We began the day by leaving the hotel bright and early and heading to our next destination. The first leg of our drive was along a part of the autobahn. Unfortunately there are speed regulations for buses and semi trucks so Joop was not able to let the Mercedes bus eat. After about an hour, we exited the autobahn and began driving down a beautiful road along the Mosel River. We passed by old towns sprawled along rocky hillsides and lots of vineyards. We eventually arrived in the town of Koblenz, Germany.
The main attraction in the town of Koblenz is the Deutsches Eck or “German Corner”. The Deutsches Eck is the corner of the town where the Mosel River meets the Rhine River. A massive statue of William 1 stands at the corner overlooking the rivers. The statue was originally constructed in 1897 to celebrate the unification of Germany. During World War 2, the statue was destroyed by an American artillery shell and wasn’t reconstructed until 1993. After visiting the statue, we had a couple hours of free time to find lunch and explore the city.
A group of guys and I enjoyed a delicious lunch of döner. The workers in the small shop we stopped in spoke minimal english. Fortunately, Drew Smits has taken multiple years of German class and he was able to help us understand the menu and speak to the workers. After lunch, we wandered around the historic city and riverside. Overall, it was a great morning in Koblenz.
Matt