Koblenz and Burg Eltz

"Never give growth formula to a dog," my mom always used to say. If I had only been a better listener….





















Pecos was super cute this weekend, as we traveled to the river city of Koblenz and the nearby castle called Burg Eltz.

Koblenz is located where the Rhein (big river) and the Mosel (little river) meet. In that sense, Koblenz is sort of like the Pittsburgh of Germany (sans Primanti Brothers, that is). These castle-heavy waterways snake their way north, past steep vineyards and rocky shores to meet at the Deutsches Eck (German corner) where many pictures can be taken of the confluence. In fact, under the Romans, the town used to be called Confluentes, but that was bastardized by the German tongue to become what it is today.
















If seeing two streams of brown water amass fascinates you, then hooray for you. There’s no better place in Germany to visit. For us, however, we were more rapt by the naughty spitting boy, Schängel. He spurts every 30 seconds or so, regardless of who’s standing in front of him. He even spit on this helpless little dog. Now that’s entertainment.
















After the spout, we were impressed by a little-known castle tucked away in the trees and hills of Central Germany. Burg Eltz, probably home to someone important once upon a time, is now a picturesque tourist spot located 30 minutes south of Koblenz. It’s here that Pecos took his growth formula. He also went fishing for stones in a delightfully rocky little stream prattling around the arcaded castle.




















This castle was old, quiet, charming, and overall enchanting. Kinda like Sophia Loren. Its only use now is to let visitors spend the night and then serve them food the next day. Again, bearing a striking similarity to Ms. Loren. At the burg, however, there were wonderfully few tourists, which made it seem like we were the first ones to discover this once stronghold. Truly worth the visit. And it definitely made the day worthwhile (as if the spitting boy wasn’t enough!).