After a good breakfast at the Wolfshof, we set out by car to towards the town of Cochem. The GPS said it would take about 30 minutes to get there. The winding road took us high in to the hills above the Mosel right among the vineyards, At one point we stopped and stepped out to enjoy the brilliant view…looking down, you could see the riverside town of Kröv (April 2015)

..and looking up, you’d see more vineyards stretching up the hills, trees crowning the hilltops..and a small shrine in the middle of nowhere… On a beautiful day like today, it was just “herrlich”, as the Germans would say… (April 2015)

That spring had just started meant that the vineyards were still bare… as you’d see here looking down at the road we came up from… (April 2015)

Following the road, up and down the hills, back and forth across the river, I kept making wrong turns…distracted as I was with the landscape around me. So, 30 minutes eventually took an hour till we reached the town of Cochem… Beginning in 1298 (though the town is much older), Cochem and its castle were held by the Archbishops of Trier, which is reflected in its coat of arms here. The cross on the left side is part of Trier’s coat of arms and the hand with two keys is a symbol of St Peter, the patron saint of Trier. (April 2015)

We parked the car and walked through the town. We had a coffee and cake break at a cafe in the town center and then made our way to the Reichsburg Cochem (the Imperial Castle of Cochem). On the way we passed the fountain of St Martin in the main town plaza – all decorated for Easter. (April 2015).

The building to the left is the Ratskeller and in the middle is the tower of the town church, as seen from the main market plaza of Cochem. (April 2015).

It wasn’t a long walk – about 20 minutes – but halfway up there, we had a chance to take in this panorama. The clouds dappled the hills with their shadows, which made for a very pretty view over the town and its surroundings. The building in the center is the Capuchin monastery and its attached old age home. The large tower to the right is that of the town church (April 2015)

From that same place, you could also look up to get a view the imposing Reichsburg. (April 2015)

As we got closer, the structure seemed more and more imposing. It commanded a 360° view of the area crowning the hilltop as it did. There is a fresco of St. Christopher carrying the child Christ on his shoulders on the main tower of the castle – though I do not get the background or the symbolism there. (April 2015).

Built in the 12th century, the castle was overrun and destroyed in 1688 by the French troops of King Louis XIV during the war of the Palatine Succession. It was eventually bought and rebuilt by a Berlin businessman in the late 19th century. (April 2015).

Another 15 minutes of walking and we reached the gates of the Reichsburg. The initials L.R. at the top of the entrance possibly stand for Louis Ravenne, the Berlin businessman, who bought the castle and restored it in the late 19th century. (April 2015)

We did not take a tour of the castle itself. There was a crowd up there (Sunday, beautiful weather, Spring, etc.) and it would have taken longer than we would have liked. So we browsed through the gift shop, where Tuli stopped me from buying swords, knives, Gothic paintings, and a beautiful bronze statue of Freya (that I won’t forget!). All I came out with was an English guide about the castles along the Mosel. Not much of a consolation there. (April 2015).

Even in bright sunshine, I wouldn’t want to see the face under the helmet of this lone stone sentinel, if its arms were any indication. We made our way back down to the town via another alternate route and window-shopped a bit in the narrow streets and alleys of the old town. It was late in the afternoon, so we had some lunch, sampled some more wine … and then started our drive back to Frankfurt. (April 2015).