Cycling Day Four

Started out the day with the Mosel on our left and vineyards on our right. First stop was to watch a crew of rowers getting a workout on the river; next stop the sundial painted on the side of the rocks at Wehlener. There are actually several of these sundials up on the cliffs in the vineyards around here. Chugging along through the requisite picturesque villages till we came to a great place for a coffee stop at a caravan park in Wolf, right on the river. We were just in time to see our ship, the Olympia, go sailing by. A chance to try out poffertjes, which the others hadn’t ever had. They are one of my favs from Heritage Festival! This was also the place where we discovered a wine vending machine on the corner of a street!

On the road again bound for Traben-Trarbach, where we saw the Bridge Gate as well as the remains of Grevenburg Castle. A pathside picnic table served us as a lunch stop. Continued on towards Punderich again through the vineyards, which makes for beautiful cycling. Stopped to watch a crew of grape pickers emptying their containers into the collection vehicles. This looks to be very hard work, not for the weak! Continued on till we came upon an old viaduct up the hill.

Finally arrived in Zell, to be greeted by the Schwarze Katz, a statue of a black cat, which is the symbol of the town. As the tale goes, two wine merchants were trying to decide on which cask of wine to buy and had a “few” glasses of wine while they pondered their decision. They still couldn’t decide but when a black cat jumped up onto one of the barrels, they decided that was the one to buy. Zell is another beautiful typically German town with many wonderful old buildings.

Once I had had a chance to clean up, Irv and I went out to explore the town a bit and ended up at a street side wine bar where we sampled some very fine Riesling. Mer and Richard joined us and sampled some of the same. We liked it so much, Irv purchased a bottle for us to enjoy on board. After dinner, talking to a neighbouring table, we discovered we could bring our own wine for a 6euro corkage fee. So that’s what we will be drinking with tomorrow’s dinner!

Cycling Day Three

Off on another cycling day - one of the longer ones at 47 km from Mehring to Bernkastel-Kues. A much more scenic route today along the Mosel because we were riding through and past vineyards. It would appear that most of the harvesting has been done, but there are still machines and people out in the vineyards taking in this year’s crop. It is amazing to see the acres and acres and acres of vines running up from the river, many of them very steep. We all agreed it must be darn hard work getting those grapes from the vines to our table! At one point we stopped to watch them transferring grapes from the picker’s basket into the collecting cart. The pickers have a bucket on their back that looks a bit like our recycle bins, which they fill and then come down to the collection cart and just lean over to tip the contents into the cart. The older man at the cart gave us some grapes to sample. They were almost like raisins and were quite sweet.

A little further along we came upon a family harvesting the vines -looked like it was a mom, dad and four kids helping grandpa get the grapes off. The kids looked like they were having fun! (They weren’t in school because it was a holiday- German Unity Day.)

As has become the norm, we passed through wonderfully picturesque towns and villages - it would be nice to be able to stop and spend more time exploring some of them.  Our lunch stop today was in Neumagen-Drohn, Germany’s oldest wine village, where there is a replica of a Roman wine ship. On to the famous Piesport, home to the well-known Piesporter Goldtröpfchen wines. On the way, Mer and I stopped to look at the ancient Roman wine press which is  still in remarkable shape given that it dates back to the 4th century! Once a year there is a festival with a demonstration of ancient winemaking.We couldn’t pass through such a famous wine area without picking up a bottle of wine, so Mer and I (the others had already gone ahead) stopped at a winery to purchase one. (It was also a good to be able to have a pee break!)

Unfortunately at this point, it began to rain in earnest, so the rest of the ride was basically nose down and pedal hard. At times it was a light shower, but other times it was a significant  downpour. We were very wet and just a bit knackered by the time we got to the ship in Bernkastel.

However, once we got showered and changed, the rain had stopped and we were able to head out and explore the town a bit.  It is everything you might imagine a German town to be with the iconic wooden framed buildings. We wandered a bit through the town, then decided to stop and sample a glass of the area’s wine - a Trocken for Irv and a Halb-trocken for me! Back to the ship for our tour briefing for tomorrow’s cycle, dinner, a couple of games of cards and dice in the lounge and thus ends another day!

Cycling Day Two

Since today wasn’t a very long ride, we decided to pay a visit to Trier, where we had moored overnight. It is a very beautiful city with lots of interesting architecture. First stop was Porta Nigra, a large Roman city gate which has been wonderfully preserved and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. Another historic site we visited was the UNESCO World Heritage amphitheatre which dates back to 100 AD and was built to hold 20000 people.

After stops to buy me a sim card, Karen a fleece and Richard a ball cap, we headed out of town over the Kaiser Wilhelm bridge bound eventually for Mehring. The mosey along the Mosel was not quite as scenic as yesterday, but still very enjoyable. We were down a man today, as Irv didn’t think his leg could do very well after his tumble yesterday. One interesting stop was at Villa Urbana, a reconstructed Roman estate which was only discovered in the mid eighties. It shows a little of how the early Romans might have lived. The location also provides stunning views of the vineyards in the surrounding areas. A bit of a grunt to get to, but well worth it!

On our way from Villa Urbana, we came upon a machine that was harvesting grapes and dumping them into a special truck. We also got to see the harvesting machine at work in the vines.

Onward to Mehring and back to the ship for a well-deserved beverage, followed by a briefing for tomorrow’s ride. An Indonesian dinner followed by the captain’s magic show in the lounge, and that ended our day.

Cycling Day One

Today was the first day of actual cycling, leaving Saarburg and heading on to Trier. Took a little bit of getting used to, riding these touring bikes. They are a little more unwieldy than our mountain bikes and wouldn’t you know it, Irv fell off his. Fortunately into a grass covered ditch, but he did something to his upper thigh when he fell. He did manage to tough it out for the rest of the day though! Before we left Saarburg we paid a visit to the town’s waterfall, then on to start the cycle route.  First part of the route was through a grape growing region, where vines grow right down the hillside to the water’s edge. It amazed us how challenging it would be to harvest those grapes. Kept cycling on past the place where the Saar joins forces with the Moselle. On through many picturesque towns and villages - Schoden, Kamzem, Hamm, Konz, to name but a few. Then a short ferry ride across the Moselle from Oberbillig to Wasserbillig, in Luxembourg. A stop for a coffee and lunch, then onward! Mer and I made a quick detour into Igel to check out the column which dates back to 250AD. Still pedalling along the Moselle, we finally reached Trier, our destination for the day. Another wonderful meal, a walk along the waterfront, and that put paid on another day!

Day one in Luxembourg

Needless to say we were just a BIT bagged today, so had a rather lazy first day in Luxembourg. A late lunch at the youth hostel restaurant across the street - best omelet ever! Then a walk up to the old town to explore. Luxembourg City is a beautiful place - very clean with lovely old buildings that have been well-preserved. The walk along the promenade overlooking the Casements de Bock provides a very picturesque view of the city below. We continued wandering around the Haute-Ville just enjoying the sights and sounds, then decided to head over to Notre Dame Cathedral. It is a beautiful building inside with wonderful stained glass and vaulted ceilings. Since we were so close, we decided to also visit the Monument of Remembrance, a memorial to those who served and died in the Second World War and the Korean War. It is an obelisk with a statue of a golden lady (Gëlle Fra) at the top who is laying a wreath for those who gave their lives. At the bottom is a monument of a pair of soldiers, one who is dead and the other reaching out for his companion. It is a very compelling memorial. On our walk back to the flat, we made two stops - one at the Monoprix for some grocs and one at The Tube for a drink to fortify us for the walk home. We returned to wait for Mer and Richard to arrive, with the thought that we would go over to the hostel and grab a light snack. The sign we read when we went there for our late lunch said they served until 10. Unfortunately, the sign hadn’t been updated, and they closed at 9. So a bowl of cereal had to tide us over till the next day.

A Very Looong Day!

We arrived safe and sound in Luxembourg after a very, very long day of travelling. Left Edmonton at 5:30 pm, had a two hour layover in Calgary, an 8 hour flight to London, a five hour layover in London, with a half-hour delay on the tarmac on our flight to Amsterdam, an hour in Amsterdam before finally landing in Luxembourg, some 22 hours after we left! A 55 euro cab ride from the airport!! got us to our Air BnB.It was a little hard to find since it is off the street and behind another building. But we managed to get in and get settled in. Other than no wifi, it looked to be a good spot to spend our time in Luxembourg.

On to Saarburg

Time to bid farewell to the beautiful city of Luxembourg and catch our train to Saarburg, where our boat-bike tour begins. Waited at the train station for Steve and Karen to show up, as they are joining us on the tour. They were in Milan and were to have arrived yesterday, but had their flight cancelled so didn’t get here till today. They arrived in time to catch the same train as us. An uneventful train ride to Trier where we switched trains and had a short ride to Saarburg. From the train station we were able to walk over to where the boat was moored. Once we dropped our bags at the boat, we headed off in search of a place to have a drink. Found a nice little spot and I tried their version of a radler, which is simply beer with Sprite. Walked back to the boat and got settled into our cabins. They are actually quite roomy and have a lot of storage space. A good home away from home for the week! Then up on the top deck for more libations before the captain’s welcome aboard reception followed by dinner and our first tour briefing for tomorrow’s cycling.

Day Three in Luxembourg

Today we opted to take a little jaunt outside the city to a town about 50 km north of Luxembourg City, called Vianden. The trip is only about an hour by train then bus, and the best part was that it was free, because all transportation in Luxembourg is free! Gotta love that! Unfortunately, Irv was feeling under the weather and chose to stay in town instead. 🙁

The train passed through a number of small towns all of which seemed very inviting, and stopped in Diekirch, where we transferred to a small commuter bus for the rest of our journey. The trip passed through more even smaller towns, and wound its way through the lush green countryside with spectacular views of the valleys. It seemed that we followed a rather circuitous route, but finally ended up in Vianden, which is basically a village with one main street. After a quick coffee stop, we headed to the tourist office to suss out how to get to the chairlift that takes you up to the castle, which is Vianden’s claim to fame. Serendipitously, we discovered that if we bought a pass we could get the chairlift ride and entrance to the castle for a much cheaper price. So off we went to the chairlift, or “telesiège”, which is the only one in the entire Grand Duchy! Rising from 220 m up to 440m it provides a panoramic view of the Our Valley. Quite breath-taking, indeed!

Once at the top of the chairlift it’s another 600 m or 1800 m down to the castle depending on whether you want the short, steep narrow route or the longer, less steep wider route. We opted for the latter.

The castle dates back to early Roman times, starting out as a fort, and then being added to and fortified over the centuries by various factions and passed through several hands. It became a residential castle as far back as 1100 and was eventually sold at public auction to a citizen of Vianden in 1820, who sold it off for salvage, even the roof! In 1972 a group called Les Amis du Chateau de Vianden stepped in and oversaw a complete restoration of the castle.

The tour through the castle is well laid out, taking you into the various rooms, each dedicated to some aspect of life in former times. There are displays of artifacts from different time periods, and full on replicas of rooms in a castle as they might have been centuries ago. I particularly enjoyed a special exhibit that they had of the photography of Raymond Clement, who focussed on the landscapes of Luxembourg. His pieces were breath-taking!

A stop for a quick bite of sausage on a bun and Mer’s favourite fruit beer, then we headed back into town to catch the bus, then train back to Luxembourg. A quick stop at the apartment to put on a load of laundry before heading into Ville Haute to catch up with Irv. Met him at the Brasserie du Cercle, a restaurant that specializes in authentic Luxembourgish dishes. Richard and I enjoyed the vol-au-vent, while Mer and Irv tried the potatoes rostis with bacon, cheese, fried egg. It was all very delicious.

Back to the apartment to finish up the laundry and get organized for our departure tomorrow to Saarbruck, where we catch the boat for our boat bike tour.

Day Two in Luxembourg

Mer and Richard arrived safe and sound last night, but were also bagged from a long day of travelling, so they had a bit of a lie-in this morning. We then trooped over to the hostel for one of their amazing omelettes. Irv was not feeling too crisp, so he decided to stay back while the three of us went up to Haute Ville to explore and take in a free walking tour of the city. We walked along the Bock Casements so they could see the view of the lower part of the town, called Grund, then on to the Chemin de Corniche, which gives a slightly different view of the lower part of Luxembourg City. We wandered through the streets over to the tourist info office, and then M&R decided to go take a peek inside Notre Dame since I had already seen it yesterday. We made our way over to the Monument of Dicks and Lentz, an homage to two poets from L’bourg, where we were to meet up with our Free Tour guide. The tour was most informative, with a lot of the history of Luxembourg woven into the sights. Founded in 963, the country has changed hands many times over the centuries, from the French, Belgians, Germans, Dutch, Spanish and Austrians. Almost every nearby country has had their turn at being the head honchos of this duchy, whose leader is, not a king, but a Grand Duke. Our guide, Carol, explained that Luxembourg is a melange of many different cultures, over 160, and is becoming even more so as they welcome people from all parts of the world. Some 70% of the population is foreign-born. Luxembourg’s past economy was based in steel and agriculture, but is now based on finance. It has the highest per capita GDP in the world, at $138,000.

Our two-hour tour hit most of the highlights of the Ville Haute, and provided a good perspective on this tiny country - only about 2500 square kilometres, and with a population less than that of Calgary or Edmonton, at 660 000.

Mer and Richard hadn’t had enough walking, so they continued on to search out the funicular and a five storey elevator to take them down to the lower part of the city. I opted to head to Monoprix to pick up some grocs, then head back to the apartment. However on my way back, who should i come across but Irv, sitting on a bench in front of the Museum National of History and Art. He was feeling better, so we decided to take in some of the museum (free) before connecting with M&R. Met up with them and had a great dinner at one of the many sidewalk restaurants. A walk back to the flat to plan our next day’s adventure.

One More Sleep!

Only one more sleep until we are off on this crazy tour! I have never been this disorganized for a major trip in my life! We only just booked our return flights three days ago and our Sicily to Malta flight two days ago, and we still aren’t sure where we are going in Sicily beyond our first few days there. But hopefully it will all work out!

We leave tomorrow for London, then on to Luxembourg via Amsterdam. Three days in Luxembourg, then hop the train to Saarburg where we get on our Boat Bike Tour along the Moselle in Germany. It’s a week-long tour ending in Koblenz. From there we train it to Frankfurt, where we hop on a plane to Catania, Sicily. Almost two weeks to explore the fascinating island, then off to Malta for a few days before flying home.