August 26th, 2016
During Terri’s visit, we drove to the ancient city of Koblenz to see the Deutsches Eck and the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. Also known as the “German Corner,” the Deutsches Eck is the name of the headland where the Rhine meets the Moselle River. Dating back to 8 BC, Koblenz was one of the military posts established by the Roman politician and military commander, Claudius Drusus.
We hit the jackpot with beautiful weather that day. Summer in Germany can be a real treat with the blue skies, warm sun and low humidity. One of the benefits of the rain is the lovely gardens and the lush green everywhere!
After finding parking, we followed the Mossel River as we walked to the Deutsches Eck. Along the way, we passed cruise ships and a monument containing three sections of the Berlin wall.
You can’t miss the Deutsches Eck! It is marked by a colossal equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I. The original statue, erected by the Rhine provinces in 1897, was destroyed by US artillery in WWII. The one we saw was the replacement. We climbed up the stairs to take in the view. Don’t worry Mom, the boys were not sitting on the horse…just my shoulders! =)
The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress sits on the opposite side of the Rhine. To get to this fortress built back in the early 1800’s, we rode by cable car over the Rhine river. What a fun way to travel, if you don’t mind heights and enclosed areas!
The fortress is massive! Due to our limited time on our parking meter, we only had about an hour to walk around and see a few of the sites.
Our favorite was a hands-on exhibit where we got to dress up in costumes. The armor was heavier than we expected. Knights must have had very strong necks!
The view from the top was beautiful! You can actually see the difference in color between the two rivers.
We traveled back down again by cable car, filled up our parking meter again and strolled around Koblenz on foot to take in a few more sites.
The boys begged to take their shoes off and play for a few minutes in one of the fountains we found. The setting was a perfect place to sit back and relax while we watched them enjoy themselves. We eventually moved on before they got TOO wet!
We came across a fountain in the Altstadt (old town) depicting the city’s history with a sign explaining the different time periods. The Roman settlement, the Crusades, times of prosperity, the French Revolution and WW II are a few of the sections artistically displayed.
We stopped in a café and ordered a few coffee drinks for the adults. When I asked the barista if he had any flavors to add, he told me that Starbucks has ruined coffee with their flavors. Their coffee didn’t need any additional flavors. He turned out to be right…to my surprise!
We liked these tables and benches outside a restaurant we passed by…perhaps a home project some day.
Koblenz definitely gets two thumbs up!
