The Town
Nice little armorial touch on a building
The Town
A street scene
The Castle
Cochem Castle from the bus stop near the top of the hill
The Castle
Zoomed in for a closer look
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The outer gate
The Castle
The town below, on the other side of the Moselle
The Castle
Looking up at the keep
The Castle
An armorial lion holding a shield, and wearing a helmet
The Castle
The keep, with a mural of St. Christopher, who seems very popular in Germany. There may be some connection to all that flooding.
The Castle
The stairs up to the keep
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The Queen of the Castle. I think the guide called her Matilda.
The Castle
She was rather shy just now.
The Castle
Louis XIV of France destroyed most of the castle in one of his wars, but a Berlin steel tycoon bought the ruins and rebuilt it. He used some imagination, as most 19th century restorers did, but he had a good feel for how a real castle should look. This dining room has a medieval ceiling, and a Renaissance look, but the Renaissance did not always change the whole room.
The Castle
The furnishings are very nice, even if brought in from somewhere else.
The Castle
The ceiling is similar to the medieval dining hall in Coburg.
The Castle
The view of the dining room in picture 1793 showed a door on the right. This is that door - it opens to a blank wall. It's just there to balance the real door on the left.
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A nice little alcove
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Even nicer when I don't want to focus on the windows.
The Castle
Nicely decorated vaulted ceiling. Every room had a different type of ceiling.
The Castle
A fine inlaid table
The Castle
Delft tiles in the fireplace. By coincidence, my guide was Dutch, and from Delft.
The Castle
A nice section of wood paneling
The Castle
Another secion of wood paneling
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With a secret door hidden in it
The Castle
Another painted ceiling, with semi-rough beams
The Castle
A sort of mermaid with antlers
The Castle
A dragon etched into one of the beams
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Another great ceiling
The Castle
Nice fireplace
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Finely carved sideboard
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And a nice chest
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Interesting bench
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A nicely carved seat
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Interesting carved chair
The Castle
A very nice cabinet
The Castle
Not much armor in the castle. The small suit is maybe for a skinny young teen. The large suit is 2.38 meters tall, almost 8 feet. It's a copy of an 8 foot original.
The Castle
A drinking horn
The Castle
Looking down from the castle at the town and the river
The Castle
The Moselle, and both banks
The Castle
Looking up the Moselle
The Castle
A nice halberd
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The keep peeking out over the residential block
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A beautiful window
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The well. It does not go all the way down to the river. They found water somewhere above it.
The Castle
Some of the outbuildings, with the guide, a very nice man.
The Castle
The witch's tower. Not because of sorcery, but because it was the only major part of the castle not destroyed by Louis XIV. People said only witchcraft could have saved it.
The Castle
Part of the courtyard
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The inside of the gateway
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And the outside
The Castle
Looking up again at the keep, which we did not go into.
The Castle
The Queen, making sure everyone has left.
The Castle
Matilda hears something, and is about to take off.
The Castle
While I was waiting for the bus, she came back.
The Town
Restaurants in Europe always have a menu outside. This one is electronic.
The Town
It does a slideshow of the menu. You have to read quickly or wait for the page to come back around again.
The Town
The Moselle from my hotel room.
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And across the river
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And upstream
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My room has modern thermopane windows, with a fake front to make them look like traditional four paned windows.
The Town
Memorial to the Jews of Cochem who were sent to the death camps.
The Town
The Enderttor, 1352, a vestige of the town walls
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The tower of St. Martin's church
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St. Martin's church
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St. Martin's church again, with the tower
The Town
A view of the castle from the river bank
The Town
Another view
The Town
And with a little zoom
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The middle house seems to be squeezed in by its neighbors.