Summary

The vineyard lined Moselle River valley provided the setting for a particularly enjoyable bicycle tour. We rode some 300 miles of the river's meandering bends & curves while learning about the history of the region. We tested whether the light & fruity Moselle wines lived up to their reputation. And we strolled through the ancient narrow lanes & magnificent avenues of the river's charming villages & historic cities.

Thursday, Sept 18th

Thursday, Sept 18th

Today is for sightseeing in Koblenz; plenty to do & see in this city. This is where the Moselle & Rhine rivers come together. In the afternoon I took the train to Frankfurt where I am spending the night. And will leave for the United States in the morning.

Wednesday, Sept 17th

Wednesday, Sept 17th

Sadly today is our last biking day of the trip. The skies are bright and sunny starting off. I am hopeful that the jacket can come off later in the day. Gradually there seems to be few vineyards on the hillsides and more trees. There are not near as many bicyclists on the paths today. I stopped for coffee before crossing the river for another castle visit. The castle is way up on a hill (not the greatest location for bicyclists) overlooking a village on the opposite bank. The castle was worth the trip. Certainly one of the most spectacular cultural heritage sites in central Europe. I crossed back over the river and continue toward Koblenz. My lunch break was in the village of Kobern; a historic old town with a charming market square. Soon I arrive in Winningen; the last wine town on the Moselle. As I was cycling to our hotel in Koblenz, I saw an Aldi’s grocery store. I was dying for some trail mix. They did not have trail mix, but I got some kind of nut assortment and the nuts seemed to have been exposed to sugar.

Tuesday, Sept 16th

Tuesday, Sept 16th

When the morning fog disappears the skies are overcast. Our path is right next to the Moselle River and we continue to go through one charming village after another. The restoration and care these buildings have received is amazing. There are plenty of tour buses parked at the towns now. We pass some pretty impressive ruins of an 12th century monastery. Vineyards in this area are on some of the steepest slopes in the world (75%). In one village I visited a wine museum for a tour of the vineyard, history, and tasting. At the next village there was a castle overlooking the village. As I started the journey to the castle, I met a woman from Vermont. Based on our conversation, I decided to “wimp out”. But I found a great place in town for lunch.
In the village of Cond I took a winery tour and then crossed the bridge to Cochem. This town is the most popular tourist destination in the river valley. There are lots of small shops and plenty of places to eat. I found a German bakery for a pastry. The narrow streets were so crowded that it was difficult to walk at times. I counted four river cruise ships at dock side. I heard some people talking differently (English). They were three ladies doing one of the river cruises. One was from Kentucky and the other two were from Arizona. They seemed to be having a great time. My next stop was the village of Pommern for a glass of wine at an outdoor restaurant right next to the path. I met a couple from British Columbia who were driving down the valley. They were bicyclist and wanted to learn all the details of my adventure.

Monday, Sept 15th

Monday, Sept 15th

Partly sunny and cool as we get under way. Still seeing many other bicyclists on the paths. I got to the village of Trarbach around 11 AM. Lots of other tourist in this town renown for the fine art nouveau buildings built by the wine merchants over 100 years ago. Outside of town there are ruins of a 14th century castle. I started out for a visit and had a flat tire. Back to town & 27 Euros to a bike shop got the problem fixed.
My plan for the afternoon was to ride on the right side of the river until I got to Enkirch and then take the ferry across the river and continue up the left side. I changed plans when I discovered that the ferry was not operating and continued up the right side. The sky changes to overcast and we get a few sprinkles.

Sunday, Sept 14th

Sunday, Sept 14th

Today is sunny, but cool. There are a lot of other bikers on the paths and a number of walkers. Stopped around noon at a hotel for coffee and they were serving an elegant buffet; reminded me that it was Sunday. Later I stopped for lunch in the village of Bernkastel. Not only a very quaint town, but caught up with the classic car auction that we had seen earlier in Trier. Seemed like the event was more of a rally that an auction, but everybody seemed to be having fun. I met two guys from Pennsylvania who were friends at a VFW post. One of the gentlemen had been a German POW sixty four years ago and this was his first visit since. Next I crossed the bridge to the village of Kues. There was some kind of kids festival going on with all kind of activities for the kids. On the way back across the bridge I met a young couple from New Orleans who were on a whirlwind tour of Europe. When I got to our overnight town of Zeltingen, I discovered there was a winefest in progress. Instead of wine, I bought a glass of beer which cost 2 Euros.

Saturday, Sept 13th

Saturday, Sept 13th

Light rain starts just after we get on the bikes. Shortly, the rain changes to moderate and we have this for the rest of the day. We didn’t see hardly any other bicyclist on the train. We are riding on paved paths mostly right next to the Moselle River. Occasionally we are riding through vineyards which are almost everyplace. The scenery was beautiful, but certainly not a fun day for bike riding. Our wonderful hostess at the hotel suggested that the next time there was a rainy day we should take our bikes on one of Moselle cruise ships to get down river instead of the bike paths. Very good advice indeed!

Friday, Sept 12th

Friday, Sept 12th

No bicycling today; sightseeing in Trier is on the schedule. It is raining as we are riding on the bus (fare=2.25 Euros) to the shopping district. We get off the bus in front of the train station and it would seem like that would be a good place to exchange US $’s to Euros. There was not a currency exchange office in the station. I was able to do the exchange at the 2nd bank I visited. Once we get to the shopping district, the weather has turned cooler and I decide I need to purchase a sweatshirt. First, I visit a sporting goods store and the cheapest one I could find was 49 Euros. I go to a nearby department store and find a hoody for 9 Euros.
Sightseeing starts with a visit to the Roman Imperial Throne Room. This 4th century AD structure is a church today. Next we visit the Imperial Baths (4th century AD) and then the 2nd century AD Amphitheatre.
As we entered a square we discovered that collection of classis cars that were being assembled for an auction. Funny, some of the cars did not look that old to me! After some searching on foot, we located the Karl Marx House; birthplace of the founder of modern socialism.

Thursday, Sept 11th

Thursday, Sept. 11th

There is light fog as we start out, but it quickly disappears and we have a beautiful sunny day. We are riding between the railroad track and the river. Each day we pass a couple of dams of the river. Apparently the purpose of the dams is for flood control and navigation. The result is a wonderful shoreline with water always up to bank full. As we past through towns and villages I am looking for places to stop for coffee without luck. There are grapes everywhere and I see wineries. But I only saw one winery with a tasting room and it was on the other side of the river. About lunch time I cross the Moselle on a ferry and continue riding on a paved trail on the opposite side. The cost of the ferry ride was less than 15 cents US. Gradually the grape vines disappear on the hillside and are replaced by trees as we get closer to Trier. We arrived in Trier in the late afternoon.

Wednesday, Sept. 10th