Row Row Row Your Boat, Gently Down The Rhine!

Yesterday was a lazy day in Cologne. Outside of business meetings I had in the evening, I spent a few more hours in the Dom Cathedral, really soaking it up. Normally when I visit new places, I try to squeeze in everything in a short period of time. Since I am in Cologne for over a week, I can do what I want when I want without pressure. Everytime I walk by that Cathedral I just stare for a good minute. In fact, I am staring at it right now as I type!

In the evening last night, we went to a traditional Cologne Beerhall. This was the place where locals go, not the typical tourist spots. We arrived just before closing, had a few drinks and called it a night.

This morning, I took the train down past Koblenz to Bacharach. This is an old (I mean really old…founded in 1100 AD), sleepy town with some amazing buildings and a huge castle looming over it. From here, I caught a boat and glided up the Rhine back to Koblenze, a 3 hour trip, enjoying over a dozen castles along the way.

You really gotta see these castles to believe it. Impressive is an understatement. Unfortunately, only three castles on the Rhine are originals, the others had been demolished to a large degree by French invaders over the years. Many of the demolished castles have been restored (and are still charming) but are surely no match for their original grandeur.

What’s intriguing is the story behind how and why these castles got built. Essentially, once people figured out that the Rhine was an important waterway for trade, wealthy folks began to make claims on the land around the riverside and charge tolls for any cargo passing by. In this way, little settlements began to develope along the rhine to support the trade, and a few families became disgustingly wealthy. With the wealth, became the need to protect themselves, their land and their money from jeaoulous neighbors or locals who were sick of paying outlandish fees to use the waterways.

Castles were built both as status symbols and for actual protection in the case of siege, which according to the pamphlet I read on the boat, actually happened on many occasions! We’re talking AD 1100-1400. If you had a beef with your neighbor, you just laid siege to their castle with a 1000 of your closest friends. If you win, you get their stuff. If you lose, well, you don’t want to lose. Pretty brutal.

 Anyway, here are a few of my favorites: