This year we decided to check out the Cochem Medieval festival because we did the Manderscheid Medieval festival last year. You do have to pay an entrance fee and truthfully I think you get more for your money at the Manderscheid one. While the Cochem festival was great for something to get out and explore but it pales in comparison to Manderscheid if your comparing medieval festivals. The Cochem Medieval festival is for one weekend in September, the next one will be in 2016.
In July I took my mom to Cochem and found that I really loved the village area so I wanted to try a festival here, I’ll be posting about the castle there soon. I will say that parking here can be crazy and if your not early the parking garages will fill up. We arrived around 11 am and there were only a handful of parking spots left in the parking garage near the walkplatz. When we left around 1:30 pm there were no spots left. It’s also a tight parking garage, we had the car and it was still a bit tricky. I’d recommend the overflow parking further down past the Tourist Info center but I’m sure it fills up as well.
We chose to walk both up and down to the castle. It’s about a 10 min walk and there are some steep areas, it’s much easier walking down for sure. You get to walk through the walkplatz and check out all the neat stores & shops. Tons of bakeries too. We stopped for my favorite ice cream I’ve found in Europe so far! It’s Alpine Milch and is a delicious caramel ice cream, I LOVE it!
After walking to the top you have to pay for entrance at the tables. It was €7 adult and €4 kids. Also make sure you bring Euro to shop as the only ATM is back down near the train station, we learned the hard way 😉
As you enter they have some vendors set up and I immediately seen an amazing hand carved birdhouse I just had to have. So Mr. B being awesome like he is walked back down to the ATM & back up after we were done at the festival and bought it for me. We had taken a good amount of Euro but I hadn’t planned on making such an expensive purchase 😉
They had some demos set up like the blacksmith, a belly dancing tent, and a band that was playing some fun music.
Then you hike the rest of the steep path up to the castle to get into the courtyard. There are vendors here as well, entertainers, musicians, and of course the food.
You can tour the castle for an additional fee, which is cheaper than when your normally visit, but we’d just done it a few weeks prior and I avoid stuff like that on crowded days. 😉
The food was typical festival food brots, mushrooms, shwank steak, fries, etc. There weren’t an overbalance of choices and not as many neat items to try as at Manderscheid.
On the way out we stopped to watch a low tightrope walker and his tricks, he was pretty entertaining.
Musicians in the courtyard
Lower area with other musicians, it was starting to get crowded when we were leaving.
Amazing birdhouses, we had to bring one home with us!
Overall it was a great way to get out of the house but if your looking for a more authentic experience I think the Manderscheid one offers more options with the jousting, etc. If your just looking for something fun to do then this fits the bill for sure!
Know Before You Go
What: Cochem Medieval Festival – Cochem, Germany
How To Get There: It’s about 50 mins from Spangdahlem, and 1 hour 40 mins from Ramstein. GPS addy: Parking garage near walkplatz – Pinnerstrasse. For overflow parking go past the Tourist info and follow the blue P signs that will be down on the left.
Parking: Parking is difficult to find here. There is a parking garage by the walkplatz but it will fill up early during festivals, and an overflow parking area as well. If you have a larger vehicle you’ll need to park in the overflow area.
Cost: €7 adults, €4 children, prices may change next year so verify before going.
Traveling with little kids: I did see some folks with strollers but it was crowded and they were having to try to navigate in and out of large masses of people. You’ll have to decide what works best for you. You can also take the shuttle bus up & down instead of walking for a small fee as well.
How long: Plan on at least 2 hours, more if you want to check out the walkplatz area as well.
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