20 Years On - Part 4 of Account of Travelling by Train Around West Germany and Austria

On reaching Koblenz for the first time (of three occasions) I stayed in a youth hostel which was part of a castle. The room I was allocated was underground literally cut into the cliff of the Rhine valley and looking out across the River Rhine to the monument to German unity (which I had visited on a school trip in 1983 but had entirely forgotten). I always thought the creatures on it looked more akin to South American iconography than anything German. Like many youth hostels it was a long walk from the town which lies down a steep climb and across the river. Self-conscious of my poor language skills and the pretty frosty reception I was receiving from Germans I avoided buses for fear of making a mistake, so walked everywhere. I was wearing basketball boots and by this stage realised I had bought the Matchstick brand ones that an American friend of mine had particularly warned against because they were so poor quality. My pair barely lasted my holiday. My feet are incredibly soft and it was only when I started cycling on holiday rather than walking places that my holidays were not a constant round of having to put on blister plasters, though even then I made the same mistake on a visit to Prague and Dresden in 2003 (and got bad flu too).

Note the Romanesque style church, a common style for churches in the Rhineland region, seen in the next posting in Mainz, but also present throughout Köln and other towns and cities of the region.

Thursday 25th August 1988

Today I woke up early and went to the station, there were loads of people at breakfast. I caught the 09.00 train and had a scenic trip down the Rhine Valley. I reached Koblenz by 10.50. I decided to walk across the town. I looked in the Middle Rhine museum and at the Eck-Monument to German unity. Then I walked along the bank, over to the other bank and up the steep hill to the Ehrenbreitstein Castle, which, surprisingly, contained the youth hostel. I sat around talking and then looked around the Land museum - an industrial museum for Rheinland-Pfalz Land. I had dinner in the youth hostel then sat around talking.

Weather: Some sun, some rain.

Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, August 1988

Parts of the Monument to German Unity in Koblenz, August 1988

Koblenz Youth Hostel Seen across River Rhine, August 1988

Romanesque Style Church in Koblenz, August 1988

Entrance to Koblenz Youth Hostel, August 1988

View from Room in Koblenz Youth Hostel Looking North-West, August 1988

View from Room in Koblenz Youth Hostel Looking South-West, August 1988

Note Monument to German Unity in the Foreground