Ibis Hotel Koblenz

... of course) and the Castle is on top of a huge hill (of course). Did I mention the cab was a brand new Mercedes?
At any rate, we got to our wonderful Castle and were hoping for no rain the next day so we could take a boat trip... no such luck. The rain has returned on our trip. Instead, we took the train up to Koblenz. The entire river is littered with castles. Most have them have been converted into hotels it seems. And the towns along the ...

... The waiter was actually the owner and he spoke English so we chatted a little and I watched soccer on the TV and also some spiked hair punks cause a scene and the police came and that was about it. So it was nice few drink layover in Koblentz. Back on the train to Bremen and on to Finland!!

So on the way to Trier, the train traveled right besides the Rhine River. It was AMAZING! The trip between Mantz and Koblenz was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. There were boats just traveling up and down the river and plenty of vineyards on the rolling hills along with river. Also every 4 minutes there was another town and a larger church in ...

... the trip. I’ll be staying in hostels for the rest of the trip. And my feet really needed a rest. Not only did I walk for two hours getting to/from Burg Katz, but I spent a lot of time walking around Cochem too. And I think my feet are starting to chronically hurt because of all the walking I’ve been doing. They feel okay during the day, but after I rested in my room for awhile I could barely walk.

Oh well…only one week ...

... for those who do not want to afford the expensive cruise, bus or train would be the preferable mean of transport.

Another point, I would like to make: the Rhine, especially between Bonn and Koblenz is home to dozens of large and little castles and fortresses. This fortresses are for the most part in private ownership, but on the Rhine in Flames event, this fortresses are ...

... in the air, there’s a certain serenity that just about anyone could get used to. Replacing the daily chug to work on dirty, over-crowded trains, salvation comes from your GT; noble steed and companion throughout the city. Two thousand years of history, and bridal saddle now sits on aluminium, but there’s no less adventure on two wheels than for the equestrian Kaiser Wilhelm. If home is where the heart is, there’ll be a piece of mine left somewhere in this Rhineland city of Kings.

... was built. This was later enlarged to a fortress
 
Castle 7 - Stahleck Castle - Is now used as a youth hostel. Was first mentioned in 1145, was blown up in 1869 by the French. Was reconstructed in 2 phases 1925-1927 and 1965-1967 
Castle 8 - Pfalzgrafenstein Toll Station - Is located on the rhine island at Kaub. Was built in 1327 and used as a toll station until 1866

Castle 9 - Gutenfels Castle - Overlooks Kaob. is now used as a hotel, was built around 1257 and ...

... The views of European countryside flew right past at 186 mph. I only got 2 hours of the country before I was in Brussels' Midi station. Midi station is massive, a hub for most Western European train services. From Brussels, I hopped on a train to Koblenz, my first official stop in Germany. I arrived in Koblenz at 9:30pm, just enough time to secure my reserved bed at the "Jugendherberge Festung Ehrenbreitstein" hostel in Koblenz.