Musings on life and times
I have used some of these bridges in an earlier post but I found an interesting series of triangles, trapeziums, catenaries and curves in this series of bridges over the Rhine. Sometimes the trains, trams or other vehicles emphasise the scale of the patterns formed.
In an earlier post, I mentioned our good fortune with local guides. Choosing the red group was again a ‘win’, when we were greeted by Arthur.
There had been one or two showers in the area, so we left the ship well prepared with umbrellas and rain jackets. Arthur introduced himself and suggested he was so confident that the rain would hold off, that he was leaving his umbrella behind on the ship. Here he is, not five minutes into the tour.
Fortunately, Arthur’s knowledge of Koblenz was much better than his weather forecast! Below, we see Arthur explaining a piece of modern art, Daumen (Thumb) outside the Ludwig Museum of contemporary art.
Koblenz is located on both banks of the Rhine at the confluence with the Moselle river. Here, the German Corner and its monument to William I on horseback, is found, and this is where our tour began. (Our ship was actually moored in the Moselle about 100 metres from the German Corner). Founded in 8 BC by Drusus as a military post, it has been an important city for over 2000 years.
So, to our guided walk, in the rain, with the wonderful Arthur as our guide. Below left is the monument to William I on horseback. Nearby is the 1981 monument to commemorate the former prime minister for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate who grew up in Koblenz, Dr. Peter Altmeier (below left).
From ‘the corner’, there is a good view of the cable car that carries people across the Rhine to the castle opposite (below)
Our first glimpse of the Basilica of St Castor is from a walled courtyard (below left), while the full view from the square shows interesting design and decoration (below right)
The Jesuit Square was rebuilt after WWII and now includes a memorial to the anatomist and physiologist who was born in Koblenz, Johannes Müller (1801-58) on right in the scene above. We were naturally warned about Schängelbrunnen (the spitting fountain, below). While his aim is consistent, the frequency is irregular!
There was just time for a look inside St Florins church, which dates from the 12th century.
The ‘old shop and dance house’ facing Florin’s Market now houses the middle Rhine Museum. A feature is the clock tower. The story goes that a robber baron in the 16th century was caught and on his way to his execution said “Erect a memorial for me and it will bring you luck!” At the gallows he rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at the spectators. This is the reason for the name eye roller which is found in the old shop. The eyes move back and forth in time with the clock’s pendulum and every half hour and on the hour, he sticks his tongue out.
Some of the best views of Koblenz were captured as we ‘set sail’ for Cologne. The rain had stopped, the clouds clearing and the light was excellent. The memorial to William I was much easier to capture from the river, as was the castle on the opposite bank of the Rhine.
Auf Wiedersehen und danke, Arthur. Born 1944, the same year I was born. He in war torn Germany, me in far away Melbourne. A caring and gentle man. Thank you for showing us a little of Koblenz.
In an earlier post, I made reference to the fact that our progress was assisted by the flow of the river. This photograph is an attempt to indicate the flow past one of the navigation markers in the river.
While the flow is in one direction, toward the sea at Rotterdam, the same cannot be said for the traffic on this busy thoroughfare. “One of the great river trade routes of the world” is the claim. A constant stream of bulk cargo is shipped from the Port of Rotterdam to the industrial centres such as Duisburg & Mannheim situated on the river. It is not uncommon to see two barges in a single stretch of the river.
This ‘double’ barge (below) passed so close to us that I could not fit the whole into one picture. The front section had just three pieces of farm machinery, while the powered portion was fully laden with cars and vans headed for sale.
This bulk carrier was obviously fully laden with cargo, so much so that there was little freeboard showing above the water line.
Many of the barges carry one or two cars. The barge captains (& family or crew) live on their ships, but when they are in port, they need to get around. So they take their cars with them. Obvious really! Imagine filling in the motor vehicle insurance form and answering the question “Where is the vehicle normally garaged?”!
In addition to freight, there are plenty of cruise operators, doing Basel to Amsterdam (as we were) or similar. This one was in a hurry and overtook us. Perhaps the skipper had a lunch date in Koblenz!
In contrast to our seven day cruise, the Köln-Dusseldorfer line operates day cruises and offers function centre facilities.
In addition to the river traffic, railway lines and roads follow the river on both banks, serving both freight and passenger needs. This ubiquitous Contiki tour coach represents the enormous coach tour presence in this part of the world.
How is it all managed? Our tour director explained that there is a well defined code for all traffic on the river. For example, some vessels are so long that they cannot be passed or overtaken on tighter bends in this relatively narrow stretch of the Rhine. These vessels are given priority, or made to wait, until other traffic s clear.
So, there are signals, not red, amber and green, but like the one below. With twenty seven possible signals from these signs, I’m glad I don’t need to learn what they mean.
I hope you have enjoyed these three posts about the Romantic Rhine as much as I have enjoyed revisiting it with the photos.