2024 Moselle Bike and Barge – Our Travel Blogs

This entry is part 13 of 14 in the series 2024 Europe

Friday, 11 October to Tuesday, 15 October, 2024

Day 4 – Zell to Bernkastel-Kues by barge

After finally getting the all clear from the river police to leave Zell, our barge began motoring up the Moselle against a strong current. Most bikers spent the afternoon on the top deck enjoying the views. A few ladies enjoyed a wine or 3 in the spa, happy not to be riding today.

Warren spent a bit of time on the bridge with the captain, Hilke and crew Albert.

We arrived at Bernkastel-Kues after 1830 getting some nice photos in the fading light.

Day 5 – Bernkastel-Kues to Schweich – 54 km then barge to Trier

Back on the bikes today with no rain but still very cold! From Bernkastel, the valley opens up and vineyards expand as far as the eye can see.

The Moselle is still in flood and we had to make a couple of detours from the cycle path as a result. Locals are used to flood as evidenced by the flood markers in every town we passed. Usually these floods are in spring as a result of melting snow. More recently flooding has occurred because of rain in the catchment and this leads to summer and autumn floods – very rare in the past but happening all too frequently now.

We are starting to see some Roman ruins as wine production along the Moselle was started by the Romans including a large wine press in Piesport.

We stopped for lunch in Neumagen where some people chose to end their riding and relax onboard the boat while it cruised to Schweich. Neumagen was an important centre of wine production dating back to Roman times. There is a large cast of a wine ship monument in the main street (the original is now in a museum).

We paid a visit to the ruins of a Roman villa in Mehring.

We continued on and met the barge at Schweich where we boarded for a cruise to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Trier was founded around 15 BC by Caesar Augustus under the name of Augusta Trevorum. Well-known as a trading town and administrative center, Trier flourished during the late imperial age. This Roman golden age left an array of monuments here. One of the most popular is the city gate, Porta Nigra, which was built around 18 AD. The chef had the night off so we walked 2 kms into Trier for a quick look around and dinner. The Roman ruins are impressive!

Day 6 – Trier to Saarburg – 23 km then barge to Remich

We started the day with a tour of Trier with a local guide. Trier is situated close the border of Luxembourg and is considered Germany’s oldest town.

After our tour we hopped back in the saddle and back to the Moselle where we admired the bridge with Roman foundations, medieval arches and a modern surface.

When we reached Konz, we left the Moselle and rode up the Saar river to Saarburg, a fascinating old town situated in the most beautiful and densely forested part of the Saar valley. In the middle of town is a 20 meter high waterfall and at the foot of this waterfall there is an old mill, which is driven by the small river. In this part of town most of the houses date back to the 17th and 18th century, which gives Saarburg such a picturesque look.

The castle of Saarburg was built here in the middle of the 10th century. After wandering around Saarburg we boarded the ship and sailed to Remich.

Day 7 – Remich to Thionville – 41 km

Today we left Remich and first stop was the Roman villa at Nennig after only 2 kms. It contains an original mosaic floor, once the centerpiece of a palatial Roman villa. The scene (in 3 million individual tile pieces) reveals scenes from gladiator games in the amphitheater. There was an interesting audio visual presentation.

When we crossed the river to Nennig, we crossed the border (in the middle of the river) into Germany. Then it was back to Luxembourg before crossing into France later in the day. This is not an issue in Europe due to the Schengen Agreement which allows free travel between signatory countries. So we were pleased when our second stop of the day was in Schengen. The agreement was signed here in 1985 on a boat at the intersection of the Luxembourg, German and French borders. There was an interesting display of flags and totem poles with carvings of each country in the agreement. See if you can work out the countries represented below.

After lunch our final stop before Thionville was at the site of a monument to the liberation of this part of France by the Allies. We also passed a bunker that was part of the Maginot line.

The day ended with our final dinner onboard the Magnifique III.

Day 8 – Thionville to Metz by bus then 11km walk

Time to pack our bags today for the half hour drive to Metz by bus. We left our luggage at the Hotel La Citadelle and headed out for a walk. We visited the Gothic cathedral which has the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, totalling 6,496 m² including some stained windows by Chagall.

Next up was a walk to the German Gate a turreted city gate & fortified bridge by the River Seille, built in the 13th & 15th centuries.

The next day we walked to the train station for the last leg of our European adventure.

This entry is part 12 of 14 in the series 2024 Europe

Monday, 7 October to Friday, 11 October 2024

Train troubles!

We puchased tickets for the train trip from Leuven to Cochem via a different website to the one we had been using. It showed 2 changes (Liege and then Cologne Messe/Deutz) for a five and a half hour journey. What we discovered at the last minute at the main Cologne station was that the train wasn’t stopping at Messe/Deutz and we had to get off and catch a train across the river to Messe/Deutz. Luckily a kind German had checked for us and held open the door until we could scurry off the train with others in the same boat. We nearly ended up in Frankfurt instead of Cochem for the start of out bike and barge trip. After checking into our hotel we had a quick walk around town to find schnitzel for dinner before the rain started.

Day 1 Bike and Barge – Cochem, Germany

We had the morning free so decided to catch a bus up to Reichsburg Castle where we had a guided tour. Unfortunately the tour was in German but we did have a page of notes to assist. A castle was first built here in the 11th century but was destroyed in 1689 by the French. It lay in ruins until 1868 when it was purchased and rebuilt by a Berlin businessman. Since 1978 it has been owned by the town of Cochem.

After our visit to the castle we made our way to our home for the next 8 nights, the Magnifique III.

After settling in, we were introduced to the Captain and crew and met our fellow bikers. We had 12 from the United States, 4 Canadians, 5 from Taiwan and Warren and I representing Australia. After a briefing, our guides helped us set up our bikes. It was then off to town before dinner with one of our guides, Ingrid, for a walk through Cochem. The Old Town is surrounded by beautiful timber-framed houses, quaint little cafes, and interesting shops.

Day 2 – Cochem to Zell – 37 kms

After breakfast, we headed off in light rain that unfortunately got heavier as the day wore on. Our first stop was Beilstein, one of the best-preserved historical villages on the Mosel. The ruins of Castle Metternich sit on the hill top, overlooking the village. The baroque church contains the “Black Madonna”, left by the Spanish in the 12th or 13th century.

After morning tea in the warmth of a local cafe, we continued along the Moselle cycle path. Lunch was in Ediger a small village with the essentials for our lunch – shelter from the rain, water and toilets. Next we passed Europe’s steepest vineyard at Bremm, a truly impressive sight with some slopes inclining up to 60 degrees. Not long after this we were passed by our barge, struggling against the current to get to our destination, Zell. We eventually arrived having given our wet weather gear a good test (it passed) wondering if and when the rains would stop.

Zell on the Mosel, is well known for the wine, Zeller Schwarze Katz. After a quick shower to warm up, we headed across the river for a wine tasting at the Weingut Treis winery. This winery has been operating since 1580 and our 80 year old host was 11th generation. Now run by his children, our host entertained us for over an hour as we tasted 6 of their wines (and they were generous pours by our host) and purchased 2 to take back onboard.

My favourite story was that his doctor said not to worry if his liver function tests were a bit high – he had a Moselle liver!

Day 3 – Zell to …….. Zell – 21 kms

We headed off today under brighter skies from Zell with the aim of reaching Bernkastel-Kues, 45 kms away. Our ride started well with some cycling through the vineyards before we dropped down to the cycle path beside the Moselle River.

Unfortunately, the river was still rising and after going through one lot of water we encountered a larger, deeper section that gave us all wet feet.

We stopped at the next town to wring out our socks, not looking forward to another 35 kms in these conditions. While here the local river police came to tell us the cycle path was closed and all river traffic halted as the locks were not operating. Our barge had left Zell only to be told they had to return.

Luckily there was a higher path on the opposite bank of the river that we could ride back to Zell.

Cold and still with wet feet, we ate our lunch in the Zell Tourist Office, waiting until we could board our ship. Barricades had been placed along the bank to protect the town and the crew had to build walkways to cross them.

Day 4 Zell

We awoke to find the river levels had finally stopped rising but the flood barriers were still in place.

The Captain explained our barge couldn’t leave until the locks were operating, hopefully in the afternoon. In the meantime the crew set up walkways over the barricade so that we could explore the town further.