Guten Tag Sweet Friends!
We just returned from a 3-day road trip down the Mosel river from Koln to Trier – 120 miles of castles, vineyards, villages and wineries. Internet service was, however, very scarce and so this is the first post in several days and will likely be a long one!
It was gorgeous, something out of fairytale. Tiny little villages with half-timbered houses dotted the curves of the small river. Vineyards lined the steep hills where seemingly only goats could climb. The entire valley specializes in Riesling wine and each village prides itself on producing the very best. There are wine shops, wine tasting rooms, wine gastro pubs, wine schools, vinoteks, etc. Oh irony, I’m happy to see you found me in Germany! No, the irony that the very day I celebrated 4 years sober I drove direct to the white wine mecca is not lost on me!! I had to laugh and just shake my head. Thankfully, Doc is a red wine drinker and was not interested in visiting the wineries or tasting rooms, so we just took pix of the vineyards marveling at the steep climb that faced the workers. Some of the inclines are almost vertical seeming impossible to farm, but they make it happen.
Our first stop was Burg Elz, the only castle in Germany that was not destroyed and rebuilt over the years. It survived every war, every 
marriage and every divorce. It is still privately owned by the Elz family and has been in the family for 33 generations. That is pretty amazing!! They musta divorced really well! Cos where I come from you don’t get to keep the castle! It was off the main road a few miles in another valley and perched high up on a hill where most castles tend to be located. Castles are really fortresses and not very palatial – that would be a palace, which as my friend Tam Tam says, that’s the one you want to inherit. Anyway, the castle was pretty modern and comfortable for a fortress. It had 40 fireplaces and 20 toilets! For the time, that was unheard of. We signed up for the English speaking tour and the young lady was wonderful. She was informative and helpful. It was a great experience, especially for my first castle!
Next stop, Cochem, home of Cochem castle! The castle sits in the center of town, right on the river perched high on a steep hill. You can’t miss it! But first, we had to find a place to stay the night. We stopped at the market square and went to a café with wifi. After a few minutes research, we booked the Altes Winzerhaus, a cute lil hotel right on the river. We scored a front room with a balcony overlooking the river and the castle. The view was amazing, and at night the castle is completely lit so that it glows on its perch! So beautiful!!! The next morning after breakfast, we drove to the castle for a tour. Although the tour was in German, we had a printed English translation of the tour and our guide spoke English so he was able to answer questions. This castle is equally impressive but very different than Burg Elz. Burg Elz was more of home whereas the Reichsburg castle was more of a fortress and housed as many as 40,000 knights at one time. However, it didn’t fair as well since it was almost completely destroyed in 1688 by the Sun King and remained that way until it was purchased by a Berlin businessman in 1868 who rebuilt the castle as his home and a museum. He never got to actually live in it, but his son’s family used it as a summer residence until 1944 when it was sold to the state. Anything this old has a long, colorful past that remains untold – kinda like my drinking years! 🙂
We had been told to stay in a little wine town called Traben-Trarbach at the esteemed and historical Hotel Bellevue. It was indeed historical and extremely well appointed! We had a lovely room with a sitting area/windows overlooking the Mosel river and the Mont Royal ruins atop the mountain. The hotel had a small spa area, a lovely café with terrace and a gourmet dining room where we ate that evening. I told our 
waiter that I am vegan so he and the chef came up with a beautiful salad with grilled and fresh veggies. It was wonderful! After dinner, we walked through the nearly deserted streets enjoying the quiet beauty of the little town. Late that night an almost full moon rose over the Mosel and cast the most beautiful light on the city. It was stunning!
The next morning, after a quick visit to the steam room/sauna, we headed down the river to Trier – the oldest city in Germany. It was
founded in 16 BC by Roman emperor Augustus and named Augusta Treverorum. It grew in the Roman empire to be a city of great importance with many buildings and structures erected such as an Amphitheatre, Roman baths, Roman circus and a great wall around the city with four gates. One of the gates still stands largely intact – the Porta Nigra, and you can also tour the ruins of the baths and amphitheater. The Trier cathedral, although largely rebuilt in the 19th century, was beautiful and the first cathedral I’ve seen here with no stained glass windows. It is home to the Tunic of Christ, which is housed under lock and key in an airtight glass case that can only be viewed from a distance. 
The Church of our Lady just next door has some of the most beautiful mod-looking stained glass I’ve seen! Trier is also the birthplace of Karl Marx, so we made a stop at his house turned now into a museum and shop. We finished our day at a café on the market square for iced coffee before heading to Koln. Although the trip down the Mosel, driving along the river through all the little villages, took us 3 days; the trip home via expressway was just over an hour! WOW!
It was a beautiful trip and the weather was perfect! I’m so very grateful to my friend Doc for affording me this opportunity to see so many things and visit places not remotely on my radar screen. The people I’m meeting along the way is the big bonus, and I hope to remain friends with them after I leave cos that’s what it’s about!
Today we are back in Koln where we are enjoying beautiful weather and no agenda! Enjoy all the pix from our trip by clicking on the Photos link above. Have a gorgeous day my friends!!