Visiting Cochem Germany
 

Hi!

We will be staying in Cochem for a week 16 Sep - 23 Sep. I have read numerous posts and from them have made a list of places recommended to visit. There are quite a few and we only have about 6 days so not sure how many we can fit in. I understand a good day cruise on the Mosel would be from Cochem upriver to Belstein. Following is a list and I would be appreciative if anyone could tell me what can comfortably be covered during our stay. We will have a car so maybe can do more than one in a day.

Beilstein, Equisheim, Burg Arras, Burg Eltz, Koblenz, St. Goar, Bernkastel-Kues, Zell, Traben-Trarbach, Trier, and lastly Luxembourg.

Thanks

Not a fan of Beilstein. Tiny, not anything to do but a lakeside lunch, then walk uphill to the castle courtyard for views, then out the back gate of the courtyard to the melancholy, stirring Jewish cemetery. Others love it though.

St. Goar? Only if you plan to explore the castle ruins above town. If you want a town on the Rhein, I much prefer Bacharach!
Burg Eltz above Moselkern shouldn't be missed (I much preferred the hike up through the woods, rather than to the carpark)!

Trier has excellent Roman remains, great cafes and small shops.

Lucky you! You will also be visiting during the period of Weinfeste or Winzerfeste (wine festivals)...IMHO NOT to be missed!
9/22-24 Neef
9/22-24 Kroev
9/15-16 Oberwesel (Rhein)
9/15-17 Uerzig/Senheim
9/15-17 Pommern
9/13-16 St.Goarshausen(Rhein)
9/22-24 Koblenz
And the Rhein in Flammen (fireworks from various high points along the Rhein) occurs the evening of 9/16!!!
9/22-25 Boppard (Rhein)

OMG, thank you so much for the heads up on the winefest .......where is Flammen in relation to Cochem? We have a two night stay in Bacharach before Cochem. Maybe we will strike out St. Goar.

Beilstein, Equisheim, Burg Arras,

Burg Eltz; well worth the walk

Koblenz; an modern town with a statue, across the river, a fantastic fortress

St. Goar,
Bernkastel-Kues; pretty pretty tourist town with wine library in Kues

Traben-Trarbach; Jegundstehl at its best, but you need to visit hotels to get the best bits,
Trier; a high spot for the area, the first city in Germany, Capital Of the Roman empire for a few years, it just goes on, worth a full days visit

Luxembourg; what is left of the fortress is impressive,

it is still a walk through forest even when we parked at the car park.. I would not have needed anymore.. the castle comes into view at a clearing and it is impressive.

You can cover a lot of ground with the car. We used the ferries to cross over the Rhein when needed with our car. The Mosel is much tamer and intimate than the wild Rhein. Great wineries.. will have to search to find one that we were quite impressed with. A big beautiful mustard colored estate on a hill with a small restaurant attached.

Thanks for all the input! Still trying to combine some of the towns in one day and avoid backtracking everyday.

Even though with car I'd consider taking the K-D (k-d.com) boats thru the Rhine Gorge highlights - at least by the Lorelei cliff- can see both sides of river from boat -there is commentary and refreshments aboard. for lots on this area check out www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

If going to Luxembourg easy to stop at Hamm for the U.S. Military Cemetery where Gen George Patton is buried - having died in a Jeep accident or some type of vehicle near there shortly after the war ended.

Luxembourg is physically gorgeous -being divided by a deep gorge but has little to see - a few hours may be enough -could do Trier in same day perhaps.

Biking? Some hotels have bikes for patrons to ride or they can be rented - the Mosel is a primo biking venue -one of the finest in Europe - if taking boat to Beilstein you may want to bike back -take your bike on the boat or perhaps they have bikes.

Rhein in Flammen is along the Rhein river, not certain of sites, maybe Oberwesel and St. Goar?
Glad you will be in Bacharach. I used it as my base for 2 weeks, taking daytrips by train. We happened to be there DURING Weinfest! You generally pay a small fee to enter the area, purchasing a tiny wine glass. You then present glass to various winegrowers stalls to purchase wine samples for a small fee. If you like, bottles can be bought. There are additional food stands and often a procession or parade and music. Fun!

Ok, if you can read German:
www.rhein-in-flammen
Weinfest begins St. Goarshausen(across the river from St. Goar, a boat ferries people across) on Wed Sept 13-14, then spreads to St. Goar for Fri/Sat/Sun Sept 15,16,17.
Fireworks set from THESE two towns 9-9:45 pm on 9/17.
Don't even consider drinking and driving. Use the train. Look up your options beforehand at bahn.com
Some English info at www.loreleyvalley.com
Sat Sept 23 Boppard Weinfest, awww, you're leaving that day! These towns are very close.you can easily see two of the smaller ones in a day.

"We will be staying in Cochem for a week 16 Sep - 23 Sep.
...Still trying to combine some of the towns in one day and avoid backtracking everyday."

Since you are planted in Cochem you of course need to backtrack to Cochem every day.

A day trip to Trier normally will require a full day.

You can probably day trip to Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel in one day.

Combine the Weinfest in Neef on 9/22 with Zell and the hike to Burg Arras (from Alf.)

Burg Eltz: You can tour and do the hike in roughly half a day from Cochem.

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

Eguisheim is a world away from Cochem. Not possible.

"...where is Flammen in relation to Cochem?"

Flammen means "flames", "Rhein in Flammen" isn't a place - it's a Fireworks event.

If you have 2 nights in Bacharach on 9/14, and 15, that's a good thing because this part of the Rhine is pretty far from your Mosel destinations for day trips. What is BAD is that you are leaving on the 16th for Cochem. It is the 16th when the big fireworks show takes place in the St. Goar part of the Rhein (which is only 10 minutes north of Bacharach.) So definitely add a night to the Rhine and subtract the 16th from Cochem.

With your time on the Rhine:

- You can visit St. Goar, Oberwesel and Boppard in one very full day.

- On another day you could day trip to Koblenz and Braubach (10 minutes from Koblenz) to see Marksburg Castle, the best castle tour on the Rhine. Or visit Boppard + Koblenz instead. Or better yet, visit Boppard + Marksburg (Koblenz for the most part is a modern city, just OK.)

- On the 16th, you could do a cruise through the best part of the Rhine... take the train to Bingen then cruise north to St. Goarshausen for the afternoon to catch the Weinfest. Return to Bacharach using the ferry to St. Goar and the train to Bacharach. Return to St. Goar to see the 8:30 fireworks from the riverfront.

mokka4, check your source, the fireworks are on Saturday, I'm pretty sure; my source says 20:30 but that's probably just to get folks there early.

Oh boy Fuss! You are SO correct!
My bad. Fireworks on Saturday 9/16, first Lighting at 9 pm. Thanks for catching!

Bacharach--->St.Goar by train is 10 minutes direct (or 34 minutes with one change) and 3.90 E one way, FYI!
Bahnhof= train station
KD = boat landing (discharge/alight).

Cochem Bahnhof-->St. Goar by train is 1:36, with a change required in Koblenz.

Well, I had no idea that all these activities were taking place during our stay. Thank-you so much for all the info. We will definitely be taking in some of the activities. Also, thank you Fussgaenger for combining some of the towns for me we can now plan our itinerary and PalenQ for your suggestions. I always rely on Fodors for the good advice contributors provide.

While staying in Bacharach we would like to do a Rhine Day Cruise. From what I have read it seems the best scenery nearest Bacharach would be from Bingen to St. Goar or Boppard. I did find schedules for K-D lines but one website was in German and the other only provided a 2017 schedule. Can anyone provide me with a website providing a 2018 schedule. Also, our only day to do a cruise would be Friday, Sep 15. Would it be wise to purchase a ticket in advance?

KDrhine.com under 'schedule'= English site.
"...only provided a 2017 schedule....
I do not understand. Is your trip NEXT year, in 2018?
The schedule goes through early October 2017. Of course 2018 would not be out yet

My mistake.......sorry........yes we are going in 2017!!!!!! I am trying too hard�� Thanks.

Re:purchasing in advance. I never have. What if the weather is dreary on Friday?
That said, more people will be on the boat due to the St.G/GH fairs...
In any event, in this rare occasion, I would buy a First-class ticket, as there may be more opportunities to find a seat. Second class has limited areas.

Where did THAT come from? Re: purchasing....

Where is your hotel? Parking was not that great there. We had to park far from hotel. It said parking included but did not understand it was in a car park.

Hi!
Following is our hotel in Bacharach:

Altkölnischer Hof

ok, sorry, I read We will be staying in Cochem for a week and thought you meant in the village there.

You asked for a 2017 KD schedule in English:

http://www.kdrhine.com/rhineschedule.htm

Caution: Do NOT buy the "KDRhine" day pass at the above website. For Bingen to St. Goar, the standard fare is €20, paid at the dock. If staying in Bacharach you'll use the train to reach Bingen first (under €4 I believe) but all you have to do is show your train ticket at the KD dock to get a 20% cruise discount - which means your cruise costs just €16 (half the price of the KD Rhine Pass.)

Save a few Euros for the train back to Bacharach from St. Goar (€3.90 each.)

and I believe boats do not take reservations for individuals- anyway after many trips I've never seen anyone turned away.

Great money-savings practical info from Fuss as usual.

To me Koblenz is a nice nice city for a larger town and often overlooked - take the K-D boats to Koblenz and enjoy walking along the Rhine Ufer paths to nearby Deutsches Eck-one of the most famous places in Germany for Germans -at the confluence of Rhine and Mosel - a monument to German Unity:

https://www.google.com/search?q=deut...w=1745&bih=864

Koblenz' nearby restored Altstadt is filled with restaurants, beer halls, outdoor cafes, etc. It also has a fine pedestrian shopping zone with all the famous German stores there. And of course trains everywhere.

Thank-you so much for the KD Schedule and info for the trains/fares, Fussgaenger. Also thanks to you PalenQ for your info on Koblenz and other info on previous forums. I certainly always appreciate the help you contributors provide.

When you are in Cochem, do not miss visiting the St. Martinskirche. This small church was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt afterwards. The stained glass windows are stunning. They are reminiscent of similar work by Chagall and in my opinion of equal quality. I sat and contemplated them for some time, and then returned later in the day to see them again.

Cochem has a pristine Ersatz medieval castle in town but the ruined castle hidden away high above town and Mosel makes a nice hike - always open rarely anyone there.

Thanks for the suggestions both laverendry and PalenQ, I will find both the church and the castle. I love getting these suggestions that you might never see without these posts as they are not necessarily publicized elsewhere.

BarbaraAllison, sounds like you've made your choice for staying in Cochem & I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Just in case your plans aren't set in stone, Koblenz might be worth consideration as a base to explore the Rhine and Mosel valleys. The two train lines used to explore the area go up and down each river, and connect in Koblenz. So if you were to stay there it's a very convenient place for day trips in either direction. As PalenQ noted there is much to see and do in that town, and it also has a bit more night life than Cochem, which gets pretty sleepy after 8 pm.

If you enjoy Roman history at all, don't miss at least a day in Trier, maybe two. The baths, amphitheater, Black Gate and imperial hall are all stunning, and the cathedral houses a robe believed to be worn by Jesus.

My wife and I were in Oberwesel for a few nights last year, during their wine festival, which was small but charming. That town also has a superb trail that circles the town, along the path of the original city wall. Some sections of the wall are still there, and you can actually walk along the original ramparts, with superb views of the Rhine.

It's a great area to visit, and you are going during a terrific period of the year. Have a great time.

Smetz1, thanks for the comments. We will definately try to do your suggestions. We will have a car as our next stop is in the Riquewihr area, so although I am not dependent on rail transportation, we may use it some. I heard from PalenQ previously that Koblenz was worth a visit.