Cochem: A Few Days in the German Countryside

Cochem is a place in the German countryside, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Although it is a district seat, it is rather small with about 5,000 inhabitants. Although it is probably easiest to arrive by car, traveling by rail is convenient as well. And as you know: we will always prefer to travel sustainably! We had booked a vacation home with a surprisingly comfortable Murphy bed (our first time in a Murphy bed!) and a little kitchen. Although Cochem had almost no COVID-19 cases when we visited, we nevertheless wanted to be careful and a place where we could make our own food was a perfect solution.

But although it rained a lot, we luckily could enjoy a few patios. Cochem lies at the Moselle and is part of the Mosel wine region. The Mosel wines are amongst the best (if not the best) wines in Germany and the local/regional wines in Cochem were delicious. Since Cochem is a popular town for tourists and day visitors, there were lots of restaurants. But this popularity also meant that prices were comparatively high and, as so often in the German countryside, there often were no vegan options on the menu. In one instance, the question about vegan sauces was ridiculed, another person offered vegetarian dishes and when we pointed out these were not vegan, they said: "oh, really vegan!" So, if you are vegan and planning to visit Cochem: do it! But be prepared that you'll often end up eating french fries without any dips or sauces. And although this might have been due to the pandemic, most places closed so early! Going for dinner after 7 p.m. might be a problem.

The center of Cochem has so many beautiful houses that we can't list them all. But it's small enough to just roam the streets and be enchanted. Most buildings are timber framed houses, often colorfully painted. From there, it's just a short walk up the (sometimes steep) hill to the Reichsburg Cochem, the 'imperial castle.' The views from the castle were very scenic! (The castle itself can be visited with a guided tour, but after seven months of lockdown we weren't ready for that yet, haha.) Instead of returning to the center the way we came, turning right, we turned left and followed a small path that was so lush!

The area around Cochem, with two nature conservation areas, is perfect for hiking. On our first day, when it was only slightly raining, we went for a rather short hike in the Brauselay Nature Conservation Area (for Komoot users: "Aussichtspunkt Wetterfahne — Brauselay Loop from Cond"). By the time we reached the first viewpoint, it was raining a lot and almost all of our pictures are unusable (as you can see in this picture), but during this hike, we had the best views of the castle and the surrounding nature!

Traveling as a lesbian couple, particularly in the countryside, always comes with some tensions. But apart from one staring woman (until Else waved and she waved back, very confused), we didn't make any negative experiences on this trip and felt quite comfortable. And for more impressions, watch our video!