Also known as Reichsburg Cochem, the castle and the lovely town above are fairly close to Luxembourg, an hour and half drive. Although we've been to Cochem many times it was only this Autumn that I got to visit the castle and believe me it was worth it.
Surrounded by the vineyards of the Moselle Valley, the Castle has a history of more then a thousand years, but what you could see today is a reconstruction of the original castle destroyed by the French in 1689. Only two towers remain from the original castle, this information and many others are given to you by a lovely guide. We took the English tour and I have to say it was one of the best tours I ever had while visiting a castle. Not only the dogs (the well behaved ones) are allowed inside the castle, but you are encouraged to take pictures, to touch the objects and the furniture and to ask questions.
What you have to know about the experience:
- the ticket is 6 euro for an adult and 3 euro for children, dogs go for free;
- be advised that inside the castle there are cats, so if you know your dog doesn't like cats, maybe keep him/her on a short leash;
- there is a free parking near the castle and there are some shuttles from the city to the castle;
- if you want to make it to the castle's parking, put your GPS to take you to the castle and not the town, from Luxembourg you will make it to the town, pass it, go round it somehow, pass through a forest and a gymnasium and then reach the castle, even though from the town you can climb to the castle on foot;
- the castle is guided tour only, the tours are in German and English;
- photography is not only allowed, but encouraged within the castle, the guide gives long breaks in each room for the ones who want to take pictures;
- during the weekend the castle has a lot more visitors than during the week, somehow normal, but be advised it can get a little bit crowded at times;
- there is a restaurant/coffee house inside the castle, but there are so many restaurants in town, so if you can't find a place in the castle's restaurant do not despair;
- you can also pay your ticket by card, I don't know about the restaurant, but I assume it's the same;
- there is a gift store inside the castle where you can buy postcards, magnets and other souvenirs, but also water or juices.
What I liked (besides visiting the castle with dogs :D) was the attention to details. It reminded me of being a tourist in Ireland, where once you decide to visit an attraction (castle, town, museum), you find everything at the tip of your fingers, in this case parking, toilets, souvenir shop, coffee shop, friendly guides and overall a nice experience. I hope I've encouraged you to travel even during the weekends, even close to home. Here are my pictures:
Picture taken from one of the castle's terraces. If it wasn't surrounded by vineyards, I could have easily mistaken it for Dinant in Belgium.
The fireplace reminded me of the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle in Alsace, France, a castle we should revisit soon.
This mermaid with stag antlers as wings is said to grant you one wish, the tour guide swore by it, so one by one we touched its belly and started wishing
He is a Labradoodle, a newish breed of dogs created by mixing a Labrador and a Poodle, and he was visiting the castle with us. I have to say that Luna would not be so calm and silent, but I still want to bring her to this castle.
Visiting the castle in Autumn was a plus with all the colours the nature prepared for us. It was a clear sunny day, which made the visit even more pleasant as the castle has a lot of balconies and terraces from where you can take amazing pictures.
I hope you loved reading this post as much as I loved putting it together! Also, if you fancy keeping in contact with me, drop a line at Dichisuri.ro on Facebook.
Raluca
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