We spent two nights in Oberstdorf and Susan was very disappointed as it has grown so much and had so many people there that it had lost its small village charm.  Our last night there we were at dinner and all at once there was a tremendous thunderstorm with a downpour of rain and hail.  It lasted quite a while and of course our umbrellas were in the car.  We chatted with the Germans sitting at our table then we had dinner and during a lull we rushed back to our hotel.  We missed seeing the cows coming home from the pastures.  The good news:  we asked the man at the hotel where a laundry mat was and he said they could wash our clothes.  We gave him our dirty clothes and went to bed.  In the morning we asked for our laundry and the lady working breakfast didn’t know what we were talking about.  Susan went with her to the laundry room and got our clothes.  The lady didn’t know what to charge us so it was free.  We left and started our drive to Italy and the Garmin directed us to a road which was closed.  Susan decided to go to France instead and after 6 hours of driving we are at a Best Western in Chambery, France.  The pictures posted show a WWI and WWII memorial for the men from Oberstdorf who died in the wars.  I only took a picture of one panel of names as there were several panels.  Then on our walk back to the hotel we posed with the Wilde-Mannle of Oberstdorf.

Today we were good tourist.  First we visited the Jewish Quarter which was one of the most important centers of the Jewish culture.  Very little remains except a Judenbad, a 12th century ritual bathhouse for women built in the 12th century.  We also visited the Palatinate Historical Museum. On the way back to our hotel we visited a beautiful Protestant Memorial Church which had beautiful stain glass windows.  On our travels two different people stopped us and asked us for directions to the center of town.  Susan gave them directions.

First of all there was no place to park in Worms.  Also if was Germany’s Fathers Day and most stores were closed.  In Worms we visited a Luther monument dedicated to the Reformation.  It had a large statue of Martin Luther and four previous reformers in a park where we sat and drank a glass of wine.  We also visited Wormser Dom which is located on the highest point of the inner city of Worms.  The original building was consecrated in 1110 and mostly finished by 1181.  In 1521the Diet of Worms declared Martin Luther a heretic.  We are now in Speyer and will spend two or three nights here.

Encircled by the Elz River the 850 year old Eltz Castle has been the family home of the Lords and Counts of Eltz for more than thirty generations.  Today, Eltz Castle is owned by Count Karl, of the Silver Lion and the Buffalo Horns, which has retained sole ownership of the complex since 1815.

We could not take pictures inside but I bought a postcard of a beautiful heater and took a picture of it.

After we left we saw off in the distance a huge cathedral and decided we had to see it.  I took several pictures of the cathedral but didn’t get the name of it or the town it was in.  No one has been able to tell me what the name is.  Oh well.  When we got back Susan got a haircut.

Tomorrow we leave for Speyer, Germany.

Today we changed hotels and are very happy here.  Directly in front of our room is the Cochem Imperial Castle or Reichsburgh Cochem.  The castle was built in 1027 and laid to ruin by Louie XIV’s army in 1689.  The current castle was rebuilt in 1868.  We took a tour and I took many pictures inside and out of the rooms, ceilings, furniture and other things. Our plans for tomorrow is to visit another castle.

We checked out of our hotel and decided not to take the boat trip and drove to Bernkastel-Kues.  There were stunning views of the vineyards.  At the tourist shop we ran into a grandmother and her grandson that we had met on our walking tour of Trier.  We joined them and road a bus to Burg Landshut which dates from the 11th century.  It was destroyed by fire in 1692.  Though still in ruins, the castle offers one of the grandest panoramic views in the Rhineland.  Then we had lunch with our new friends.  We enjoyed them very much.  After lunch we drove to Cochem and walked around the town and saw the a beautiful castle high on a hill.

This town is considered the wine capital of the Moselle Valley Region.  I had a glass of local Riesling wine for lunch and it was fabulous.  Even Susan said it was great.  We love our hotel called Hotel Vier Lowen and may stay 2 or 3 days here.  Tomorrow we are taking a boat ride to Bernkastel-Kues which is a quaint riverfront town and a must-see village on the wine route with stunning views of vineyards across the river.

Today, after having a great German breakfast we went on a walking tour of Trier.  We visited two Roman Catholic cathedrals.  In one they were having a brass orchestra concert and we sat and listened for an hour.  On the walking tour we learned a lot of history of this ancient city.  Tomorrow we hit the road.