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| Monday, May 20, 2002: Moselkern, Burg Eltz, Cochem |
| After a wonderously refreshing sleep, we start the day with breakfast in the hotel dining room, noisily filled with the tour group we saw the night before. The folks at the hotel head us in the right direction, so we walk down the street, and find plenty of signs directing us along the route we had scoped out the night before. The road follows the creek a long way from the Mosel river, ending at the Ringelsteiner Muhle restaurant, where it reduces to a wide path that follows the creek for a little longer through a thickening forest. It then rises to a ridge and follows the ridge for about half a mile, until, through a clearing, we see a ruin on an opposite ridge. We've been alone on the trail, and nearly reach our destination, Burg Eltz, before we see another soul. It's a beautiful morning, and this pleasant hike through the woods on a clearly marked trail took the advertised 75 minutes. We had heard about people getting lost due to a lack of signs, but this path was nearly impossible to miss, and, with the exception of some stairs, almost 'handicap accessible' for a wheelchair! |
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| We drop from the ridgeline, take the bridge over the creek, and climb the hill to the castle. |
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| We wander in the courtyard waiting for the
first tour of the day. Although we can follow some of German explanation,
we lag behind in each room, trying to get a closer look and to ask our
tourguide a few questions in English. It's quite a spectacular castle,
never been successfully attacked, and has been around for several hundred
years, still serving as the owner's residence. We get a good idea
of how people lived there five to seven hundred years ago, and slowly get
some idea of how important the owner of this castle was in the politics
of the region. After the tour, we get a look at the 'Treasury' -- a collection
of really fancy pieces -- gold jewelry, silver trinkets and silver tableware.
Needing lunch before we make the return trip through the woods, we negotiate some lunch in German, and our fears are eased with a delicious and, aside from the Coke, inexpensive meal -- with regrets as we finally translate one item as (German, of course) potato salad -- too late! |
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| Follow this link for more pictures of Burg Eltz |
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