Our Holiday to Germany - Taking It Up The Rhine - Part 3

Continued from Part 2

Wednesday

Today is an optional excursion, where the coach is left behind and we sample the wonders and precision of the German rail network, travelling from Assmanhausen to Koblenz, then changing trains and heading for Cochem a small town nestled on the banks of the Moselle.

 Firstly the trains are comfortable and spacious, although not air conditioned, so it did get quite warm on the return trips. Also, two of the four trains we caught were late, so German precision is not totally precise, that said I really enjoyed the experience.

Cochem itself is really nice, with the standard roadside cafes and restaurants, interspersed with the occasional and obligatory gift shop. There's a bridge that takes you from one side of the river to the other and we found that it was quieter on the far side away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist traps and a nice spot for our packed lunch provided by our hotel. I say packed lunch, a drink, a sandwich, a hard boiled egg, a piece of fruit and a biscuit, was it's constituent parts, not overly appetising, but it had that quintessentially perfect aspect of being free!

One thing of note, the cars registered at a particular town, carry a number plate that is prefixed with the first three letters of that town or district, which for Cochem, could be a tad embarrassing if you have a childish sense of humour!

As this was an optional tour it didn't attract everybody, and as there was a bit of walking the elderly contingent seemed to have given it a miss, certainly the derisive and mildly caustic comments were down to a minimum. Which was nice.

At this point, let us just give you a basic overview of the different parties within our coach. Obviously we have the over 65's mostly couples who tend to come on holiday and bicker with each other, much to the chagrin of the other passengers. You have the middle aged passengers, again mostly couples and generally very nice (that's our category)! Then you have the families, with teenage children, a few of them this trip. One in particular, I would like to mention, who we didn't get to know that well, but the mother looked to be a single parent who, to all intents and purposes, had looked to come on holiday to get away from it all, but ended up bringing her two sons and her mother and therefore ended up bringing it all with her! Still, she was no stranger to the free bar at night, and all power to her, plus her boys were really good to their Nan. Good lads.
And finally we had a few lone passengers, we know about Peter, but there was another older lady who was alone as well, which should be no great shock, as she was a sour faced old mare, that could turn your milk sour before you had chance to pour onto your breakfast cereal. We didn't like her either!

Thursday

Thursday was a quiet day, but extremely warm, with temperatures in the high 30's, so luckily we were back on the air-conditioned coach for a short hop to a couple of small towns called Boppard and St Goer, plus a stop at Loreley Rock high above the Rhine.

Our stay in Boppard was mainly centred around walking along the river to the town square, finding the toilets and then walking back to the river to find a shady spot to eat the beautifully prepared packed lunch provided by the hotel, if you class leftovers from breakfast quickly wrapped in tin foil and thrown into a carrier bag beautifully prepared! Again Boppard was just idyllic, picturesque with narrow streets lined with Germanic houses, leading to small squares with beautiful churches.

After Boppard, it was back to the coach for the short hop to St Goer, again picturesque, again picture postcard perfect, with pretty shops and roadside cafes. There was also some small market style stalls selling the normal tat, so the oldies lapped that up. I don't see the fascination myself, I prefer to look up at the architecture, than to look down at the very obvious gift ideas, but each to their own.

A highlight for us was to sit outside a cafe and savour the delights of some coffee and cake, just one of those perfect holiday moments, where we enjoyed the sunshine, coffee and beautiful cake. 

After St Goer, it was back to the coach again, this time to make our way up the valley side to the top of Loreley Rock, some 120 metres above the river. Here we could get panoramic views of the river as it slowly meanders along. We could also get a view of the Loreley Mermaid, a sculpture set on a bank on the river, to mark one of the ancient folklore's that surround this area. In fact Wikipedia states; "Lorelei is also the name of a feminine water spirit, similar to mermaids or Rhinemaidens, associated with this rock in popular folklore and in works of music, art and literature". Who said this blog wasn't educational?

Thursday evening was taken up with a candlelit supper and musical entertainment. I had forgotten this and as we walked into the downstairs dining room, opened especially for the occasion, I spotted all the men with their best shirts and trousers on. Obviously, I looked a tad out of place, dressed in t-shirt and shorts. What can I say, it was hot! Anyway, I didn't care, it was a great night. The entertainment was provided by a rocking elderly German gent with his electric guitar and he rocked out all the hits in German and in English. Typical holiday entertainment, cheesy but fun.

I was sat in the midway point of our shared table of nine guests, to my left were the friends we had made and got on so well with, to my right were the intellectual family of the coach, mother, father and teenage son. They were very pleasant and clearly well educated. As I was the fulcrum of the table, I could dip in and out of conversations on ether side. At one point the conversation to my right was regarding the socio-political issues bought about as a result of the devolution of the former Soviet Union. And to my left was a debate regarding Brendan from Coach Trip!! I sat quietly and sipped my wine and ignored both conversations.

Next stop Friday and time to wind down the holiday.

To be continued - Part 4