More Moselle

Day 6 Monday, July 23, 2012 We arrived in Cochem, considered to be the center of the Moselle wine trade. This town is surrounded by steep vineyards and quainte wine villages. They have many of the traditional half timbered houses and lazy winding streets. Cochem was settled by the Celts and later by the Romans. From the 13th to the 18th centuries it belonged to the bishopric of Trier. It suffered a plague and the plague was blamed on the Jews so most of them were forced to leave or were killed. We walked the streets of Cochem with a guide. Because my knees habe been bothering me I took the leisrely tour with a guide in his 80's. We did find the Jeudenstrasse or the street of the Jews but there is nothing there to indicate the the Jews were ever there. We also visted the Reichsbburg castle. Most of the castle was destroyed in the bombings of the second world war so this castle was rebuilt from drawings and remnants they found. We returned to the ship for lunch and sailed to Koblenz. We had a lovely dinner and then we walked around Koblenz. Unfortunately, it was late at night and nothing but restaurants and bars were open. The one unfortunate incident of the day was that I left my much needed walking stick on the mini bus that took us into Cochem. They did find it but were able to get it to me before our ship set sail for Koblenz. I had hoped to purchase another one in Koblenz but everything was closed. The infected bite on my thigh does not seem to be getting better but it is not getting worse. I continue to apply the dreams I received in Paris and hope it will disappear before the end of the trip.