The campsite at Boppard on the Rhine included a public transport card in the price so we took the bus into the city of Koblenz, much easier than trying to find parking for Connie near the sights. Koblenz is on the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers and is a larger town. There is a very good sculpture called the history column that tells the history of the city, very interesting. Also a huge bombastic monument of Kaiser Wilhelm I at the confluence. We’re getting a bit immune to city sights; another huge cathedral with a massive ancient alter and unique pulpit....

Weather not great, so we joined the locals at a public spa, a big complex with swimming pools, whirlpools, jacuzzis etc. 2 hours left us wrinkly but so clean & relaxed (a real treat..)

And so to the Mosel valley via a twisting road up from Boppard, over the top and down into the valley. Then up again to see Burg Eltz, a castle hidden in the hills. It is a pickle of architecture as it is really three castle houses for 3 sons who inherited it, joined together giving it a fairy tale look. A great guided tour gave us an insight to medieval life such as their toileting habits and how the richest people to have lived here were the bishops of the Middle Ages, there is a spectacular treasury with lots of beautiful silver and gold drinking cups, ornaments etc, dating back to the 1100’s. We marvelled at how these items could have survived for 100’s of years, when we have already broken 2 glasses that we got at the wine festivals & have only had for a few days!

We visited Cochem, a fun old town with a great restaurant where C enjoyed Flammkuchen, a very thin pizza with creme-fresh, salmon and spring onion. The best German food so far, we’re really not keen on the sauerkraut, pale sausages, pork knuckle or mashed potatoes. We tried some Mosel wine in a lovely atmospheric wine tavern & after 2 glasses Vanda was on the floor - literally. The seating was on long benches up a step from the floor and with the low lighting she didn’t see the step when we got up to leave. She only broke a nail and didn’t hurt herself. And the wine wasn’t that great - a bit sweet for us.

The Mosel valley is beautifully scenic with very steep valley sides that are covered with vineyards. The harvest is underway now and it seems that everyone has a mini tractor and trailer to transport the grapes. On the steep slopes the grapes are picked by hand, they have installed mini rack and pinion funiculars to get the grape harvest down to the tractors. On the flatter sections they use a machine that drives over the vines and picks the grapes mechanically. You hear the tractors trundling around the villages from before dawn to after dark.

We headed for Piesport as we remember drinking piesporter wine in the 80’s and thinking how cultured we were. They had a wine festival while we were there. A local festival really with few tourists but the wine here was better and we learned about the various qualities and tastes. We bought a few more bottles.

There are a lot of cruise ships on the Mosel but fewer commercial boats. The river is narrower than the Rhine and there’s are bridges and a few locks. We took a day trip on a river cruiser from Piesport back downriver to Bernkastel-Kues, twin medieval towns with buildings that are hard to believe are still standing as they tilt alarmingly across the narrow streets, almost leaning on each other. A very touristy place but without the cuckoo clock shops or frenzied tat buying.

We’ve been amazed at the number of fruit trees that are grown on the edges of fields and along the roads throughout Germany- we’ve enjoyed some lovely apples. Along the Mosel instead of apple trees they have lots of walnut trees and loads of locals & tourists are busy collecting them - great to have such a crop for free.

The weather has changed and we have needed our winter duvet and the central heating, days are generally overcast but dryish. We’ve started eating soup for lunch and wearing scarves.

Our time in Germany was coming to an end but we enjoyed a day in Trier before heading in Luxemburg. Trier was a Roman town and still has a lot of Roman architecture. The Porta Nigra town gate is the most famous, a huge stone gate with attached church. We also visited Constantine!s throne room, the largest single room Roman building still in existence, that’s now a dull Protestant church; the Roman Amphitheatre and the palace gardens and the Roman bridge. This is a really nice town.

Cx Vx