koblenz, germany - Day 6 - july 12, 2019

This morning we changed our excursion from the Miltenberg Castle to the Koblenz Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.  We have been doing a bunch of walking and my knee is swollen and there are a bunch of uneven stairs in the castle, so we erred on the side of caution.  The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress is an interesting fortress at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers, which was a very important point for possible invasion during the 18th century.  The Prussians build this amazing fortress on the top of a cliff, but no one ever attacked it, so we have a very good representation of a fortress of that period.  Our guide, Justin, dressed as an English Spy from the time period and stayed in character for about ¾ of the tour – pretty impressive.

Tram to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

Koblenz is the spot where the Moselle and Rhine rivers converge

Shelly helps guide at the the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

During the Afternoon we sailed through the famous Middle Rhine Valley.  Unfortunately, it was the worst weather of the entire trip, it pored rain (and a little hail) throughout most of the passage of that area.  I still braved the weather and stood on the sun deck to get some photos.  There were many old castles on the hills and the famous Lorelei rock that is at the narrowest point of the Rhine Gorge.

Castle in the Middle Rhine Valley

Lorelei Rock - the narrowest spot on the Rhine River