What a GREAT morning! One of my favorite things to see in Europe are the castles, and it's why I've been through the Rhine River Valley on four different trips already (will go on this one in a couple days, and have two more booked in the future!). And one of my very favorite parts of seeing the castles is to visit Marksburg Castle. Today we visited a castle we've never been to, Reichsburg....and it was delightful! If asked to compare I'd say that this one - which has been rebuilt after being destroyed three centuries ago - has more of a "modern, lived in look" because the family that restored it in the 1930's did in fact live here for many years. Where as Marksburg still has that medieval look inside. But regardless, it was very cool to walk around inside and out. And we were so, SO appreciative of Viking's red carpet service. While you COULD walk all the way up we were given shuttle vans. And where the general public is left off still has a substantial climb to get to the entrance gate, through Viking our shuttle vans took us right up to the gate. Many thanks Viking! As a side note, our guide started the tour by saying how Viking was the best cruise line to visit the area - always so organized, always well planned out :)
When we woke up this morning it was foggy and misty and in the upper 30's. Throughout the tour it was in the mid-to-upper 40's. But no wind, so "crisp" would be the operative word. We went on a nice 15 minute walk from the ship up and over the bridge across the Moselle River and into the small, quaint town of Cochem with our guide who have us some orientation. The first thing that struck me were the trees. I'd seen trees cut like this in 2016 in Viviers, France and when we returned there in 2024 in the fall I was so surprised at how different they looked with the leaves grown back (see photo below). Shortly there after we got our ride up to the castle - and again, so appreciative of not being asked to hike up there! We were passed off to our castle guide who took us around the grounds and through seven different rooms and back out again. Just fascinating...so cool. Our shuttle drivers met us at the end of the castle tour and we drove back down into town for about a 40 minute walking tour. It was very interesting that we were told every year....EVERY YEAR the lower level floods - like six feet high! Yet shop owners and home owners continue to live there. Typically when the water level rises in Trier up the river they know they have 12 hours before it will reach them. Then they clean it up and go right back to their normal day-to-day life. A wonderful day. In the afternoon while sailing we got a presentation on future Viking trips. This was significant on this cruise because currently the Main River - where we were scheduled to sail the final two days of the voyage - is impassable. So as a courtesy for our patience we are all receiving a 25% voucher from Viking from our cruise fare. In addition the change led to some excursions we'd originally opting for being cancelled (and replaced with included ones) - this led to a credit in our on board account. As on all on Viking river cruises they offer you the opportunity to buy a voucher for $100 and it's worth $200 on a future cruise. We typically do this. So with that purchase, and converting our credit balance, and the 25% voucher we will have well over $2000 available towards a future cruise - so the six of us are already planning that one!
Tomorrow will be THE HIGHLIGHT day of the trip. In the morning we will tour Marksburg Castle, and that's always really cool. But then all afternoon, cruise through the Rhine River Valley with castles on every hill.
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