June 24 Cochem, Germany
June 24, 2023
Last updated on September 6th, 2023 at 03:49 pm
Photos from Cochem
Video Summary of the Day
We enjoyed a leisurely morning on the ship as we sailed the Moselle, with a break to get the details about our disembarkation schedule, which will happen in a couple of days. The river is smaller and looks green, which we are told is due to an algae in the water, but that it doesn’t make it unsafe in any way. It seems to be a slower moving river with a glassy appearance. With the river smaller, the hillsides are closer and appear steeper. Vineyards crawl up the hillsides in every conceivable place, with rock outcrops and brush between the vineyards. We have been told that the grade of some of the vineyards is up to 65%. Roads, bike paths and villages line the riverbanks.
Almost every village has a tower of some kind and at least one church. Often there are groupings of houses perched on the top side of a hill above or to the side of the village. There were even some more castles. Along the River were a lot of areas for camping. The RVs were small by US standards, but most of them had a large tent-like structure the size of the side of the RV in front. Some also had a awning or top only tent in front of that and a small satellite dish. It was quite a set-up. The children would run to the side of the river and wave at the ship as it passed. We spent some time on the sun deck, but mostly sat on our veranda as it was on the shaded side of the ship. It was quite pleasant.
The last couple days we have eaten breakfast & lunch in the Aquavit Terrace. The breakfast buffet has limited items, but there are several made-to-order items available upon request. Alan has enjoyed French toast and blueberry pancakes while Joyce has enjoyed Salmon Eggs Benedict. Lunch is the same as the restaurant, but we can sit at smaller tables and enjoy the scenery. When we return home we will be interviewing for an in-house chef. Anyone interested? 🙂
We arrived in Cochem around lunchtime, and began our shore excursion, Cochem, Reichsburg and Moselle Valley at 1:30 pm.
We traveled about 20 minutes by bus out of Cochem to the Schlagkamp Winery for a wine tasting. The owner, probably in his 40’s, is the 11th generation of his family to own/operate the winery, dating back to the 1600’s. He was entertaining and had interesting information as he talked about growing grapes, the types of grapes and the wine making process. In this area mainly Riesling grapes are grown. There were lots of implements and instruments that are used in the wine-making process that were displayed throughout the room. It was a family affair, as his three children and his wife all assisted in getting the wine poured for us to sample.
We first sampled a Reisling Secco wine, which has a bubbly light taste, with about 11% alcohol. The things that make this area good for growing grapes are the ability of the vines to develop deep roots (sometimes up to 50 meters long!) and the soil that contains shale which provides nutrients and traps heat. As we prepared to taste the second wine, we either drank the remaining wine in our glass or dumped it in the large glass vase-like container on the table.
The second wine was Elbling. This wine was not bubbly, with a fuller flavor, slightly sweeter, same alcohol content as the first. This wine is from an older variety of grape and pairs very well with fish. We were told to never drink water with fish as the fish will become homesick, but will offer us its full flavor and be very happy if we bathe it in wine.
Our last tasting was a Ruger Weinbergpfirsich Likor, a red peach liqueur, with 18% alcohol. This was very sweet with both a distinct peach flavor and aroma. These small red peaches are also grown in the area, and apparently aren’t all that good to just eat. This liqueur would be difficult to drink straight, but would be tasty over ice cream or a warm bread pudding!
We rode back to Cochem, to the bus station, boarding 15 passenger vans for the ride up to Reichsburg Castle, which sits atop a hill above Cochem. The castle was bigger than some we saw on the Middle Rhine, but not situated on the highest hill surrounding Cochem. It was built in 1000 by the Palatine prince elector.
It was damaged in 1689 by the French king, Louis XIV. Over the next 200 years, most of the castles on the Moselle were blown up or left in ruin. In 1869 a man named Lavene bought and restored this castle to what we see today, using it as a summer home for his family. In 1942 it was sold to the Third Reich, due to high taxes, and after the war becoming property of the German state. In 1978 the town of Cochem purchased the castle for around 320,000 deutche marks.
Our guide spends a fair amount of her time being a docent at the castle, and she had lots of interesting tidbits about the various rooms we visited. We toured the Knight’s Hall, the Dining Hall, the Trophy Room and the Bower, with beautifully carved wood and painted ceilings and furniture, huge stone fireplaces with Delft Blue tile accents, period furniture, stained-glass windows, suits of armor, doors going nowhere to create room symmetry, and secret passages. She was fairly patient with the large groups crowding into the various rooms, and was accommodating with Alan and a couple of the other gentlemen who were hanging back to get some unobstructed pictures.
We enjoyed a great view overlooking Cochem on the free-standing covered balcony. On our way out we visited the very deep well and the witches tower.
The van deposited us in Cochem, a town with just over 5,000 inhabitants, where we began a walk around Cochem beginning with a rather steep walk down a narrow cobblestone street, through a cemetery, with quite a few stairs (not good for Joyce’s knees). We saw a mixture again of construction styles as well as decorating styles. It was clear that these were buildings that people lived in. As we got closer to the town center, we saw more and more half-timber construction painted in bright colors, as well as fountains shops, lots of flowers, and statues.
We walked past St. Martin’s church, and some old towers and walls that were a part of the medieval period of the town. At one point, we walked through Fuchsloch (fox hole)arch opening in old city wall, which was short enough that Alan had to duck to avoid hitting his head. We learned about a history of flooding in Cochem.
One of the things that Cochem is noted for is its mustards. We took some of our free time and visited Historische SenfmĂĽhle Dehren, a store/museum dating back to 1810 dedicated to mustard. We sampled several of the dozens of mustards and jams, and finally decided on the Riesling mustard (a slightly sweet, medium-hot mustard that they say pairs will with cheese, fish dishes, cold roasts and game sauces) and a Honeycomb mustard (a hearty sweet, medium-hot mustard with 20% honey that they say is a culinary delight on fresh smoked salmon, or with 1 or 2 tsp in all salad dressings). We learned that the little crocks we bought shouldn’t be refrigerated, would be good for a couple of years after opening, and that we should never use metallic utensils in the jars. So we bought a small wooden spoon to use especially with our new mustards!
On the way back to the shuttle bus, we stopped in the church. It was relatively plain on the inside, but had some more modern stained-glass windows that were in a similar style to Chagall’s windows, though clearly not as detailed.
We returned back to the Goat fountain, which commemorates a story of a goat that was perceived to be possessed. As we had heard before, one of the tests of a witch was to press them in a wine press. If wine came out, the were a witch, and if it was blood, they weren’t. I guess the end result was the same.
We made our way back to the ship via the shuttles. Alan went to the port talk about our stops in Bernkastel and Trier the next day while Joyce rested and did some blogging. We had dinner with British school friends (Gayle & Judith), as well as Krista and Jackie from one of the first nights. The evening entertainment was a Music Quiz, so we elected to spend the time in our state room, vegging, blogging, and working on pictures. The ship left for Bernkastel about 8pm.
This morning, cruise the Moselle before disembarking in the quaint town of Cochem for a tour of this stunning medieval town and its millennium-old Reichsburg Castle perched on a hill. Visit the scenic Moselle wine country, where some of the finest Rieslings in the world are produced along terraced slopes. During your tour, delve into a wine-making history that dates back nearly 2,000 years to Roman times. Stop at a local winery for a tour and tasting before returning to your ship.
Cochem, Reichsburg and the Moselle Valley
A STUNNING MEDIEVAL TOWN, A NEO-GOTHIC JEWEL AND STELLAR WINE
Explore one of the most picturesque towns on the Moselle and sample some of the region’s world-renowned wine. For stunning views of Cochem and the surrounding countryside, drive up to the lofty perch of the 1,000-year-old Reichsburg Castle, conquered by Louis XIV in the Nine Years’ War and later purchased and restored in a splendid Gothic Revival style by a Berlin businessman. During a walking tour of Cochem, see the medieval town gate and pass various churches, including the 15th-century St. Martin’s Church. In the market square, admire the bay window of the baroque Town Hall and see the 17th-century Capuchin monastery, once a haven for friars and today a lively cultural center. You will have a little time in the square on your own. You will also traverse picturesque wine country to visit a local winery and sample some of its fine vintages.
