Königswinter, Drachenfels, and Drachenburg: Germany

Not to confuse you, of course, but each is important, especially if you like old ruins and castles!  But I'll get to that in a minute.

It was time to make our way home from our 3-day, 2-night trip to Koblenz, Germany, the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I've already told you about Koblenz, the Maria Laach abbey and the Stolzenfels castle.

Astrid did the research and chose Königswinter as the perfect place for a stop on the way home, an hour west of Koblenz.  It would make a full day...one last day, squeezing everything in.

So, we started winding our way on the back roads along the Rhine towards Königswinter, stopping 

at anything and everything that caught our eye...with the above ruin as our goal, seen from afar.

Some things were brand new even to Astrid, like these stacked bales of hay.

But the fly-by shots of the castles, churches and ruins took the cake,

even though we didn't stop to check them out.

Besides, there are more castles in this area than you can shake a stick at.

As we entered Königswinter, we started paying attention.

It's a summer resort area in a small range of mountains, known for it's half-timbered houses,

the Drachenfels (dragon's rock) and the Drachenburg castle.

Because it wasn't raining yet, we decided to go to the Drachenfels (dragon's rock) first.

Lucky for us, Germany's oldest mountain Drachenfels railway, built in 1883, 

was in holiday operation that day.

The train took us to the castle, from which we then hiked up to the dragon's rock/ruin.

But see the donkey mural on the way?  Astrid's mom rode them instead of the train in her day.

The Drachenfels is actually a hill rising 321 meters (1,053 ft) above the Rhine.

The now ruined castle at the top was built in 1138 by Archbishop Arnold I of Cologne.

As we climbed higher and higher, we saw the Drachenburg castle below,

which we would visit later up close and personal.

If you like ruins, it doesn't get much better than this, even if you don't hang around for long.

Maybe it's the views from the top that are the bigger reward, but that, my friends, 

is the mighty Rhine river below.  The same one from our Viking River Cruise in 2013.

Going back down the mountain was so gezellig...a good Dutch word:  cozy.

Did I mention that I LOVE the woods!

Back down to the train stop, we saw the Drachenburg castle from outside the gate,

before entering the castle grounds through the lovely gate house.

The castle was constructed in palace style in two years, 1882-84, which is young as castles go.

But it does not disappoint!

 See what I mean!

And unbeknownst to us, Christmas festivities were taking place that weekend.

Dicken's-type characters were everywhere to be found, inside and out.

Inside, the great hall was a-bustle with Christmas goodies for purchase or viewing.

Eye candy.

You can see the palace distinction as opposed to a castle, right?

Posh.  Elegant.  Eye candy.

Back outside, as the afternoon grew late, we walked around the grounds.

And of course, we ate the goodies available.  We're not dumb.

Back through the gate house, as we left, we were reminded of the dragon Fafnir from a nearby cave

who was killed by Siegfried, who then bathed in the dragon's blood to become invulnerable.

And thus the hill became Drachenfels = dragon's rock.

That's what legends are made of, giving names to the places we visit.

And there you have it!

The Stolzenfels Castle in Koblenz, Germany

Right after visiting the Maria Laach Abbey (last post), the weekend after America's Thanksgiving, we drove the 32 km back to Koblenz to visit the Stolfenfels Castle on the left bank of the Rhine.

From our Wyndham Hotel on the other side of the river, we could see it almost directly

 across from us over the valley.  Once at the castle, we looked back to see our hotel.

And since we were looking back, we also saw other castles and churches.

That's the thing about Germany:  more castles than you can shake a stick at.

But this day, it was the Stolzenfels Castle ("Proud Cliff") we chose to see.

It was built in 1259 but was destroyed in 1689 by the French during the Nine Years' War.

Koblenz gave the ruin to the Prussian Crownprince in 1823, who rebuilt it as a palace.

Today it's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

From the base of the hill, near the Rhine river, we started our climb to the castle/palace.

We could have stopped at the arched roadway and gone no further for how beautiful it was.

But on we climbed and climbed and climbed till we reached the entrance,

all the while looking back and across the Rhine for the views.

As castles or palaces go, it did not disappoint... 

from one castle to another (bottom-right above)!

I bet you and I could both live there, yes??!  

The price of our ticket gave us the option of a tour to the upper floors,

but because it had been a long day, we opted to see only the ground floor views.

Besides, we had already seen the Marksburg Castle nearby across the river 

while on our Viking River Cruise back in 2013.  We didn't need to see more of the same...

...especially after seeing the inside chapel.  

What could have possibly topped that!

 We left the castle the back way through the gate house, following the service road...

...down, down, down the hill to the St. Menas parish church from 1833, near the arched roadway.

By now it was already late afternoon, with the sun lower in the sky.

The church wasn't open but we walked around and saw what we could,

looking back to a fine view of the castle.

St Sebastian, with arrows piercing his body, a former Roman soldier and martyr, 

now a venerated saint by the Roman Catholics, was displayed near the church entrance,

while Jesus hung on a cross nearby.

And because tomorrow many of us celebrate Christmas, I'm reminded that as a young girl

I often heard that Jesus was "Born to Die."

But he was also born to LIVE a life of love and mercy and peace to all.

In that spirit of the season, I wish us all a 

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.

The Koblenz, Germany, Weekend

If I'm not careful, things are really gonna pile up on me any day now, all because we've just finished two wee get-away trips two weeks apart.  What a nice predicament, right?!

First, we took the Friday-to-Sunday weekend after Thanksgiving to go far enough away (300 km, 3 hours by car) to forget I wasn't home with my family for the holiday.  It's still the hardest time for me to be away...but taking a trip seems to help.

Our home base while gone was in Koblenz, Germany, where we spent the day on Friday seeing as much as possible, before venturing out on Saturday and Sunday.

We knew we'd end up at the Christmas Market in city center, so we started first near the Rhine River.

This 10-meter history column at the Gorres Place greeted us outside our parking spot.

A short walk to the Rhine River offered a delightful restaurant stop to begin our (main meal) midday. 

Inside we actually overlooked the river...and other goodies.

These were our views looking across the river right outside the restaurant after eating.

If the sky lift had been open that day, we would have taken the ride to see the view from it.

But it didn't matter, of course, because we can't always see/do everything.

In fact, right there at the sky lift we could see the Basilica of St. Castor, which was next on our list.

How can you not be awed by such architecture!

By now you already know that I first take pics of the nave,

first towards the altar and then behind to the organ in the back.

Then I go for the pulpit and the font....

...followed by the usually amazing ceilings....

...and then the closer-ups....

...and other details.

There's always enough to find.  Something for everyone.

Just outside the church, we headed to the statue of Emperor William I at the Deutsches Eck .

The Deutsches Eck is the "German Corner" where the rivers Mosel and Rhine converge.

This is the point we were dropped off at while on our Viking River Cruise in 2013,

before being bused to the Marksburg castle nearby.

So if the statue looks familiar, that's why!

It's HUGE, 14 meters high....

...and tall enough to climb up and inside, seeing the views from a different perspective.

Back down on the ground, we walked along the Mosel River towards city center,

just as the sun was setting by late afternoon.

Looking inland we saw the basilica again, followed by other architecture and many impressions,

before then turning into the Christmas markets...all 7 of them flowing together.

We LOVE the German Christmas markets.

So many goodies to eat.

So many things to admire and/or buy.

And because the market is at the main square, there was another church to see:

the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) Roman Catholic church.

The back-n-forth pics of the nave...

...followed by quick impressions.

As we went back outside, there was St. Nicholas waiting to welcome us.

In the Netherlands he's called Sinterklaas.

And that was it.  Not so short and sweet...but with lots of short-of-eyes impressions,

both coming and going.

That was just the first day...HA!
See what I mean about things piling up?!