A tick off the (very long) bucket list…

After breakfast and an emotional farewell as we left family and friends behind, we headed off towards a new adventure… our shortest travel day of the whole trip, only one hour away. We enjoyed the stunning river views… with castles, churches and vineyards everywhere. You can certainly tell we’re in wine country.

Not the best photos taken through the trains windows

Our destination- Cochem… a tiny town couched in the high, vine-clad slopes of the Moselle Valley that I had seen a picture of years ago and had immediately added it to my (very long) bucket list.

There may not be a lovelier scene in Germany than Cochem. The town of half-timbered houses, winding cobblestone streets and medieval gates is on a loop in the river, under the steady watch of the Romantic medieval Reichsburg castle… and once again makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a fairy-tale. I get the feeling I’m going to be saying that a lot as we continue on our journey! This castle is Cochem’s crowning glory, rebuilt in a fairytale style in the 1870s. No matter which route you take into Cochem your gaze will be drawn to this fantasy-like sight and its giant four-storey octagonal tower far above the river. The castle goes back to the start of the 12th century.

The effort to walk to the castle was quite intense, especially in the heat because it is located at the top of a steep outcrop… but walk we did.

And once at the Reichsburg Castle, the views of Cochem and the Mosel river were spectacular.

Back down again and we wandered through the town itself… a stereotypical fairy tale German village that oozes cuteness with its overhanging buildings, small and charming little boutique storefronts and medieval clock towers, city walls, and wooden timbered houses. Altschadt- pressed against the Moselle by the soaring valley walls, Cochem’s old town has undeniable charm and I just love the old towns.

Tracing the sloped alleys are gabled, half-timbered houses, several storeys high and topped with Moselle slate tiles.

The best example of these is in the old Marktplatz (or central square)… the centre of German cuteness…

… along with the Baroque townhall and flower laden window boxes.

A lot of the city’s wall has survived, including three of four of the 14th-century gates that serve as a passage into the city… all testifying to an eventful past when Cochem was an Imperial Estate. One in particular is the Endert gate Tower, with its adjoining Guard House dating back to 1332, and Martins Gate that was built a few years later… and then there’s the Fuchsloch (fox hole), a tiny passage leading down to the Moselle promenade and the city’s smallest gate.

We strolled along the streets of the old town and then down to the flower-festooned Mosel Promenade, packed with restaurants, shops, coffee houses, winemakers, and cake shops… which offered us the perfect opportunity to indulge in a glass of Riesling in a little vine-clad cafe while taking in the amazing views of the river and it’s slow traffic gliding by.

It looked so relaxing and we had really enjoyed our Rhine cruise the other day, so we decided to embark on a river cruise boat… chose a spot on the deck to sit, enjoy the view and enjoy the local wine once again. What is not to like about that?

We then walked up for the ultimate view of Cochem Castle on its high roost and then to the bridge for another superb vantage point.

We took the Cochem Sesselbahn, a steep gondola chairlift to the lookout point, where at 255 metres there are fantastic views of the loop in the Moselle, the precipitous vine-covered valley walls and Cochem… including the castle.

We then headed back to the old town and found another interesting looking vine clad multi- levelled restaurant complete with hanging wine barrels to have some dinner.

A quick look at the castle by night…

… before heading back to our ‘shepherds hut’ to sleep. We had chosen this place to compensate for the extravagance of the last few days… but this was next level 😂. A camping ground, share bathroom which was miles away (a bit of a disaster for me as I’m taking fluid tablets to try to keep my swollen ankles under control), no water in the hut itself and tiny narrow bunk beds. Don’t think we’ll be doing that again in a hurry!

I rose early after a pretty crappy nights sleep and decided to go for my sunrise walk. Once again- lots of mist but no sun… which was kind of cool anyway to see the castle surrounded by mist.