Castles in the air

 

The 40 mile stretch of the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with more than 28 castles, most built before 1400. Usually the ship travels at night, but we sat on the sun deck this morning while our tour director narrated the sights and stories.   

Most of the castles were destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries but there they still stand- some romantic ruins, some converted to hotels. While it looks like something from a fairly tale, the history on this strategic stretch was dangerous, dark and violent, with each greedy fiefdom lord demanding river tolls while robber barons terrorized the mariners. 

Not to mention the Lorelei, but that’s another story. 

For example. See that metal basket? The unfortunate “wrongdoer” was put up there to starve, after which the birds ate his carcass. As a lesson to all who passed by. 

Peace and plenty down in our world. It was a chilly morning and the crew brought around rich hot chocolate (with an optional shot of Baily’s Cream.) Hence the morning smile. 

Then the sun reappeared as we approached the beautiful old city of Koblenz at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel. The excursion was a walking tour led by a local retired schoolteacher (heavy on the history.)  

Yet another Roman wall, ancient churches, WWII history and so on. I saw some eyes glazing over in our group (maybe history fatigue) or just a desire to go shopping. Well, the temptations along the way are many and stores full of beautiful things. I’ve obsessively collected fridge magnets, that’s about all there’s been time for. 

After the tour, John and I took the gondola across the Rhine. The solitude was nice, also the views of the ship below. 

Only so many hours in the day, so we didn’t even get out of the car to explore the giant fortress looming over the city. It’s been blasted to smithereens many times, like all the castles on the Rhine.

As for local history, according to our tour guides, everything in Germany has been destroyed by the French at least once. These countries becoming European Union “friends” is a very recent thing. 

 

Another late dinner coming up,  then on to Cologne tomorrow.