Meandering the Mosel

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No river could possibly have more twists and turns than the Mosel and finding where sunrise and sunset will occur and where to put the awning angle, etc. becomes slightly disorienting. We have encountered the phenomena of open-air restaurants in castle ruins; both in Bernkastel-Kues and in Traben-Trarbach. A bus ride up to the imposing ruin of Landshut Castle, above Bernkastel-Kues was a welcome way to access such a beautiful view of the Mosel Valley. After a delicious Schnitzel luncheon we were able to return to the village to explore the Market Platz surrounded by the medieval half-timbered houses, many having been in place since the 1400s. We were able to not only enjoy two local wines, at the ruin, one Pinot Noir and one Reisling, but were treated to a tour of the wine cellars of Peter Kropf, where the family has been making these wines since 1919. We have had many questions about the growing and harvesting of grapes on such steep slopes, as well as the wine making process for both Reisling and other wines. Many of these questions were answered by our tour guide, the grandson of the original Winzer.
We attempted to repeat part of this experience, later in the week, by climbing a very steep 0.4Km. path to the ruin of Grevenburg, built in 1350, high above the town of Traben-Trarbach. By the time we reached the ruin, and the pub, variable skies had become threatening, breezy had become windy and we returned down the steep path as quickly as possible, to eat our picnic lunch under the bridge, next to our scooter, just beating a brief but intense downpour. A break in the storm enabled us to get back to Kinheim and the MH just before the predicted big storm hit. We have been sharing the areas of Kindheim, Kindel, Korv and Urzig with members of the Harley-Davidson celebrants from all over Europe this weekend and we are now in Enkirch from where we may return to further explore Traben-Trarbach, on both banks of the Mosel. It was rebuilt after extensive fires in the19th century as an important wine trading center. The beautiful ringing bells and the Glockenspeil on the exterior of an ancient tower, add to the ambience of a medieval town.

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