Cochem Castle

 

Reichsberg Cochem was  first mentioned in documents in the year 1130. It was destroyed by the French in the 1680s and then reconstructed in the 1860s.  I'm not clear on what was original and what was reconstructed, but the castle is very striking atop it's rocky hill.

 

It is about 2 hours from our house, and this was our first time visiting.  There was a medieval fest going on that day, and I may have mentioned in another post, but medieval fests are really not our favorite thing.  The castle was very crowded, and there were many stalls selling period clothing and trinkets.  There were also food vendors, which we like, but the food wasn't particularly "period" related... we had waffles and currywurst.

 

The entertainment.

My reaction to troupes like this tends to be wondering what sort of person chooses to live like this?  Traveling around, dressed in period costume, performing medieval tunes, juggling, etc.  It doesn't appeal to me at all.  So, I was amused when Charlotte remarked to me, that she would LOVE to have a stand at festivals selling things that she makes. 

 

We thought the castle looked a lot like Hogwarts.

 

I kept looking up to admire the details, like this mosaic mural.

 

Or these gargoyle rain spouts and turrets.

 

We did let each of the kids take a turn trying to shoot a warthog target with a toy crossbow.

 

Very serious business.

 

Amelie was glad to have a turn, so she even accepted the assistance of the guy running the stand.  (She won't usually let strangers talk to her, let alone help her.)

 

Big Bears don't need assistance.

 

The kids (and I) were all amused by this girl walking around with her pet chicken.  All of the kids pet it, and it was the most tame bird I have ever seen.

 

I love this view over the Mosel River.

 

And here we are back at our car.  It was a looooong walk up to the castle and back, and we were disappointed to find a parking ticket on our return to our vehicle even though we believed we were legally parked.  Oh well!  All in all, the castle is lovely and picturesque, but won't go down in memory as our favorite day trip.  One of these days I am going to make a post about my top ten favorite castles in Germany.