COCHEM

June 3, 2011

Lots of people have arrived along the river for the big holiday. We have been told it is Father’s Day, but I think there must also be some state holiday. People get Thursday off and they take an extra day off for Friday and make it a four day weekend.

As we have been riding along the river we see lots of big green fields that stretch for miles. These are campgrounds. As the holiday weekend began the campers started pouring in. They park their camper and then set up a fancy cabana in front. These cabanas are room-sized, quite large, and have sun protection and mosquito netting all around.
I think they are mainly used as dining rooms. By the end of the day there were thousands of campers crowding the shores of the Mosel. Outside the cabanas the barbeques are set up and the big parties are beginning.
Today we took the train back up river to the town of Cochem. With all of the vacationers there June 3, 2011 Lots of people have arrived along the river for the big holiday. We have been told it is Father’s Day, but I think there must also be some state holiday. People get Thursday off and they take an extra day off for Friday and make it a four day weekend. As we have been riding along the river we see lots of big green fields that stretch for miles. These are campgrounds. As the holiday weekend began the campers started pouring in. They park their camper and then set up a fancy cabana in front. These cabanas are room-sized, quite large, and have sun protection and mosquito netting all around. I think they are mainly used as dining rooms. By the end of the day there were thousands of campers crowding the shores of the Mosel. Outside the cabanas the barbeques are set up and the big parties are beginning. Today we took the train back up river to the town of Cochem. With all of the vacationers there are thousands of people everywhere. We decided to take the hike up the hillside to the viewpoint. The weather was muggy and hot and the hike was arduous. I had to take extra care on the uneven surfaces and Don was very good about helping me, especially on the stairs. The view from the top was quite stunning. We could look down on the town and the river, all of the miles and miles of campers, and across to the hills on the other side of the river. There is a chairlift and we considered taking that down, but we decided to hike down. We took a different route down and decided to catch boat back to Treis. Before we left we joined the throngs of people and strolled through the town. There were lots of motorcycles parked in every square and the sidewalk cafes and walkways were crowded with people. The boat ride was a nice change, with a refreshing breeze flowing off the river. Along the way there was a bit of excitement when sirens blared and fire engines rushed down the road to put out a dramatic car fire. The boat dropped us right in our town and we hiked up the hill and back to our apartment for a shower and a glass of wine. are thousands of people everywhere.
We decided to take the hike up the hillside to the viewpoint. The weather was muggy and hot and the hike was arduous. I had to take extra care on the uneven surfaces and Don was very good about helping me, especially on the stairs.

The view from the top was quite stunning. We could look down on the town and the river, all of the miles and miles of campers, and across to the hills on the other side of the river.

There is a chairlift and we considered taking that down, but we decided to hike down. We took a different route down and decided to catch boat back to Treis. Before we left we joined the throngs of people and strolled through the town. There were lots of motorcycles parked in every square and the sidewalk cafes and walkways were crowded with people.

The boat ride was a nice change, with a refreshing breeze flowing off the river. Along the way there was a bit of excitement when sirens blared and fire engines rushed down the road to put out a dramatic car fire.
The boat dropped us right in our town and we hiked up the hill and back to our apartment for a shower and a glass of wine.