The Autobahn all the way,almost,to Ellenz Poltersdorf on the Mosel River

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We have automated banking, you can check your books out of the library without a librarian and you can check out your groceries on your own at the supermarket, and now the BBA V2 has completed the hotel check in and check out without anyone on reception. No wonder unemployment is so high in many countries around the world and especially Europe where it is a major concern to the health and future of the Euro zone and the Euro currency.

Any way by the time we were ready to leave our ibis Budget hotel room there was no one around on reception. Not that it mattered as we had paid automatically at a machine at the front door yesterday when we arrived and we didn’t have a room key to hand in as we left, just a machine produced piece of paper with our 6 digit code to open our room!

The autobahn system can take you practically anywhere you want to go in Germany. It may not pass through the little town we were headed for today but it was very close by.

The #61, which started just north of our overnight stay on the Dutch border, roughly follows the Rhine Valley south east although you never actually get to see the mighty river.

The area around Dusseldorf, which is not far from Willich, and south to Koln and Bonn is fairly industrialised and therefore we did expect a lot of truck traffic and that is what we got.

Here though the trucks all stayed in the right hand lane and there was none of the crazy overtaking of the truck immediately ahead of them that we experienced by ‘foreign’ trucks the other day in northern Germany on our way to Zwolle. This meant that our speed of 120kph, which has become the BBA V2 maximum on the autobahn, was far more constant and the kilometres just zipped by.

As we weren’t sure of what the supermarket facilities were going to be like in the village of Ellenz Poltersdorf we checked the GPS as we were driving for a supermarket ahead of us just off the autobahn.

We found what we wanted at Niederzissen in a Rewe supermarket and purchased what we would need for the next day or two leaving anything beyond to finding another store while out on a day trip from our accommodation over the next 4 days.

Back on the autobahn we were soon doing the inter change bit onto the #48 which took us more south west until exit #14 guided us off and down a relatively steep and winding road to the Mosel River at Cochem,the principal town for this part of the river.

Our first impression of the river valley as we drove up the 6 kilometres from Cochem to Ellenz Poltersdorf(hereafter to be called EP)was one of attraction with the river slowly drifting by vineyards, not only on river flats but also on impossible inclines on the hillsides above the river. This together with a villages right on the river side with restaurants and cafes with colourful sun umbrellas and people in a relaxed mode suggested we were going to enjoy and feel very relaxed after 4 days in the company of the location.

There were places for accommodation advertised all along the short journey from Cochem to EP,many of them like the apartment we were heading for but also small hotels as well.

On the corner of the street where we turned off from the main road there were signs for 8 other ferienwohnungen (German for holiday home)

Our apartment is in a building where the owners live and we were greeted, after a short delay as the owner wasn’t home when we arrived, very warmly by our hostess who apologised (we think as she spoke only German) and showed us our one bedroom apartment on the second floor which we can only say is going to be absolutely ideal for our stay. Everything is supplied including a full oven (Gretchen has ideas of a roast!)and a covered balcony facing out to the river with peeps of it between other houses. She also showed us the wine cellar, fully stocked with local Mosel wines at very good prices. With the wine cellar on our floor it will be tempting!

With everything unpacked we took a walk through the village to check out what was here and we were pleased we did get supplies in as there is no supermarket for the small permanent population and its tourist visitors. There were 3 or 4 restaurants to choose from should we go the whole hog and have a meal out one night.

A short walk beyond the village and there is a small ferry that crosses to the other side of the Mosel and a very quaint looking village with a castle on a hill behind it and we shall either take the ferry or explore a way to get there by car at some point as the village has that ‘come and see more of me ‘appeal.

Heading back to the apartment we came across a wine bar with lovely views of the river and we spent an hour or so consuming a delectable bottle of nicely chilled reisling, trocken style (the wine of the Mosel area).

Nothing too adventurous about tonight’s salad and salmon dinner but we did help ourselves to a bottle of trocken style reisling from the wine cellar outside our apartment door and dined and wined on our balcony doing what we like doing when the BBA V2 is in relaxed mode and that is people watching with a little boat watching thrown in as well.

All in all a very satisfying day and it is going to be hard to leave this peaceful place.

Sleep after sharing 2 bottles of wine was going to come very easily, warm temperatures still or not.

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