The Rhine and Mosel Valleys

On Friday, Brenda and Tony took the train into Cologne to see the sights of the city. Mikayla and I stayed home so that we could get some shopping done and also rest up for the big trip we had planned for the next day, which was to drive down and see some of the castles in the Rhine and Mosel river valleys. After much research and figuring out which of the many many castles that are in the area we really wanted to see, we narrowed it down to two castles. Originally we had thought about trying to drive the entire Mosel valley as well, but once we found out that it would be about a 4 hour drive, we changed our minds.

Both of the castles that we picked, Marksburg and Burg Eltz, are among the most well-preserved castles in Germany. Both of them have stayed pretty much in the same family line and have managed to avoid most of the war and conflicts that destroyed other castles.

We started the day by driving straight to Koblenz, which is the city where the Rhine and Mosel rivers meet. Most of the interesting castles on the Rhine are south of Koblenz, and from there south is what is called "the Romantic Rhine." Marksburg wasn't very far south of the city, which is one of the reasons why we picked it since it wouldn't be too much of a back track to get to the Mosel river valley.

Our first view of Marksburg, which turned out to be the best overall castle shot since you couldn't really get a good view of it any where close to the castle itself.

Darren and I helping Mikayla up the stairs

Darren posing half in and half out of the wall

The main entrance to the castle

Since the only way to see the inside of the castle was to join a tour, we bought tickets and went along. The tour was all in German, but they did have English guide books that you could rent so we could understand what we were seeing.

Looking back over the entrance structure of the castle

A view out over the Rhine river

A castle tower

A view down the steps to the wine cellar and of the kitchen. It was really interesting to see how a medieval kitchen was set up.

A hanging kettle

Mikayla and I going through a very short door

The ceiling of the castle chapel

Darren posing with a knight's helmet

After leaving Marksburg and eating the picnic lunch we had brought along, we got back into the cars to drive to our next destination. It was nice that the drive was long enough that Mikayla had a good nap in the car on the way.

The first castle that we saw in the Mosel river valley, Burg Thurau.

And then we were at Burg Eltz. I wasn't really prepared for how beautiful the castle was, even though I had seen a couple of pictures. Its setting on a small rise in the middle of a large valley was breathtaking. We parked the cars and then had to hike for about 15 minutes down the hill before you turn the corner and there it is. It was definitely worth the hike, although we did figure that for the hike back up the hill we would pay the shuttle van to take us.

Our first view of Burg Eltz

Darren, Mikayla, and I with Burg Eltz in the background

Brenda and Tony with Burg Eltz in the background

The other side of Burg Eltz

The courtyard of the castle

Mikayla being entertained by Darren as we waited for the castle tour to start. Again, they wouldn't let you actually see the inside of the castle without a guided tour. We had to wait for a bit for the English one, but it was so nice to be able to understand what was being said in a tour that it was definitely worth the wait. They wouldn't let us take pictures of the inside of this castle, but it was very nice and well preserved on the inside with a lot of original furnishings. There was a bit of renovation work going on so that they could stabilize part of the castle, but it was still a very interesting castle to see and we enjoyed it.

A castle door

After the tour ended and we had a bit to eat in the castle restaurant, we headed back to the main road to see about the shuttle back to the cars. As we were on our way there, it started to pour down rain. This is a picture of Brenda and I as we took a bit of shelter from the downpour in the arch of the gateway.

Darren and Mikayla running back through the rain to the gate where the rest of us were. Mikayla loved the rain and getting wet and it was hard to get her to stay put under the arch and out of the rain. Luckily, I had packed along a dry change of clothes for her in the car so that she didn't have to sit in drenched clothes for the drive home.

After leaving Burg Eltz, we decided to drive a little further up the Mosel river valley to see a couple more towns before turning off to head back home. It was a very pretty drive.

The castle above Cochem

Vineyards were everywhere

We had a spectacular sunset on the way home.