Deutsches Eck, Koblenz

Backblip

The ship left Cologne in the early hours and I leapt out of bed to record the moment! The light on the river was really beautiful and everything was bathed in a golden glow. We cruised gently past beautiful medieval half-timbered houses in tiny villages, all with their own high-spired church; steep vineyards which have to be harvested by hand as machines can't cope with the slopes; stunning castles and ruins, all with their own stories and legends from ancient times until we eventually arrived in Koblenz in the early afternoon.

The approach to this ancient town is pretty impressive, as it's the meeting point of two huge rivers - the Rhine and the Moselle - which converge at Deutsches Eck (German Corner). It's also the site of one of the largest statues anywhere in the world - that of Emperor Wilhelm 1 who was also King of Prussia. On the opposite shore lies the Fortress of Koblenz, an immense series of buildings erected in the 19th century to protect the town and which has never been attacked!

We took the cable car up to the fortress and got a bird's eye view of the Deutsches Eck and the statue, as well as most of the town. The temperature was well into the mid-20s Centigrade with hardly a cloud in the sky, so perfect sight-seeing conditions:-)

A wonderful dinner on board this evening, served by very smartly-dressed staff and then rounded off by a superb pianist playing requests in the Lounge. That's as exciting as the entertainment gets on a river cruise and it suits us just fine:-)

The ship was moored overnight in Koblenz and as we had no other ship moored near us, everyone slept very well:-)