Koblenz

Overnight, we had moored in Wittingen, but in the early hours, the ship moved downriver towards Koblenz at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine. (The name Koblenz comes from the Latin Confluentes). We had slept well but were up early to get some breakfast before today’s excursions. The forecast for the day was 24-26 C and some cloud with a possibility of some rain this evening.

Jane, Tevor and I had a long excursion around the town and up to the fortress. Di had a leisurely excursion planned later in the morning. Our long excursion left at 09:30, and we were taken through the various squares, streets, and alleyways of the town, hearing the history and significance of each location as we passed. 

Our guide, Siggy, was very knowledgeable and had a perfect command of English. He kept up the commentary throughout the three hours. We saw parts of the old Roman walls, squares dominated by Jesuit colleges, squares celebrating the town’s history, and, of course, promenades along the Moselle and Rhine riverbanks. 

As we passed German Corner (where there is a huge mounted statue of Kaiser Wilhelm), we passed Diane’s tour coming in the opposite direction. 

By this time, we were on our way to the cable car. We hopped into the pods and were whisked high above the Rhine to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress high above the city. 

The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress is the second-largest fortress in Europe (after Gibraltar). Siggy explained the layout and the defensive structures that should make it impregnable, but in reality, it was never attacked and became redundant with the advent of breech-loading cannon that could pound it from a range of 2000 metres.

I left Jane and Trevor up in the fortress and made my way back to the ship, where Di and I had a quiet lunch and a glass of wine. We then went back out for another walk. During this morning’s tour, Siggy pointed out an ice cream shop which was regarded as the best in Koblenz. We found our way through the streets and joined a queue to get some ice cream. The queue stretched about 50m up the street by the Cathedral, and moved slowly towards the huge selection of types and flavours of ice cream, yoghurts, and gelato. We chose well and sat in the shop working our way through their mid-sized ice cream tubs. From there, we looped down to the Moselle and made our way back via German Corner to the ship.

We had a quiet afternoon in our cabin. I was trying to check in online for tomorrow’s flight (unsuccessfully). It appears that Lufthansa’s website is playing up. I managed to get checked in my aski our tour director to try. He was also having problems, but finally succeeded. I also managed to do the bulk of my packing.

We met up in the lounge for a drink before dinner, then went down for our farewell feast. 

Up River

This morning we were up early in order to be ready for our collection by the chauffeur who took us to Heathrow airport. Unlike last year, we had a private transfer, so we had the car to ourselves with no diversions to pick up other travellers. We were at the airport by 9:05, and by 9:25 we were through security and we’ve had our comfort break. Trevor and Jane were not far behind us, and we met up in Leon for a coffee. Our plane was delayed by 25 minutes or so, but by midday we were in the air, on our way to Frankfurt.

Despite the late take-off, the flight was only 55 minutes, and we were soon wandering through the labyrinth of the airport to the border station where we queued for quite a long time as we were all subjected to the new European Entry System checks. We collected our bags, boarded the coach and set off to Koblenz. The trip was about 75 minutes, and I took the opportunity to enjoy a nap.

At Koblenz, where the River Moselle meets the Rhine, we were greeted on board our home for the week, The Spirit of the Moselle. We were shown to our cabin, where we dropped our hand luggage, and then made our way to the lounge for a cup of tea and a beer. Once refreshed, we had a quick look around the ship before returning to our cabin to unpack our luggage (which had magically appeared in the cabin while we were in the lounge).

We made our way back to the lounge, where we met up with Jane and Trevor, and went down to dinner in the Panorama Restaurant. The meal was excellent with free-flowing wine and a small but perfectly formed menu. We started with a spring salad, followed by a pork loin Wellington (which was outstanding). DI finished the meal with fresh fruit, while I had a selection of cheeses. It was a good meal, and portioned in such a way as to satisfy without leaving you feeling bloated.

After dinner, Di and I went for a stroll along the riverbank. It was dusk, but there was still some residual warmth in the air. It was very pleasant as we started towards the cable car, which carries visitors across the river and up to the fortress above the far bank. After our constitutional, we returned to the boat and joined Jane and Trevor in the Library for a while before we all retired for the night. It had been a long day, but it was a good day.