Today was another great day in Germany. We started off the morning meeting Udo at the hotel at 8:45 am. Our first stop was what I affectionately call “Udo’s Castle”. It is actually called the “Cochem Castle Reichsburg”. It was fantastic. Udo wanted to be early to beat the crowds. We ended up touring the castle in a group of only seven people, of which we made up three. It was also great because the other four tour members spoke English, so our guide gave us the tour in English. It would figure that the first time we had the ability to have Udo translate for us, we didn’t need it. The castle tour was very informative. I also enjoyed the fact that we could take pictures on this particular tour. The only downside was that we didn’t get to see the room in which Udo was knighted.
In my office in Eugene I have hoop pictures on my walls. Udo often stops by to visit. During his last visit before our trip I was telling him that I wanted to get a hoop picture in his town with his castle. He told me that was impossible because it didn’t exist. I told him we would see. I win. The highlight of our castle exploration was that I spotted a hoop that I thought would have a great view of the castle. The only issue was that from a distance it looked like it was behind a locked fence.
After the castle we went over to the hoop. It was in fact located behind a locked fence. It looked a little high to climb but mom and Udo thought I could fit under it. I decided to try sliding under it. It worked. The view of the castle was great. The only downsides were that the lighting wasn’t great and the sky was a rather blah gray. Regardless I was happy to have found a hoop featuring U-Man’s castle.
From the castle we walked back to our hotel to get our car. We then picked up Kathy and Michael on our way to the Eltz Castle, which was roughly a 30 minute drive up the Mosel. The first part of the castle was completed in 1472. Despite many wars in the region, the Eltz Castle has survived intact, making it the oldest surviving castle in Germany. It has been privately owned by the Eltz family for 33 generations. We took a very informative tour here as well, although it was in German, so Kathy and Udo had to translate for us.
For lunch we stopped at a little German fast food place on the Mosel. It was sort of like a high class hot dog stand with really, really good sausages. That was the first German sausage I have had and I was not disappointed.
After lunch we took Michael back to town and then went to the top of another Cochem peak. Up to this point the day had been gray mixed with a little bit of rain. The sun finally decided to break through so we decided to ride the Cochemer Sesselbahn, which is like a chairlift, to the top of the hill. This was fun for a number of reasons. Udo hates heights and watching him ride up the hill was hilarious. The views from the hill were great. The hill was located on a different side of Cochem, so it offered a new view. It started to pour rain when we wanted to go back down the hill. We waited for a while under cover and then decided to brave it. There were a few covered seats on the lift and we waited for those and made it down safely and fairly dry.
We then walked into the downtown to look in a few shops. The weather started to turn again and I decided that I wanted to run back up the castle to see if I could capture a hoop picture with a better looking sky. I agreed to meet mom, Kathy and Udo at the Germania cafe for some afternoon cake when I returned. The hike back up the hill was well worth it. The sky was much brighter and more interesting for my picture. I also felt less guilty about eating cake when I returned. We had a nice time chatting and relaxing while eating our cake. We also saw a minor motorcycle crash. It made for quite a spectacle but thankfully no one was injured and their bikes were in decent enough shape that they were eventually able to ride away.
At 6 pm we went back to Hans and Finnie’s place to visit some more. Around 7:30 pm we left the apartment to go to dinner. We decided to eat at our hotel tonight. It is the only Mexican restaurant mom and I have seen thus far in Germany. The menu included both German and Mexican food. Udo, Michael and I had Mexican. Mom, Kathy, Hans and Finnie had German. I think everyone enjoyed their food. Udo thought his was a little on the sweet side but I frankly don’t know how that is possible.
It’s now 10:45 pm and I’m back in our hotel room. Udo will be here by 9:55 am to start off tomorrow’s activities, so I am going to call it a night here shortly. I can’t believe tomorrow is our last full day in Germany. This trip has gone incredibly fast, which must mean we’ve had a wonderful time.
Katy
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