Tuesday 22nd September 2026

Today I had a scheduled run of 45 minutes plus strides so I got up reasonably early, crossed the river and headed upstream. This run was scenic, first heading past the quaint buildings in Cochem, church/monastery complexes just round the bend and then through the vineyards. I really enjoyed this run and felt pretty good.

Back at our apartment I had my breakfast and a shower before we headed out to explore the streets of Cochem then hit up Cochem Kaffeerosterei for a coffee (for G) and an oat chai for me. We paired it with a freshly baked scroll which was so good. We got the original (cinnamon and apple) first to share and then I couldn’t resist going back to try their peach one.

I removed myself from the temptation of trying their third flavour (which I can’t remember now) and we headed to the train station. We were catching the train to Hatzenport and from there bus 365 to the Burg Eltz car park. The trip takes just over an hour. Once at the car park you have the option of taking the shuttle or walking along the forest path to the castle. I’d read that the walk down was worth it so we decided to do that and then save our legs by catching the shuttle back up. If we hadn’t been running the Berlin marathon at the end of the week we would have probably chosen to do one of the longer hikes up to Burg Eltz because the forest is beautiful.

Burg Eltz is still owned and cared for by the same family that built it in the 11th century. Unlike other castles Burg Eltz was not passed down to the eldest son, rather the castle belongs to a community of joint heirs. Three branches of the family all lived in the castle together governed by a set of rules with formal meetings to settle disputes. Each branch also had their own separate complex of buildings within the castle. Today Kempenich branch of the family are the sole owners and they still use their section of the castle for holiday celebrations. Visitors tour the Rübenach and Rodendorf family wings which have been joined together in parts to allow easier navigation for the tours.

Tours are conducted in English and German. Once we arrived we bought our tickets and joined the line for English tours. The tours don’t have set times. Once there are a few people lined up, there is a tour guide available and the previous tour has moved on from the first room, a new tour will start. When we arrived there was a big line for the English tour and we just missed out on the tour that was leaving then but we only had to wait a short time for another English tour to leave. The rooms are amazing, but no photos allowed. The wall paintings, tapestries and furnishings are stunning. I loved this place, the tour was fascinating. I highly recommend going if you are anywhere near the area.

After the tour we did catch the shuttle back (2 EUR cash only). Then we retraced our steps but unfortunately our bus was a bit behind schedule and we missed the connecting train. Trains only stop every hour there so we had to kill some time with a glass of reisling and a view out over the river.

We made it back though and relaxed at the apartment and made dinner—pasta with red pasta sauce, tuna and spinach.

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. Check out San’s blog for all the details and to join in yourself.