Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded to the Middle Rhine!!!

Leaving Koblenz and Marksburg castle,
we headed up the Rhine...
with one last glimpse of the castle...

Did you know that just sailing on the Middle Rhine puts you into
a UNESCO World Heritage site?

 

I don't think it's because there are goats on the hillsides along the 

banks of the river...

Look!!!  There's a castle!!!

...and a cool house...

...and another castle!!!

...and another castle...

...and another castle...

 ...Oh!!!  And look at the cool patterns the fields make on the hillside!!!

 ...and another castle...

...and a cool church...

 

Look!!!  Another castle and a cool church!!!

...and another castle...

...and another castle...

 ...and another cool church...

...and another castle...

...and another castle...

...and another castle...

 

...and what did the Brit say to us as she crossed the upper deck of the ship?

...A-B-C...

...ANOTHER  BLOODY  CASTLE!!!

It was a beautiful afternoon...
beautiful scenery...towns...churches...and all the bloody castles you could want!!!




Click on the image below to view more little corners of the world!!!

Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded to Marksburg Castle, Koblenz, Germany!!!

Walking up to the castle was a daunting experience...

it's no wonder they were built for defense!!!

Marksburg Castle was built approximately 700 years ago...

and was built as a fortress, high atop a hill, with great vantage points to see an approaching enemy.

The Castle was never besieged by any enemies so it is quite the same as it was 700 years ago.

But they were prepared!!! 

On our way to go into the interior of the castle we passed these beauties...

Part of the kitchen...

And yes...they had indoor potties!!!

...right next to the dining room table!!! 

Didn't they have any building codes back then???

A nice little spot for the ladies to do their handwork...

...and of course a chapel...with a beautiful ceiling!!!

Just a few samples of the armor used back then when battling the enemy...

Those things aren't light either!!!

And of course...if the enemy got in...there were all sorts of ways to deal with them!!!

...as demonstrated in this painting...

A spectacular view from the charming cafe area...

somehow I don't think the cafe is original!!!

The group at large!!!

Dan, me, Art, Linda, Sean, Veronica, Doug...

Debra stayed back at the ship...

Every castle must have it's dog!!!

Another bright spot in a rather dreary day weatherwise...

Then back to the ship...

the Viking Embla!

To visit more little corners of the world...click on the image below!

Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded to Koln, Germany!!!

When we arrived in Cologne, the first thing we saw was

this magnificent cathedral...

Construction of the cathedral began in1248...
work was stopped in 1473.
The work was restarted....but not until the 1800's!

It was completed in 1880, and was finished according to the original design.

During WWII, the church was off limits for all bombing by the allied forces.
In part because allied forces policy was to preserve as much of these cathedrals as possible...
but more importantly, this cathedral is very tall and served as a beacon.
Pilots used the cathedral to pinpoint where they were...
and where they were going.  

Do you see the very white corner base?

That was the only area damaged during the WWII Bombings...

The entire area surrounding it was decimated.

The corner of the church was rebuilt, exactly as before...

right down to the same stone...same color...

Yep...the whole church used to be this white sandstone color.

Years and years of dirt, grime, bombing debris, diesel fuel, etc, etc...

definitely adds up to a dark stain!!!

An interesting twist to the cathedral's stained glass windows!!!

Look's kind of like pixels on a tv screen!!!

At the back of the cathedral is this corner...
with remnants of damage from bomb shrapnel...

Across the square...
a pub...
with those beautiful geraniums you see in windows all over Europe!!!

We walked a bit...looking for the cologne museum...
Not Cologne the city...but a museum about how cologne (the perfume) was developed...
 Along the way we saw a wedding...

and...no it's not a doll museum...it's a doll hospital!!!

We found the cologne museum...and of course bought a fair amount of
the original cologne!!!
(But didn't get any pics of the exterior... :( )

Back on the square by the cathedral...
some local talent!!!

And if you think we've got the corner market on political discourse and protest...

Honestly...
I don't have a clue what this tower was!!!
I just liked the pastel buildings in juxtaposition with
the old and beautiful tower!!!

That evening...what could be better than a Brauhaus Tour???

(In case your German's a bit rusty...that would be a Brew House Tour!!!)

We walked from brauhaus to brauhaus...

and I played a bit, taking pics of the lights in the streets...

I like that this is almost abstract!

Now that's a lot of brew to taste!!!

Cheers!!!



For more little corners of the world...click on the image below!!!