We took the train to a good point for catching a boat for a Rhine cruise. We could have sailed from Koblenz and took the train back but sailing upstream takes significantly longer while the views are the same. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley is yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. The boat offers really good views of the many hilltop castles on the river as well as the river towns.
One castle is actually located on a small island right in the middle of the river. "The Pfalz" was built as a toll castle in 1327. It collected its dues by raising a chain across the river.
This segment of the river also contains the infamous bend with the Loreley rock. The legend tells of a siren called Lorelei whose song lures the ships captains into the massive rock which looms over the bend.
We exited the boat in Koblenz and made a stop at the hotel before catching the train to Cologne. The train station in Cologne shares an open area with their massive gothic cathedral.
We visited inside the cathedral as well.
We skipped the rest of the Cologne sightseeing at this time in order to catch the next train to Aachen for a tour of its old town and Charlemagne's cathedral before the inside of the Cathedral closes.
Aachen is situated directly on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands. It even shares an airport with the dutch city of Maastricht. Charlemagne made it his capital in the 9th century. The Aachener Dom (Cathedral) was built especially for Charlemagne. For 600 years (from 936 to 1531) it was the coronation church for 30 German kings and emperors. In 1978, it was one of the first 12 sites to make the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The Aachen Rathaus (Townhall) was built on the foundations of the Charlemagne's palace. Some sort of festival with music dominated the courtyard.
We then headed back to Cologne to visit the rest of the old town before returning to Koblenz for the night.
