There are an incredible number of ducks, geese, and swans many with lots of fluffy babies.  These pink legged birds look like they were created from left over parts of other water fowl.

Depth Indicators

A water depth of 172 centimeters is indicated by the Koblenz Pegel clock at that time and place sort of.  Because you have to look on the chart at a specific location on the river and see how many centimeters to add to the pegel number for the real depth and you subtract the pegel number to tell you if you can fit under a bridge.  The higher the pegel number, the higher the water level, in relation to the height of the bridge, the less space there is for you to fit under the bridge.  Thank you Rick and Mary for the better explanations than all the Internet sites put together. 

Pegelhaus Koblenz

Here are the official and more complicated explanations of Pegel. 

In the upper reaches, at Kaub and Bingen water depth  gauges (Pegelstände) have been set up to advise skippers of the actual depths on a daily basis.  The current minimum depth of the river is displayed in centimetres, and the Pegelstände also broadcasts to skippers each day. (Note. A number of real time depth indicators for the Rhine and Mosel may be found on the internet or try www.loreley.de/vbglorel/kaub  )

http://www.tradboat2.co.uk/sourcepages/rhineships/rhineships.htm

Pegelhaus

During the measures for fortification of the town of Koblenz under Elector Lothar of Metternich at the beginning of the 17th century, a Rhine Crane was erected for loading and unloading ships, which is the present day water gauge house. According to plans by the Jülich builder Johann Pasqualini a simple octagon construction with a profiled plinth was built between 1609 and 1611. The pilaster shows the date when it was completed (1611) on the ledge.

With the expansion of the Moselle wharf, the crane house continued to lose importance. 

From 1819 to 1945 there was another ship’s bridge from the crane house to Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein. After this, only the water gauge house was used. Next to the entrance to the present day restaurant, the highest water levels during the different centuries can be seen. The blue gauge clock is on the left.

The berths for the tour boats are found in the direct vicinity of the gauge house along with the ferries to Ehrenbreitstein.

http://www.koblenz-touristik.de

Determination of equivalent water level

The river bed is constantly being transformed by the effects of the current. This is a factor directly influencing the available water depth for vessel traffic in the navigation channel.

The normal minimal water level during the period between 1839 and 1848 was able to be established within the framework of the CCNR. During that period, the discussions concerning the determination of water depth were carried out for a number of years in order to define the conditions for determining the water level. This model was used as the basis for the concept of equivalent water level (IW gleichwertiger Wasserstand), which has been measured and defined in regular intervals (1908, 1923, 1932, 1946, 1952, 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992, 2002). The equivalent water level will be re-determined in 2012 within the framework of the CCNR in order to accommodate the changes in the Rhine river bed.

Determination of the equivalent water level takes place in three stages:

•The reference water levels and an equivalent flow rate are defined

•The water level at Cologne (Wasserstand der Pegel Köln) is determined

•The water levels at other points are consequently determined

In 1849, the Central Commission organised an inspection voyage from Basel to the sea with the aim of determining the actual and the required water depth. This practice was institutionalised by the Mannheim Convention, which specifies in Article 31: "From time to time hydraulics engineers delegated by the Governments of all the riparian States shall conduct surveys to examine the state of the river, to observe the results of measures taken for its improvement and to note new obstacles which impede navigation. The Central Commission (art. 43) shall designate the time and the parts of the river where these surveys are to be made. The engineers shall report to it on the results". Currently, the national authorities for waterway management are responsible for performing this inspection, and they present their report to the Committee for infrastructure and environment.

Further information on equivalent water level can be obtained from Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt – Außenstelle West

http://www.ccr-zkr.org/12030100-en.html

“……..the Deutsches Eck at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle.  In 1891 Kaiser Wilhelm II deemed this historic landmark, given its name by the knights of the Teutonic Order, the perfect site for a special monument. Here people could give thanks to his grandfather, Wilhelm I, the man who unified the German Empire.  Alas, the statue was reduced to rubble in 1945, and in May 1953 Theodor Heuss, President of West Germany, declared the remaining plinth a poignant monument to German unity.  Finally, in 1993, a replica of the statue was raised into position on the plinth, where it towers majestically over the two rivers at a height of 37 metres. Every year the impressive structure attracts more than two million visitors. Towering on the opposite side of the Rhine is Ehrenbreitstein, Europe’s second-largest preserved fortress. At nearly 120 metres above the river, this is the perhaps the best place to enjoy views of Koblenz.” http://www.germany.travel/en/towns-cities-culture/towns-cities/koblenz.html

http://www.spiegel.de/  shows flood waters surround ng the statue.

Where’s Randal?  What better sculpture in the art museum plaza;  Daniel Coulet’s Thumb

http://www.ludwigmuseum.org/engl/exhibitions/current_coulet.htm

http://www.ludwigmuseum.org/engl/exhibitions/current.htm

This reminded me of a Virginia Dogwood, our state tree.  There is a variety with pointed petals called a Kousa Dogwood.

When I’m an old lady I shall wear purple…AND DYE MY HAIR RED!  Maybe in lieu of a Red Hat.

http://redhatsociety.com/about/legacy

Görres square:

The Görres square is located in the heart of the old town, and is known for its historic fountain, presented by the federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz to the city of Koblenz in 1992, to mark the 2000-year-anniversary of the city. The column at the centre of the fountain is ten metres high, and depicts scenes from the city’s history, from the Roman beginnings to the present.

http://www.cityhotel-koblenz.de/76.html

Görresplatz

Archaeological finds prove that the area around the present day Görres Square had been inhabited by the Romans. In the middle ages the square was the property of the Castor foundation and later, the Order of Jesuits. In the 19th century it continued to be constructed and was handed over to the town. The square which is called Görres Square today has also be known as the "Large Square" or „Parade Square“ and at the time of French occupation at the end of the 18th century it was also called "Place Verte". At the end of the 19th century, the area was named after General August von Goeben who also gained a memorial on the “Goeben Square“. Von Goeben was the commander general of the Koblenz VIII army corps for 10 years.

After the Second World War, the square was "demilitarised" which means that the Goeben memorial was removed and the square was named after the Koblenz publicist and historian Joseph Görres.

The fountain in the middle of the square with its 10m high historical columns is worth seeing. The artist Jürgen Weber tells the story of the town of Koblenz in 10 overlapping scenes presented three-dimensionally.

http://www.koblenz-touristik.de/

A play ground with a crown shaped play area.

This ginormous place had lots of history but Randal and Rick were most interested in the fountain and I prefer ordinary people history to that of the rich and famous. 

Noah’s Ark Koblenz. 

“The inventors fountain stands at the Löhr Center towards the pedestrian zone.  In the middle of the well there is a boat. Noah’s Ark was probably the model here, because on the boat there are all sorts of animals.

The fountain was created by the German sculptor Gernot Rumpf (* 1941). He is especially known for his fountains and statues with Palatine and biblical motifs, which can be seen in a number of German cities, as well as in Jerusalem and Tokyo.”

http://www.waymarking.com/

There were moving parts and water shooting out from it.

We saw a $ 1,000,000 Noah’s Ark amusement area being developed in Dordrecht.   It had been built by a carpenter who dreamt the Netherlands  would flood.

Ehrenbreitstein on the right and Koblenz on the left side of the river

The small orange circle on the right side of the river (mid photo)is the location of our marina.  The bigger orange circle is where the Rhine and Mosel meet and there is a giant equestrain statue representing German unity.  (More about that in the Koblenz email.)  We took the ferry across our first afternoon but used the bridge to return and then both ways the second day.  So it’s not so far as it might look.

Mozart Globe though I always thought kugel was a noodle pudding my mother made.    I could have titled the photo on the left, “Kindle NOT!” 

Cycling/walking paths line the river pretty much the entire way.  How wonderful!

We didn’t visit the fortress but did eat at a kabob/pizza joint across the street from the lift that takes you there on the Ehrenbreitstein side.  You can also take a cross-river cable car from Koblenz.

“As the vine flourishes, and the grape empurples close up to the very walls and muzzles of cannoned Ehrenbreitstein; so do the sweetest joys of life grow in the very jaws of its perils.”

So did American author Herman Melville of “Moby Dick” fame write about the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, or Festung Ehrenbreitstein.

http://www.mygermancity.com/ehrenbreitstein-fortress

http://kaga.wsulibs.wsu.edu/  was an old newspaper article I came across telling about American soldiers taking possession of the fortress after WW 1. 

If you wanna see it you gotta go up…  Our friend Linda Levy on B’Sheret coined that phrase in Greece but it seems true of everywhere.

Looking into the town of Ehrenbreitstein

Looking back across the river to Koblenz

Rheinburg House had been our destination but it was locked up and under renovation.

Back down into town

The smaller black plaques are the more recent High Water Marks on the stone wall of the railroad bridge. 

     “January 10, 2011 – 05:04 PM   Flooding that inundated cities and towns along two of Germany’s most popular wine routes over the weekend began to subside on Monday. The region was spared the kind of catastrophic flooding seen along the Rhine and Mosel rivers during the 1990s.

The Rhine River spilled over its banks in Koblenz and parts of Cologne, causing shipping and other water traffic between the cities to be suspended. In Koblenz, where the Mosel converges into the Rhine, flood waters swept over the city’s main landmark, the famous Das Deutsche Eck (German corner) monument to German Emperor Wilhelm I.  (The bigger orange circle on the map.)

But the worst appeared to be over near Koblenz. "I assume that we have reached the peak (of floodwaters)," a spokeswoman for the Rhine Flood Center in Mainz told reporters. On Monday afternoon, water levels there remained stagnant.

http://www.spiegel.de/  shows the photo of Das Deutsche Eck

When he’d asked me for the camera, I thought Randal had intended to take a photo of the high water plaques.  No.  Randal liked the stone squares (think home in VA we’ll build one day) and later we stopped to admire the sone mason at work.

I stopped to admire the different artist “atelier” in the town.  Unfortunately none was open.

http://www.galerie-sehr.de/      and the Atelier of Anja Bogott  http://www.anja-bogott.de/

Dog walking has a universal language anyone can understand. 

Homes everywhere seem to be painted in bright colors.  The small arched doors lead to the cellar.

Lovely nautical inspired door.

And interesting roof design.

Randal confirmed with the car’s owner that the top is indeed painted with gold leaf.

Beethoven’s mother’s home is now a musuem but was closed the day we visited.

  “Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770, to Johann van Beethoven (1740–1792), one of a line of musicians of Flemish ancestry, and Maria Magdalena Keverich (1744–1787), whose father had been overseer of the kitchen at Ehrenbreitstein. Beethoven was one of seven children born to them, of whom only Beethoven and two younger brothers would survive infancy. Beethoven was baptized on December 17, 1770. Although his birthdate is not known for certain, his family celebrated his birthday on December 16. “

http://www.symphonyinc.org/node/151

Harbor master at the Kaiser Wilhelm Rhein Marina braiding a line.