Arrived in Koblenz after a very very very (yep 3 veryies - that good!)picturesque train ride along the Rhine River. This is described in Lonely Planet as a must do and i definately agree. The villages and vineyards you pass along the way are so storybook cute it made me want to pull the Emergency Stop handle just to get a good photo of then. Unfortunately i have insufficient Euros to deal with the consequences of such an act and had to settle for pictures with a very artistic 'dirty train window blur' effect. Did manage to single out a couple of places to visit the next day though.
Upon arrival i got to partake in my most favourite of activities (someone should really invent a sarcasm emoticon) the finding of my hostel! Only managed to embarass myself once this time trying to communicate with the bus driver (luckily there was someone waiting for the bus that knew where it was and exactly how to get there).
All this was quickly forgotten once i realised the hostel was in a castle!!! And even better - there was a chairlift up to said castle and i was in time to catch it!!! Chairlift was fun (not recommended for those with an adversity to heights) and view from the top was absolutely amazing. Enough so to totally mitigate the effects of several noisy school groups (these are a 'pest problem' that all HI hostels seem to suffer ). Watched the sun go down from up at Einbreichstein (name of castle) and then had myself a coctail from the bar (if there was any alcohol in it i couldn't taste it).
Ended up with whole 8 bed dorm to myself too - complete with white-washed walls and castle-style window. For both nights too - even though on the second night they turned away some other backpackers (after they had hiked up the hill) saying the hostel was full - go figure!
Not much to say about Koblenz itself - it is a nice town with a few great sights but i didn't really have much time to explore it as i spent most of my time daytripping up and down the Rhine (see next story)
