Without soccer (or hockey) to get rid of that excess energy I hopped a train to Trier and spent the weekend cycling down the Mosel.
I had hoped to make it to Koblenz (where the Mosel joins the Rhine) but didn't quite get that far.
Still covered about 180 km over the two days though.
Porta Nigra (the Black Gate)
Trier is home to the greatest collection of Roman remains anywhere north of the Alps.
This gate was built around the end of the 2nd century AD, converted to a church around 1040,
and restored to its original appearance by Napoleon after 1804 when Trier was part of France.
The Mosel outside of Trier
This is one of Germany's main wine regions and the banks of the river along its entire length are covered in vineyards.
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Issel:
 Wallwalk wandering along the walls of this gorgeous little town just downstrem of Trier. |
 A hobbit hole? The round gate of this garden, and the well-kept garden made me wonder if I might catch sight of one of the little guys. Unfortunately they stayed out of sight. |
Corner tower
Still in Issel. Note the two small plaques above my bicycle (and a little to the right)
They indicate the high water mark on two different occasions when the river flooded.
The remains of a Roman winery
The route along the river (the" Roman Wine Route") threads through what remains of their vinaculture.
Pretty much every bit of available space along the river has been used for vines.
See the small field in the centre of the picture above.
As near as I can figure they must use a boat to get to it
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Neumagen:
 And of course, a day out exploring wouldn't be complete without stumbling onto another festival. This middle mosel city was having a wine festival (big surprise). From the looks of the signs along the river, there seems to be one in a different town every weekend. in this area. |
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Traben-Trarbach:
Sunday morning started a little foggy, but cleared up mid-morning
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Bullay
There seemed to be another festival going on here - but I was on the wrong side of the river to easily check it out.
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Cochem:
 Reichsburg The first sign of Cochem is the sight of this castle perched high above it. Originally built in 1027 it was almost completely destroyed by Louis XIV in 1689, but since restored to original ground plans. |
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It was late afternoon by the time I reached Cochem
and since I did have to work monday morning I took the train home from there.
The rest will have to wait for another weekend.
Next: a Castle Cruise up the Rhine
with Bob and Lisa