Cochem, a Charming Place to Visit

Today’s Saturday was one of my favorite yet! We drove to Cochem, an hour and 45 minutes from Frankfurt, then spent most of the day exploring there. It was an absolute must see destination. We loved it. The town is nestled along the Mosel River, in beautifully scenic country. It was historic, charming, interesting, and photogenic. I couldn’t help myself with my camera. There was so much to capture because I will want to revisit this place through these photos.

The Town of Cochem
Cochem is located on the Moselle River (die Mosel in German), which is also one of the town’s many charms. Home to only about 5,200 residents (as of 2021), the small town punches above it weight with half-timbered houses, a riverside promenade, in-town vineyards, a scenic market square, charming restaurants and inns, and of course Cochem Castle.

Come walk with me and see what I saw. It was all so incredible.

Cochem is a destination spot for river cruises. The large boats stop here, drop off, let people wander, then they catch the next boat.

There’s a bridge you can use to cross the river. We walked across to visit the old church on the other side. Everywhere we looked was a beautiful view.

The old church:

This Christian preacher was murdered by the Nazis at Dachau.

Graves by the church date back to the 1500s and 1600s.

From the bridge:

This is the Catholic Church in Cochem:

Then we walked the streets. They run parallel to the river. There were lots of visitors here today.

Notice the signage hanging over the streets from the shops.

Here’s a wine vending machine.

We grabbed sandwiches so we could eat while we explored.

And some traditional bakery treats–plum kuchen and a nut Ecke, or corner.

You can tell we are in wine country.

We made our way through town to the road and steps leading up to the castle high overhead.

The hillsides around the castle were covered in vineyards.

Once at the top, we waited for the next tour to begin. I Really Loved this castle, called Reichsburg. It’s ancient, originally built in the 11th century, later destroyed in the 17th century. In 1689, during the Nine Years’ War, the castle was besieged, taken and blown up by French troops.. The current castle seen today is a reconstruction from the 19th century. A rich merchant bought it in 1866 for 300 Marks and spent 2 years and millions restoring it to its original glory. He died 2 years later. That made me sad. He didn’t have long to enjoy it.

The views from the castle were spectacular. You can see some of the many cruise boats.

The exterior of the castle was really beautiful. Stone work, vines and flowers, attention to detail. Magical. Really amazing. Reminded us a bit of Berg Eltz. The rooms inside were small and intimate, some felt like a hunting lodge, with stuffed animals mounted on the walls, including the head of a huge boar. There were suits of armor and some hunting weapons.

We walked through sitting rooms and a dining room and a music room where Handel’s Water Musik was playing. The details were beautiful. In one room, there was a writing table and chair in a small alcove with beautiful glasswork windows looking out over the mountain and vineyards below. That particular place made my heart beat, and I felt drawn to it, as if I had been there before.

I wondered today as we walked and drove if there are places here that are familiar to me because I have seen them before. Not this particular castle, because it’s not likely I’m connected to people who lived here, but other German places where my people have lived, like in Grossgartach. Did I look down on them and know those places because they were there?? Is that why so much of Germany feels so familiar and comfortable to me? Have I been watching this place for eons of time, waiting for my turn to come to earth? And are others watching me now? I feel we are connected. I feel at home here. I love this feeling.

Sometimes I think about my “mansion in heaven” and wonder what it will be like. There are times when the beauty of a place overwhelms me. I wonder what my particular place was like before I left to come to Earth. I wonder what projects I left on my desk, waiting for my return. It’s going to be so fun to re-discover them when I get back.

A balcony view:

After enjoying the castle grounds, it was time to come down off the mount. We had beautiful views of the Mossel River, both directions and we could see a rain storm blowing in along the river valley. After about 5 minutes, it reached our mountain top and started to rain. We started down the mountain side, without jackets or umbrellas. We were pretty drenched by the time we got to the bottom, even after stopping a couple of times along the way under a tree or door arch. There were a few homes along the climb, but mostly vineyards. Wine country. It was beautiful. Others were still going up and coming down too.

The path led us right into town and the fun streets, where people were taking cover and shop displays and clothing were pulled inside or under awnings. We were totally wet, so we wandered some more. It wasn’t cold–still in the mid-70s.