< ![CDATA[  We never meant to be here. Koblenz was just a dot on the map. A place to make the connection between train and river boat now that we’ve amended our route and are heading south for Bad Urach. We’re so glad we found it. If you’re looking for Koblenz on your map, find Koln and the Rhine River, follow it upstream until you find Koblenz, where the Rhine and Mosel rivers come together. At the point at which the rivers meet there is an enormous horse sculpture. Think big. Now think bigger! It presides over the blending of the two great waterways with dignity and pride. We were unable to decipher from the German just who built it and when, but we sure enjoyed climbing up and looking out over the city and the rivers from the look outs far above the water. Whenever I think of that sculpture and of Koblenz I will hear accordion music in the back ground. It seems everywhere we go in Germany there are accordion players busking on the sidewalks. In this case, a jolly little man with a golf hat sitting on an over turned five gallon bucket. We camped on the far side of the Rhine, in the shadow of a gorgeous castle on the opposite bank. When the sun set behind our tent it cast a fiery glow on the ramparts that made the whole hillside glow. After dark we watched and wondered as little fires migrated along the top of the castle wall in some procession we could only guess at as we sipped our tea. The children spent an entertaining breakfast discussing the best way to attack that castle and which walls should be stormed first. The conclusion they came to was that it would be tough to conquer and they stuck to building sand castles for the day.]]>