the end did make a purchase.

Next up was another winery just up the road. Schloss Johannisberg is a schloss, but one is not allowed into the actual palace looking part. The shop, wine tasting, cafe and vineyard are all open for wandering though and had some spectacular views.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Last Epic German Road Trip Day 1: Rudesheim and boat cruise

We brought in reinforcements for our last epic road trip - good friends who came to visit. It meant the kids never had to sit with each other in the car (yay!) but also meant we did a tiny bit of revisiting.
On their first full day in town, we hit Rudesheim for a day trip. Once again we rode the cable car and chair lift, although our hiking route in between was a bit more direct. You can see a LOT of vineyards from the chair lift.

Then, instead of taking the river cruise back to Rudesheim, we went farther up the river. This was unchartered territory for everyone. We saw Bacharach, St. Goar, the Loreley Gorge, and about a million castles along the river. I had read many of the places were especially nice to view from the river, so we disembarked after, rather than in, one of the allegedly more interesting towns. Big mistake. There was absolutely nothing there, just an extra half hour wait for the train back to town. 

We ended on a high note, however, when we revisited the restaurant we'd eaten in during our first trip and Terry got to order the pork in brandy sauce, made with the special local brandy. Then we went home and everyone collapsed.

This castle is actually built to look like a boat! You can see the prow and the general boat shape