"Tomorrow,"
we say. "Three nights."
No, she says.
You have to leave today. Two nights.
Clearly there was
a miscommunication. A language barrier issue?
We hurry back to
our room to pack up our backpacks which have somehow managed to throw up all
over the place in only one day. And then we leave, trapped between
nothing and a train ticket to Munich
Once more to the
tourist information booth. Is there accommodation available for the
night? We just need one night...actually, we really just need a place to
get rid of these backpacks. We call at least four places; everything is
still full. The day is passing away. We will figure it
out later...or we will just hobo it tonight. It will end up saving us
money, right?
We have already
planned to hike the Burg Eltz castle today. So now, to stow our packs
somewhere. Turns out the luggage storage place listed in our guidebook
doesn't exist anymore. Fine, then we just hike around all day with our
packs on. No big deal.
15-minute train
ride to small village
of Moselkern
 |
| Beginning of the day: ready to hike and still happy! |
 |
| This dragon breathes water, not fire |
 |
| Burg Eltz |
 |
| The inner courtyard of the Burg Eltz |
We have the whole night ahead of us. I decide we should go to
 |
| Porta Nigra |
 |
| Cathedral of Saint Peter |
 |
| Crucifixion scene on the Cathedral (weirdly proportioned?) |
 |
| Roman baths |
 |
| Sunset on the bricks |
We leave on the last train out at about half past midnight. Arrive back in Cochem at 1:30 in the morning. We go down to the river, throw our packs on the benches, sit down and lean back to look at all the stars speckling the darkness.
We
are getting cold. The dew is dampening
our bags. But it seems nicer here than
in the train station…at least for the moment. The pubs start closing. People wander back to their RVs, campsites
and hotels. One man crosses the bridge,
singing in German at the top of his lungs. We can track his path through town by his
voice. And then for a few moments, his
voice disappears, and he must be inside his hotel. But then he must be on a balcony…or maybe he
opened his window…because his voice booms out again, resonating across the
river towards us. His song is interrupted
only by a few drunken giggles, chuckles.
It
seems like he sings for hours, but time is passing slowly tonight.
Eventually,
we decide it MUST be warmer in the train station. Away from the water and the breeze. But then, when the sun seems to be coming up,
we decide maybe it’s warmer back outside.
So we go back to the river and watch a faded sunrise. And it isn’t warmer so we go back to the
train station. It is 4 AM. The earliest trains will be passing through
soon. But ours does not leave for
another 6 hours.
In a
corner, we sit down against a wall, huddled together. I read while Andrew sleeps and then when my
head starts jerking up and down and sideways, I elbow him awake and it is my
turn to sleep. And then I think we both snooze.
Of all nights to not have a bed -- it has to be the night we just spent lugging our packs all over creation.
Of all nights to not have a bed -- it has to be the night we just spent lugging our packs all over creation.
People
start coming into the train station, and it is harder to sleep. We eventually stand up, pacing back and forth,
hopping up and down. Mainly, I think, we
are trying to warm up. But we are bored too,
impatient for our train. I begin listening
to the music on my iPod. Out on the platform,
I start dancing to the music. Tapping my
feet, hopping, jumping, turning, wriggling. Andrew laughs at me.
And then
we are on the train. Groceries from yesterday
are our breakfast. And then sleep, as the
train joggles and sways.
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