Deutsches Ecke and other delights!

Koblenz, Deutschland. Saturday, 7th May, 2022.

A long-standing dream of mine was fulfilled today, that of standing at the Deutsches Ecke! The name means 'German corner' and refers to the symbol of the unification of Germany, a delightful piece of land tapering into the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel and hosting an equestrian statue of Emperor William I.

Got out of bed after a practice lesson on Duolingo, by 05:40. Went down to the reception for tea; the lady there boiled the water for us and served it in two large cups - almost mugs. She also offered us a variety of tea bags - Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon, English Breakfast and earl Gray; Dalmayr brand. Enjoyed the morning cuppa, in the cosy ambience of the reception, munching on Chedda's 'Nadiyadi Mix' which we were carrying from India. Then back to our room to complete the morning jobs..

Came down to the breakfast room a little past 09:00. It was a compact but lovely room with a pleasing decor. Enjoyed our breakfast - Urmila as usual started a conversation with a German couple - finishing it off with a coffee and a fruit juice on the balcony of the breakfast room that overlooked a beautiful, serene garden.

Set off for the Deutsches Ecke by 10:10 or so. Following directions from Google, we strolled along beautiful roads that took us through clean and green housing colonies. Yet again, we felt - badly - we ought to be living here rather than merely visiting.

We soon reached the river Mosel, whom we had befriended at the charming Cochem. The surroundings were exquisite - bordering the river on one bank was a huge garden through which we were walking; and on the left bank was a large, grassy area occupied by caravanners. The Ecke lay a couple of hundred metres to our right and beyond the Ecke flowed the river gleefully, doubled in strength by the Rhine that joined it from the right. In the verdant hills in the distance, nestled a town. We sauntered towards the Ecke in perfect weather- blue sky, bright sunshine, cool breeze. Once there, we could only marvel at the scene around us! Everything seemed surreal! I could not believe that I was actually standing at the spot I had dreamt of visiting, for three years! I thank the powers that be, for making this possible!

After soaking in the ambience a little longer, we moved back, with the Rhine now to our left, towards the Cable car station - the cable car that plies between Koblenz and Ehrenbreitstein fortress, perched on a hill on the opposite bank of the Rhine. The two-minute journey by cable car will qualify as another highlight of our European trips! The view of Koblenz, particularly the prominent Deutsches Ecke, the magnificent countryside, the charming rivers, the verdant hills in the distance hosting tiny dwellings, was nothing short of breathtaking!

At the top, we emerged onto a vast, grassy plain. Visited the fortress but found it unimpressive, hence did not explore in depth. Even the fortress' museum was boring. Returned to Koblenz by the same route. This time I kept my camera firmly packed in my backpack so that I could concentrate on the view and absorb it into my being, rather than focussing on an instrument! The ride down was thus more thrilling!

On alighting from the cable car, we spent some time examining souvenirs at a shop, then walked to a huge Beer garden. Ate fried chicken; and chicken nuggets with fries, sipped draft beer; and a lemon drink. And yes, there was dessert too - a huge slice of fruit cake. Enjoyed the meal in the wonderful setting.

Stomachs full, we retraced our steps to the hotel. Reached it at 14:10. We had been away for almost four hours. Changed and rested. It is now 16:25 and we plan to set off again by 17:00. More later!

I resume this entry for today at 21:25. An eventful evening, but for the wrong reasons! As planned, we set off at 17:00, after enjoying the evening tea at reception. Turned right and were on Neustadt. This area is magnificent and meticulously maintained. We were on a cobbled sidewalk, wide enough to qualify as the main road ! To our left was ample open space beyond the actual wide main road, then the impressive buildings nestling in plentiful greenery, bordering the road named Stresemanstrasse. Walked on, praising the superb layout and maintenance.

Just being here is sheer pleasure! Such a setting and such an ambience do wonders to a human's desire and capacity to work, to enjoy, to be happy, to give one hundred percent in whatever one does! When will Indians understand this?

Suddenly, to our right appeared an arc - a semicircular path that enclosed another semicircular arc of beautiful flowers, bordering well-manicured lawns housing two gentle water fountains. To our left, on the opposite side of Neustadt, were sprawling lawns which belonged to 'Kurfurstliches Schloss Koblenz' or the majestic palace, that stood on well trimmed terrain. The palace was a pristine white and looked sublime! The palace grounds

on its rear bordered the Rhine(not visible from where we were). We sat for a while on one of the clean benches on the arc, just behind the colourful flowers. Got up a little later and turning right, walked in the direction of the Zentrumplatz, along Schloss strasse. The area was a riot of colours, with Saturday evening revellers letting their hair down! It took us straight to Lohrrondel, the area we had first arrived at from Koblenz Stadtmitte station, yesterday. Turned right on to Lohrstrasse, looking for nothing in particular yet thoroughly enjoying the Saturday evening.

Urmila expressed a desire to try the Tandoori chicken roll advertised outside 'Subway', which we had passed a little while ago. Retraced our steps and entered 'Subway'. There was a queue of customers already so we joined it. However, the people behind the counters seemed in no hurry whatsoever to serve the waiting customers! Disgusted with the long wait, we simply walked out.

After a couple of minutes, I felt the need to check WA on my TAB; hence we stopped. I opened my backpack to access my TAB. To my horror, there was only one TAB inside, which was Urmila's! For a few moments I went numb but recovered quickly enough to check my backpack again. The result was the same - my TAB was missing ! I tried to recall where I possibly might have left my TAB, though I clearly remembered not having removed it from my backpack since leaving the hotel at 17:00. We had stopped at the semi-circular arc, Asia Market, City Market and Subway. I was wondering whether I had left it at any of these places! Panic had just begun to set in and Urmila tried to calm me down. I was pretty confident that I had not taken it out of my bag at all, after leaving the hotel this evening. It was impossible for anyone except Urmila and me to have just picked it out of my backpack! This meant only one thing - the TAB was in our room at the hotel; I must have forgotten to put it in my backpack before leaving the room. We hurried to the hotel in tension and trepidation. As we entered the lobby, the lady at the reception got up from her seat and disappeared into the store room adjacent to the lobby, even before we could ask her for the key to our room! She returned in a jiffy, saying, "You left this behind!" She was holding my TAB! What a relief! I must have left the TAB there while we were sipping tea this evening. The lady said that she had noticed it after we had left the hotel and had come after us, but we were not to be seen! We thanked her profusely and God too. She was good enough to get us one cup of tea each, which we truly enjoyed! We then went just across the road to Netto Supermarket, to equip ourselves with drinks, snacks and chocolate. Returned to our room soon. Ate farsan and chips with vodka and lemon, watching the late evening scene sitting on the ledge of the window of our room.

It is now 22:10 and time to put in the blanket drill.