Day 164-175 Germany - Mountains and Vineyards

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We decided as we had liked Germany so much on the way out, during our trip to Bavaria, that we would return on our way back. We had seen a lot of cities and were keen to see the autumn colours in the countryside. So, after a brief stop near Dresden, and an amazing spa (sorry no pics as we were nude!), we headed for the Harz Mountains.

The weather has changed significantly, its very cold most nights although we’ve been very lucky to avoid too much rain. The trip took a new turn looking for camp sites that could help us keep warm, and we found we have a liking for sauna and indoor pools! Luckily many campsites in Germany are open all year and cater for the cold weather.

The Harz mountains, are covered with fir trees, which when you get a view are lovely, but views were hard to come by. We’d intended to do some walking, which we did, but much of the paths were forested. Very pretty, but we still hankered for that view. So we took a fantastic 4 hour steam train journey right up the highest peak of Broken. We were rewarded with a great 360 degree view.
The towns of the Harz are lovely too, a bit touristy, but some lovely medieval buildings and squares.

From here we headed south west to the Moselle valley. Wow! What a surprise. An extraordinarily beautiful region, from Koblenz to Trier 195km long. It follows the Moselle river as it winds through the valley and towns with every piece of spare land covered in vineyards, often seeming to hang near vertically-collecting grapes must be a real hazard!. Here we drove up parts of it, stopping at the variety of towns on the way. We also cycled some, which gave us an opportunity to taste the wine enroute! Finally we took a boat trip, the river looking so gorgeous in the sunshine.

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