Reichsburg Cochem (Imperial Castle, Cochem)

Although we had visited Cochem, a quaint little city on the Moselle River, on another outing, we did not go up to the castle.  Being the castle-freak that I am, I insisted we revisit this quaint city and "do the castle" this time.  It was not a disappointment!  The town is yet another "perfect little German village" with half-timbered houses and cobblestone streets.

But what catches your attention first is the amazing castle (Reichsburg) on the hill above!

Its presence towers above the business district below.

  

We were very lucky to be visiting there in the fall.  The colors rivaled anything we've seen back home, making the long walk to the top worth it all!  

Originally built in the 12th century, the French under Louis  XIV obliterated it in 1689.  The castle remained a colorful stone ruin for 180 years until a wealthy Berlin businessman decided to buy the ruin and rebuild (not replicate) the castle in 1868.  

Although there was a guided tour only in German, we were given an English handout

with limited information.

Our guide was a rather strange gal.  When we asked for the English handout,
she gave us Dutch and couldn't see why we didn't want it.  She's headed towards a copy of the famous painting by Rubens, "The Rape of the Sabine Women."

More of the beautiful red vine-covered walls! 

Amazing views from the castle balcony of beautiful Cochem and its vineyards below

For centuries the Moselle River was the only link between France and Germany.  The castle sits 100 meters above the river and was the ideal place for collecting taxes from the shipowners.

 After the tour of the interior, we walked around the grounds.

The round tower survived the destruction of 1689 and is almost 1,000 years old!

Back in town there was no lack for action in the town square!  It must have been Octoberfest!

Notice the wooden shoes!

The narrow cobblestone, shop-lined streets were so inviting!

View across the River Moselle 

View of the fall vineyards as we headed back home

Fast and fuzzy, but interesting!

  

We had no idea that vineyards turned this colorful in the fall!

And the beautiful array of fall colors lead the way home.

Farewell, one more awesome castle!!!

Apostle M. Russell Ballard Comes to Town

The Church has been providing aid to refugees in the Middle East for more than a decade, donating hundreds of thousands of blankets, clothes, emergency medical supplies, food, and other resources to refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Syria. An announcement was made at the end of September, stating that Mormons in Europe, supported by Church headquarters in the United States, would be stepping up their aid to refugees fleeing to Europe.  
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles showed his support for these efforts by gathering first-hand impressions of the situation of refugees here in Europe.  One of his first stops was in Berlin, where he, Elder Kearon, our Area President and his wife, and Elder Clayton Christensen of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy and his wife
visited two refugee shelters.

Our good friends, the Walkers, were also in Berlin, checking out one of the venues for next summer's visit of the Tabernacle Choir, and they were lucky enough to run into
this group of special people.

Well, Tuesday, November 17, became an exciting day for us!  We knew Elder Ballard was going to be in our area--in fact, speaking at our nearby Offenbach chapel--but we didn't know that he would be right here in our very office building!  Of course, the Area Presidency has their offices here, so it makes sense after all that he was in the building.
What turned out to be a special treat, however, was that he gave a last-minute offer to have the employees and senior missionaries meet in the chapel next door for a brief 30-minute devotional. It was truly a treat to be that close to him and have him talk specifically to us.  Jim and I remarked that he did look a little tired as he walked up to the seating, but once he approached the pulpit, he was vibrant and full of energy as he bore testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel and thanked us all for our service.  He insisted on shaking everyone's hand  after the meeting ended.

What was even a bigger surprise was the change in "invitees" to the evening's event.  Originally, only ward/branch & stake/district council members were to attend the meeting.  Our ICS department had been busy for two days setting up all the necessary equipment so that the meeting could be televised to stake centers throughout the Europe Area to over 30 countries.  Due to the fact that many people might choose to attend the meeting at their stake center and not travel to Offenbach, it was then decided to invite all senior missionaries in order to ensure a capacity crowd.  Once again we were delighted at the chance to "sit at the feet" of an apostle and receive his counsel and guidance.

It was truly an amazing meeting!  Area President Kearon and his wife both gave wonderful talks. Elder Dyches and Elder Johnson of the Area Presidency and Elder Christensen and his wife spoke, as well as a couple of local leaders.  The final 45 minutes was devoted to Elder Ballard, who didn't disappoint us with his energy, testimony, and conviction of what we all need to be doing in today's war to combat Satan and his influences and to come closer to Christ.

All the talks centered around the Europe Area's goals for its members.  Elder Ballard praised the Area Presidency and said he thought the simplicity and exactness made this the best set of goals throughout the entire Church!  These three goals are simply this:  Bring a Friend, Become Mentally and Temporally Self-reliant, and Find an Ancestor.  He specifically charged all of us in attendance to invite someone to church before Christmas.  (I got our less-active friend out to a Relief Society cooking demonstration last month, so now we'll see if we can't get her
 to come to church with us.)

On a personal note, our Area Medical Doctor, Elder Ryser, was Elder Ballard's doctor at home. Visiting with the apostle, Elder Ryser learned that he and his body guard could use some laundry services, so Elder Ryser volunteered his wife and me (since we both live on the same floor) to handle that task.  So, long story short, I got to wash Elder Ballard's laundry
 and iron his white shirt!  Cool, huh!

Burg Eltz

This outing was once again with our good friends, the Walkers.  Our Director, Gabi,  had suggested we see her favorite castle, Burg Eltz, so off we drove--less than two hours away!  In fact, most castles we've seen up to now have been under two hours away!

We parked the car and walked down quite a lengthy path through a forest, maybe almost a mile.  But the walk itself was great as the woods were amazingly dense and beautiful.

We began to wonder as we walked on and on with no view of the castle in sight...

until we turned a corner and had...

...the shocking "Maryland-Freeway/Washington-DC-temple" experience right here in Germany!!!

Seriously!  For over a mile we saw nothing but beautiful hills and valleys, and then...WOW!!!

THERE IT WAS!!!

Like something out of Disneyland!!! 

The 850 year-old castle sits on a steep rock in a valley of the Moselle River.  It represents 500 years of European architecture, culminating in its present shape in about 1600 A.D.

The amazing thing about this castle is that it has been the family home of the 

Lords and Counts of Eltz for more than thirty generations.  And due to clever diplomacy, it is one of the few castles in Germany to have escaped destruction.

The chapel was very impressive!

Wow!  Note the chapel tombstone date of 1663

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside after leaving the chapel,
but I found these two on the Internet.

 

Here is a view of some remaining walls and the nearby Eltz tributary to the Moselle River.

Heading back into the forest to return to our car, we almost missed seeing the crumbled ruins

of another old fortress on the hill above.

We headed into the small town below, hoping to find a good meal.

We did see a beautiful church, which even the smallest of villages always has.

 And the quaint half-timbered buildings we love were everywhere! 

Just like Jim to keep me in the dark!  ha! 

Note the dates on these two old buildings behind us!

 

I LOVED the red ivy clinging to the apartment wall!  

A beautiful ending to a most wonderful day!