Trier to Traben-Trarbach

June 11, 2023

Perhaps we are getting a little cavalier about our daily plans. Today right away we were revising on the fly. As we left the campsite for the 2.5km cycle to the train station, we realized we were not going to make our 9:40 train. No problem, we will take the 10:40.

We rolled our bikes onto the bike car of the regional train, secured the bikes and found seats thinking we'd have time to "check our phones" for the 40 minute ride. About 20 minutes in, one of us had the bright idea to put in the RideswGPS route for the day. It was at that point we realized 1). That the train does not run on top of the hills but in the bottom of the next valley, thus we had a big hill to get over to get back to the Mosel (dah) and 2) That we had planned to get off in Salmtal but saw that the Rides route came right back to the town of Sehlem, which we were just about to pull into. Quick, undo the fastenings off the bikes and hop off the train. Whew! Okay let's look at this route now that we at least have saved ourselves a few kms, but what about that hill?

Sehlem was on a hill too so the first 3km was a coast down to and through Esch but the ridge rose in front of us. The route was well sign posted so soon we were spinning upwards. Slowly we gained elevation and a hot sweaty hour later we were at the summit and looking forward to a 3km coast to the Mosel. Soon we were out of the woods where we had the most breathtaking view of the Mosel River and Piesport spread out before us in the morning sunshine! All the work to get there was forgotten, what a sight to behold. On our 2018 trip, having cycled beside the river the whole way, we had never had this perspective. If we had started cycling this morning at 9, stayed by the river and not taken the train we would most likely have arrived at Piesport at the same time but we are so glad we took this circuitous route over the hill because we would never have seen this wonderful view. Sometimes things work out on the fly and sometimes they don't, this time we are pleased with how things turned out!

By now it was 12:30 and we were hungry. We crossed over the river at Piesport and cycled into the centre of town. Another lapse in planning last night in the excitement of a Saturday night out in Trier was to have forgotten about provisions for today and it being Sunday, that everything is closed in Germany. A crowd was spilling out of the sports centre so we stopped to see what was going on and if there was any food we could purchase. It was a dance competition and there were lots of homemade desserts and coffees for sale but not much for a cycler's lunch. We continued down the street and found a kabob shop for sandwiches. On the way out of town we went back to the sports centre for coffee and cookies. Another good decision.

The Mosel is as beautiful as ever so we continued on to another post-card picture perfect village, Bernkastel Kues, with its vineyards up both sides of the river, lots of cyclists and day cruise boats. It was hot and we were tempted to stop for a break but we knew if we stopped we would never get started again, so we continued on.

Next was the delightful village of Brauneberg. In August of 2018 this was the place where we stopped for the festival serving up,strawberry shortcake with coffee and WINE! But not this weekend.

We passed the village of Wolfe and recognized it as the town with the waterside campsite where we had stayed. There is a deep bend in the river and our tent was right at the river's edge. We felt as if we could almost touch the boats going by. Not this time, we had a roof over our heads planned for tonight.

Finally we pulled in to Traben-Trarbach, found our curious B&B, called the Shoe Museum, ran a load of laundry before heading out for supper in a riverside Thai restaurant. Clean clothes, full tummies, indoor accommodation: All is well on the Mosel.

In a park beside the train station this “young” lady stopped to speak with Ann. She’s 97! She spoke perfect English having lived and worked in Chicago for 20 years before returning to Germany.

Looking back at the hills we’d come from before the pass.

Terraced vineyards, the Mosel and Piesport, what a view!

Racing down to the Mosel through the switch backs and vineyards.

Proud Mom and daughter at the dance competition.

A typical church in this part of Germany

Steep vineyards. They must produce exceptional wine to merit all the work of cultivating such terrain.

The impressive Hochmoselbrücke (High Moselle Bridge) was being built when we were here in 2018. This panorama photo makes it look arched when in fact it's flat.

The Hochmoselbrücke (High Moselle Bridge) is a major road bridge, that crosses the valley of the Moselle south of Ürzig and north of Zeltingen-Rachtig in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It was opened to the public traffic on 21 November 2019.

Too bad we have still 7km to go. This may be the only place to buy cold wine on a Sunday afternoon.

Traben-Trarbach as seen from our dinner spot.

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Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 2,022 km (1,256 miles)

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