I left Luxembourg at 9.33 am and 2.5 hours later was in Koblenz. It was easy to find accommodation near the train station. The hotel National had a high-sounding name. In reality, it was a small cozy place, the kind that I like. A single room was $77 per night with breakfast.
After a few hot and dry days, the temperature dropped to +17°C (63°F) and it drizzled. Colder, moist weather brought relief. I walked through the city in a waterproof coat. The fresh air was energizing; the streets were void of people and cars.
May is truly the month of holidays in Europe. Most of my stay in France happened to be various festivities. Now I moved to Germany in time for its holidays. On the 10th of May, Germany celebrated the Ascension Day (40th day after Easter). The Father’s Day also fell on May, 10. Every single business was closed. The Germans were having fun somewhere; I just did not know where.
I gradually made my way to the Rhine past some monumental buildings. The banks looked livelier. Cruise boats packed with people sailed up and down the river. A large fortress sat on top of a hill on the opposite side of the Rhine. Having nothing better to do, I rode a cable car to the fortress. The view of the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle was magnificent.
The fortress grounds were filled with dozens of tents and lots of people. That’s where everyone was! The people in the tents represented Germanic tribes who occupied that area centuries ago. Every group of tents had a sign with the tribe name. The people were dressed according to their tribe customs and they did not just sit there or pose for photos. They actually lived in these tents paying little attention to the fortress visitors. They went about their daily chores like chopping wood, making fires, cooking and washing, or doing repairs. Families ate the meals cooked on an open fire in front of tourists. Musicians played their instruments, a smith worked in his smithy, children and dogs chased each other. The items that they used looked authentically old. Genuine furs were spread on the ground and benches. The festival was probably going on for days. I marveled at the scenes and the display of colors moving from one tent to another.
There were more tents inside the Ehrenbreitstein fortress itself. A green field was used as a stage for what I first took for a knight tournament. After watching it for a minute, I realized that it was a play probably based on some German epics. The plot was easy to understand without knowing the language. Two knights fought over a fair maid. She loved one of them, but the other won. The fair maid picked up the sword of her fallen lover and avenged his death by killing the other knight. Kids loved the performance. When it was over the actors rode around the field pausing here and there so spectators could take enough photos.
I walked around the fortress until it became late and took a cable car back to the city. There was more to see there like this monument to Kaiser Wilhelm installed where Father Rhine and Mother Moselle meet. This place is called the German Corner.
Koblenz was another pleasant surprise like Laon in France. I stopped in it because I needed to break a long and monotonous train trip from Luxembourg to Lautertal and, unexpectedly, I had a great time there.
Sounds like another wonderful day!
It truly was.