Snap Happy

Who has two thumbs and an SD Card adapter? this girl. Picture time! So you know that badass castle and wine-tasting I was talking about? I submit to you the following evidence of an amazing time:

We got to explore inside, and a guide told us cool facts that I forgot before she even finished her sentence.

This is the guardian the of the castle, a deer/mermaid deity. The guide said  if you made a wish and rubbed its belly your wish would come true. FALSE. Rebel Wilson isn't my BFF and Ryan Gosling has not declared his love for me.
Yet.

The view from the balcony.

Always better when shared with a friend.

So, after freezing in the wintery weather (apparently 11th century castles don't have heating systems installed) we went to a wine-tasting by a local place, Schlagkamp Desoye, that was established in 1602. 

The building itself was beautiful. 

They reserved the whole place for our group.

During the 2 hour long speech by the owner--all in German, so of course I didn't understand a word--I had quite a bit of time to observe my surroundings.

My view of the opposite wall. Look at all that cool stuff. LOOK AT IT. During the 2 hour-long speech I had time to imagine what each individual tool was used for. 

It wasn't too bad, though, because they constantly refilled our glasses. By the end I began to imagine I could understand and speak German.

This is the counter where we could purchase a bottle.

Grandmother, if you are reading this, continue no further. Nothing else to see here.

Everyone else -- look! My first purchase of wine in Germany.  This is at the very end of the wine-tasting, and in case you can't tell I'm feeling pretty good at this point. 

Okay, so our group is trickling out of the restaurant, and while we're waiting on those making purchases, I notice a wrought iron gate on the side of the building, opening to a dim entrance. I have a picture but it doesn't want to upload, and quite honestly, it doesn't do the atmosphere justice.

I notice one of the exchange students walk in. Intrigued, I venture in. The first room is a dark cellar with sparse decorations and a subtle sign in the corner with the word "Weinmuseum" engraved on it. I figure I am either wandering into an actual wine museum, or a sex trafficking ring. With that thought in mind, and my spidey senses tingling (or maybe that was just the wine) I pushed on.

Aforementioned sign. Keep in mind this is with flash. I am not exaggerating when I say it was quite dim-lit.

Either bottle-filling machinery, or possible time machine.

In the next room -- barrels upon barrels of wine!

And thus concluded the impromptu tour, and I exited safely--the speculated danger being only a common side effect of wine, a dark and damp atmosphere, and an active imagination. Needless to say, everyone slept soundly during the long bus ride back to Trier. We passed countless vineyards, and I snapped a picture before drifting off to a pleasant nap.

Apparently hills and valleys pose no threat to vineyards.

So that was our trip to Cochem. A great time was had by all. Oh, and fun story, during the speech at the wine-tasting, I noticed he would say something, pause, and people would raise their hand. So of course I follow suit, not knowing what was happening, and I raise my hand the three or four times I noticed others doing so. Later, to everyone else's grand amusement, I discovered he was asking if we liked dry wine, or sweet wine, etc. So basically I looked like an alcoholic. 

Ah, well, such is life. It's not the first social faux pas I've made in Germany, and it certainly won't be the last. As always, I will try to keep you updated.

xoxo