The Altstadt in Koblenz lies nested between the rivers Mosel and Rhein near the so-called Deutschen Eck (German corner). If you take a look at the pic that I just linked to, you will see that the flags of all of the 16 german states and the flag of the Republic of Germany are all present here, as well as a massive statue to Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm the Great).
 Ehrenbreitstein by day |  Ehrenbreitstein by night |
Overlooking Koblenz is the fortress Ehrenbreitstein which was built by the Prussians to guard this area which was continually under attack from the French. And is it because of the French that Koblenz has the "Schängel" as its town symbol.
This area belonged to the French for 20 years, and the most common name for children of german mothers with french roots was derived from Jean, which the Koblenzer couldn't pronounce. So Jean became Schang then finally the diminutive Schängel, and this cheeky little kid can be seen all around town on all of the manhole covers, and even has his own fountain dedicated to him, which spits on passers by. :)
 The Schängel fountain |  Bindy checking out the local art offerings |
So, thanks to our nuttier than squirrel shit friends who wanted to run the half-marathon (and did a bang-up job), we got to tick off another beautiful and famous german town (which we then proceded to take GkT back to a few weeks later).
Tschüß,
Brushy.
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