Where have I been?
Well, for starters let's say Germany.
If you knew that much then let's say middle western side and down a little farther.
Overall, the past five days I have been, in short, stopping at big and small riverside cities in Germany.
First was Koln (or Koeln... or Cologne... Don't know why there's so many different spellings). Right when I got off the train I was greeted with a HUGE cathedral. I do appreciate architecture, but it is not usually the biggest highlight of my ventures. There is something magical when you enter a metropolis and see such ancient work still standing though. According to my friend, the city was apparently decimated during WW II and the cathedral is one of the only things remaining of Koln before the war.
My night in Koln was peaceful. My room mate that evening in the hostel I was staying at was indeed German and spoke no English. I actually think she spoke as much English as I did German meaning, of course, she knew two words. We grabbed my german/english phrase book and learned each other's names, hers was Kathy, our ages, she was 60, and why we were in Koln, she was moving there. After about an hour to figure out those 3 important facts, we both surrendered. I stayed in and showered and she went out to find food at the infamous McDonalds.
I must pause for a moment and flaunt the fact that I have thus far succeeded in avoiding McDonalds. The small cafes and German Biergarten's are so much more appealing for me and my travels. The food here is exquisite and I'm sure McDonalds is just fine if you're on the go, but I prefer to not remember my American fast food endeavors while in Europe.
The next day I was to board a K-D boat that would take me up the Rheine river to Koblenz. When I say up I mean that I am going south, but the river runs south to north. Hence, up is down... Make sense?
When I went to the ticket booth to verify that I could board the boat for free with my train ticket, a discount offered with Eurail, the woman asked me where my destination was. I told her Koblenz and she looked at me and replied, "Well, that is impossible..." Hence my adventure had begun!
I asked where the trip ended and she told me Linz. Linz was a little over halfway to Koblenz. Still eager to travel the scenic river I asked if there was a train station in Linz and there appeared to be one!
For the next 5 hours I traveled a little anxious not knowing if I could get to my end destination.
When I landed in Linz I got off the boat and wondered around lost and unable to find an information center to ask which direction to go. Eventually I had to go over to a group of men and point to myself sheepishly and say, "English?" One man did luckily speak English and he pointed me in the correct direction.
As I walked to the town's center I noted that it was only 2:50 pm and surely there would be a train headed to Koblenz soon. Oh, did I mention it was raining this whole time... Fun indeed...
When I arrived at the train station I ran over to an electronic kiosk eager to get my ticket to get to Koblenz. The kiosk was in German... I clearly don't know enough German to operate a ticket machine. As I was struggling to decide which buttons to press a train pulled up. I noticed the signs on it said Koblenz. As I quickly fumbled pressing more buttons I got to the payment screen, but the machine would not take my money! Determined to not miss my train I pressed more buttons on the screen. Luckily I tapped a button that opened the coin slot for my euros! I grabbed my ticket and hopped on the train now not even sure that this was the train that I needed.
The adrenaline pulsing through my body had sped up my breathing as well as made me frantic. I'm sure that at this moment I looked like such a tourist to all the locals on the train, but I felt as if I had just solved all the world's problems in ten minutes!
Needless to say, I arrived safely in Koblenz around 4:00 pm. I found my hotel, dropped off my luggage and went exploring.
My impression of Koblenz is quite fond. Although it is a bigger city there is a wonderful river walkway and the older city center is full of unique shops filled with clothing, art, and more.
The next morning I boarded yet another boat, this time headed to my end location, sad to leave Koblenz. This time my boat was to travel the Moselle river to Cochem. The coolest part of the 5 hours I spent on this river boat was the series of dams that we went through.
In order to protect the small towns along the river, a series of dams controlling the height of the river water had been constructed. I was lucky enough to get to go through three of them which entailed entering an enclosed area and being raised sometimes 6 meters higher than when the boat entered.
When I arrived in Cochem there was a flurry of activity in the city. The weekend was entitled, "Wine Festival." Immediately when I got off of the boat there was a parade happening. I almost felt like I was back in the U.S.A. except for the traditional german costumes being worn! As I walked through the streets, I heard laughter, smelled a mixture of beer and wine, and saw such happy gatherings of friends and family all over the place.
After I grew tired of the city I wondered to the outskirts of the town only to find some hiking. Excited, I set off up the small mountain to see what I may find. As I walked the landscape I quickly understood how so many fairy tales had been conceived in Germany. The forests are beautiful. It's almost too difficult to try to explain and do hope my pictures do it justice. The vivid green mosses, small mushrooms, and vibrant flowers are only the surface of what my 30 minute hike entailed. Leaving the mountain, I grew even more excited for my time to come in the Black Forest the following week.
That night I fell asleep to the pleasant sounds of the Cochem wine festival.
The next morning I set off to explore the castle that towers above the city of Cochem. After getting up the very steep trail that led up to the castle, I paid my 5 euros to get a tour of the inside of the castle.
The tour was simple, but so interesting. I've been through my fair share of ruins, but this castle had maintained (or attempted to) to original furnishings of the castle. As I walked through the rooms I saw everything stereotypically German. From antlers on the wall, to metal wine and beer jugs, to knights' armor I was satisfied.
At 4:00 pm I moved onto Trier by train.
Unfortunately, this is where my fantasy of travel ended. Although Trier is to be respected as the "second Rome," I was not impressed. This city is more touristy than I would have liked, but understand it's attraction to travelers. The ruins are very old and the shops that were located in the old city center were things such as H&M, McDonalds, and more typical shops.
The ambiance of my small village adventure had ended abruptly in Trier. Upon checking into my hostel I also had to deal with a somewhat hilarious aspect of my room. As I opened the door, my eyes were first greeted with a 5-foot painting of a completely naked man. As if that wasn't shocking enough I turned to close the door and saw a matching 5-foot painting of a naked pregnant woman. I'm sure these images had some impact of my stay in Trier.
Determined to give Trier another chance, the next morning I set off to take a stroll in the park. After I passed my fourth homeless person and almost ran into my fifth, I turned and walked to Constantine's Basilica to seek... Sanctuary...
For a few hours I read and people watched from a small cafe. When I was tired of sitting I ventured into the huge basilica. The basilica was very simple, but the size of it was truly amazing considering it had been built around the year 1000. I'm sure that there had been some restorations up to this year 2011, but still to think that man could create a building with such simple tools is remarkable.
I left Trier on train headed back to Koblenz very happily, but glad that I'd seen what was in Trier.
Today you would find me on yet my last boat adventure headed to Mainz. At approximately 7:30 pm I will get off my K-D boat and wave good bye to the lovely Rheine river that I have grown to love. The castles have been unbelievably beautiful and massive. Each towering over the small towns for protection in the Medieval times, they now serve as ambassadors of the towns so that they may be remembered for their history and the splendor of their castle.
I would definitely like to spend more time on the river exploring every castle and village longer, but am also very excited to venture into the very area that the Grimm brothers based the majority of their stories. I know that waterfalls and day hikes await me in the near future and I can't wait to have my camera in hand to try to capture some of the magic!
The solitude has been nice in moments, but I also am sad as I want to share my experiences with someone. Currently, I am working to get some pictures uploaded to a site so that you may view them. The link I have provided on my main page under the tab, "photos" is not working. I will keep trying! For those of you on Facebook, I am doing my best to upload to there as often as possible!
For now I must leave you in order to enjoy the beauty of my last day on the Rheine river!
I do hope you enjoy your last days of August and welcome September openly!
With Care,
Chelsea
