Braubach, Marksburg & Koblenz

Today we sadly move on from Cochem.  Sent off in style by the good folk at our accommodation. Another champagne breakfast plus they also gave us a litre bottle of their wine produced from grapes on the hills directly over the river from Cochem itself.  Very friendly  these guys, and a nice touch.  It’s cold this morning (16C) and only later in the day would the clouds start to break and let the sun through to let the temperature ‘race’ up to about 21C.

It’s not going to be a stunning day out today. We’ll prove that Koblenz doesn’t have much to offer, and we’ll also prove that Marksburg wouldn’t be high on you list of ‘must visit’ castles.

We hit the road at about 8:45am.  It’s fine but cool. No probs. Traffic is light. We’ve only got 60kms to Braubach.   Hill art opposite Burgen on the Mosel River.  One thing we’ve noticed while driving the Mosel is that they don’t have any ‘Rest stops’ slotted at strategic points along the way.  In fact they just don’t exist. There are plenty of great views but you find there’s nowhere to stop and take a good look. Something to work on for Germany.
A Mosel River boat haven at Brodenbach.

We bypassed Koblenz (we’ll check in later).  Our target is a morning visit to Braubach & Marksburg castle.  5kms short of Braubach we stopped at a town called Lahnstein (on the Lahn River which flows into the Rhine).  Here we found the Historisches Wirtshaus an der Lahn restaurant. The approach smells like fish.
The tower here was built in 1348 and was an old customs house. The sign says Goethe dined here in 1774.  Woohoo you say?  Well he’s pretty famous over here (Goethe: being Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a famous 18^th & 19^th century German writer and statesman!).
Random signpost beside the tower.  There are cycling tracks everywhere here.  Very well catered for are the cyclists. And there are always heaps of cyclists out all the time (all ages, mainly older I’d have to say – I’m talking 60s and 70s!!). Cycling the Mosel would be a great adventure if you’re so inclined.  For me, I’ll use the car!!
Just along from the restaurant we found this magnificent statue of a bloke taking a dump.  WTF!  I wonder if the local council had any difficulty approving the expenditure?  I haven’t yet translated the text from the plaque.  Keen to do so.
A good opportunity to join in.
There was a view of Stolzenfels Castle (on the opposite side of the Rhine River) from the bridge at Lahnstein.
Best view of Wirtshaus an der Lahn restaurant was from across the Lahn River.
Approaching Braubach, with Marksburg up on the hill.
Driving through the main street of Braubach the road narrows to one lane at Obertor, which was the eastern gate of the walled city and an important control point for the trade route to Wiesbaden.
We parked up at the Marksburg car park (€2) and trudged up a couple of flights of steps and then into the castle itself to locate the ticket office. We found it, but they could do with some decent signage.  Entry €6ea. There was a German tour leaving in 15 mins so we got ourselves an English booklet to read along the way – €5 deposit (refundable once returned).  After starting the tour at Fuchstor (Fox Gate), the first point of interest is ‘riders stairway’.  The ground to the right (front) resembles what it was like back in the day.  You can also see that once the horsemen stopped riding horses directly through this arch and the following archway they lowered the height of the arch.
Trivia: Marksburg Castle (1150) is the only Castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed. Maybe coz no-one wanted to mess with these big boys.
From cannons to a garden of herbs. Yup it’s always been used for herbs.
Down to the Rhine.
The 17th century wine cellar.
Doors for small people.
The Rittersaal (Great Banqueting Hall). Not that great really (compared with other castles we’ve seen on this trip).
Looking through to a bed chamber with it’s tiny double bed (but of course they never slept lying horizontal back in the day – just in case the night demons showed up!).Medieval door art.
The castle may look good from the outside but it has a few crusty stairways to negotiate.The most impressive room of the tour.  The Rüstkammer (armoury) contains a remarkable collection of personal armour illustrating the historical development of armour from c.a. 600 BC to 1500 AC.  Apparently this is a rare collection and equal to the best around. Here are some of them.
OMG is that a young Alex Hartley?
What were they thinking back in 1400?  Maybe Starling could wear this at the next Xmas function.
Wicked.
That’ll do for the castle.  Here’s a few shots around sleepy Braubach at the foot of the hill.
‘Old Gate’ Not sure of background.
Eckfritz, built in 1597 as Bauernschanke – Rumour had it that there was a plan to shoot Adolf Hitler here on July 1 1934 at a concert of the singer Heinrich Schlusnus.  Fail!  Inside there is a cozy tavern, which is mostly lined with dark wood.
Fischertor is one of the few watchtowers dating back to the medieval times and it was part of the town-fortification, at the river Rhine.  It’s now a War memorial to 2 wars (Franco-German, WW1).
Ok… At midday we left Braubach and drove the last 12kms to Koblenz (pronounced ‘Ko-blents’).  It was too early to check in to our hotel so we parked up down by Deutsches Eck (German Corner).  The clouds were getting darker and rain was in the air, but we continued (as you do).  On the way to the cable car we passed through the gardens beside the Basilika Sankt Kastor (which dates back to 836, though in its present form it dates mostly from the 12th century).
We took a ride across the Rhine River on this Seilbahn cable car (to Fortress Ehrenbreitstein).
There’s a helluva lot of water in this river!!
Looking back to Deutches Eck (German Corner) where the Mosel (aka Moselle) river (top right) flows into the Rhine River.
Shame about the grey old day.
We walked around.  The grounds are massive up the top. Because the weather was ordinary we didn’t bother looking around the old fortress (one of the largest forts in Europe), but then apparently it’s not really a ‘must see’ either.  Here’s a view from a platform not far from the fort.
We returned and headed along the road beside the Mosel River.  It’s raining lightly so we stop at the car to pick up a brolly.  Koblenz building art!
At Munzplatz (Old Mint Square).
Along Marktstrasse.The infamous Schangelbrunnen.  In the courtyard behind the Rathaus city hall is a fountain dedicated to the youth of Koblenz.  It’s called Das Schängelchen (The Spitting Boy), and that’s just what he does.  They want to encourage spitting???
Walk past at the wrong moment and you’ll cop it.  He’s got good reach!
There wasn’t a helluva lot more to see around here, and the grotty day meant that the place wasn’t exactly humming, so we headed back to the waterfront to make our way back to Deustches Eck.
It’s now windy, drizzling and grotty but we’ve gotta check it out. It was here that in 1897, nine years after the death of the German Emperor Wilhelm I, the former emperor was honoured with a giant equestrian statue. And it’s huge!
View from the base of the statue itself (which doubled as a shelter from the rain).  A boat heads from the Rhine into the Mosel River.
Across the Rhine it’s all happening.
Behind the statues the wall has big plaques of the regions in Germany. We are now in this one!

Time to loop back to the car and head to the hotel.A sunflower entrance to one of the Rhine River boats.
We ducked into the Basilika Sankt Kastor.  Not to cool down (as we did during the heatwave) but instead to avoid a shower!  Here we see the usual weird church art. Not sure about the angel without the head!
We made a dash to the car and left for the hotel.  Unfortunately we’re at the Mercure Hotel.  I say ‘unfortunately’ because we’d prefer to stay at more traditional accommodation, but in Koblenz there is very little that is located close in to the city itself, and when we tried to book there was nothing available. But the grape art at the bed head was quite cool!
Also quite a good view of the Rhine from the 9th floor so it’s not all bad!
‘Complimentary’ arrival beers.  🙂  (But guess who would’ve paid for them in their room rate!).
Today we also have our complimentary 1 litre of wine from Cochem to polish off!!  Someone’s gotta do it! I’m sipping on it now.  To describe it…. lemme see… A brilliant straw-yellow colour with light golden hues. It has a beautifully clear and pure nose of great finesse and elegance, showing white florals and stonefruits, limes and minerals, all interwoven in nuance and detail.  In other words – awesome!  It’s medium to medium dry to taste, the palate is very fine-featured with tautness and cut.  A minerally fruit infusion, with stonefruits and citrus dancing across the palate with bright, racy acidity in fine, cutting balance and textures that carry through to a long, poised, lacy finish.  (like Kathryn last night!).  <insert Tui advert here>.  🙂
Earlier on we dined down at the restaurant so we’re now sipping the wine as the mass of food settles within!  Doing it tough.  Guten nacht!