Upon arriving in Koblenz, I immediately hopped out of the car to find the nearest tourist center (and bathroom, of course) while Joe and E patiently waited for a parking spot to open up in the garage. Little did we know that there was a children's street fair and a summer-long horticultural event going on, so the place was jam-packed. All along the river were various boat tours that ranged from one to several hours long. Having never taken E on a tour like this, we decided to play it safe and see how he managed for an hour.
The weather was PERFECT--I was more than comfortable in my little sleeveless maternity dress (looking every bit 29 weeks pregnant, and feeling it too, by the way). We sat on the top, out in the sun, and just enjoyed the cool breeze and beautiful scenery. A fortress and a castle were among the beautiful sites, but E only had eyes for the ice cream offerings, so we caved in and let him have a kid's sundae before we even had lunch. It kept him quiet and happy the rest of the cruise...totally worth it. At the end of the hour, we asked E what he thought of the boat ride. In his words, "We floated around and ate ice cream. It was a good time." Deeps thoughts...by Emmett.
After grabbing some lunch at a cute little Italian bistro, we headed up to the castle, thinking that a little tour would nicely round out our day. So we handed over 40 euros for two tickets (a little steep, I thought) and began the not so quick climb up to the castle doors. We walked around a little while before asking the guy at the information desk where we could sign up for a tour. We were then informed that there was nothing to tour in the castle. Most of it was destroyed during the war and what parts have been restored are now government offices. Say what??? No royal bedrooms to ogle at, no thrones, no artwork? What the heck did we pay for then? I was told "the atmosphere". Thanks for that, but I could have gotten "atmosphere" somewhere else for a lot less than 60 bucks. Oh well, live and learn. *
* Footnote: We did discover later that our 20 euro tickets included a few other attractions; unfortunately, there was no time left in our day to take advantage of them. Next time, we will buy the tickets early :)
They did have beautiful gardens though and a few entertainment options--a dance performance, an a cappella group, some birds on display...an interesting mixture of odds and ends. However, we found the best part last...a little wading pond that you could take off your shoes and walk through. Sounds a little strange, I know, but you should have seen the look on E's face when he saw it. "Can I go in that water?" he asked hopefully. "Of course" we said and in he went. Of course, walking isn't really E's style. So it was only a matter of seconds before he was running full force through it, soaking his shorts in the process. His shorts got so wet, and so heavy, that they started to fall down. Eventually, he was running through the water, shorts around his ankles, his adorable little Finding Nemo tighty whities on display for all of Koblenz to see (and, yes, there is photographic evidence in the collage below). I thought the old German men were going to bust something laughing at him, and I have to admit, I almost wet my pants doing the same thing (not a tough feat at 7 months pregnant). I jumped in, fished him out, changed his shorts, and off we went...Emmett protesting the entire time. He had no problem running around half naked and was not ready to go home yet.
So that, in a nutshell, was our day in Koblenz. Quite fun, quite peaceful, and quite possibly a place that we will visit again very soon!
2 comments:
I am so very envious of your German adventures. Oh how Brandon and I would love to live overseas (keep your ears open for any openings)! soak it all in! Can't wait to read all about it!
That picture is so cute, did he finally lose his pants all the way, so cute.
Grandma Cookie
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