In the tourist office of Traben-Trabach they recommended us a river cruise on Moselle. Flemming and I thought it was a very good idea, and on our first morning we went on a day trip to Bernkastel-Kues.
With its breathtaking scenery, sailing on Moselle was calm and enjoyable.
We passed by old towns and endless vineyards on both river banks:
In many vineyards, we saw a sun clock on the hills:
After a couple of hours, we arrived to Bernkastel-Kues (or simply Bernkastel).
Saint Peter was promoting local wine:
And why not? We started from a glass of wine:
Bernkastel is known from the 12th century, though settlements existed there as long way back as 3,000 BCE.
Flemming loved the Bears fountain:
Bear is the heraldic animal of Bernkastel, and one could see it in many palces, like a balcony would be decorated with a big golden bear. The fountain on the photo above was created by the sculptor Johannes Scherl. It commemorates the historic Bärenpütz, a fountain which provided water on that site for the surrounding households up until 1899.
The old train station, once served the town (today a restaurant):
Bernkastel reminded us of Colmar in France, we visited in the beginning of our vacation. Both towns were so picture-perfect, with many beautiful houses, good restaurants, wine everywhere, and lots of people taking photos.
The Spitzhäuschen from 1416 on the photo below was without any doubt the most photographed building in Bernkastel. Flemming and I waited long for our turn:
The house behind me is an outstanding masterpiece of the living culture in the Middle Ages and an original example of old Moselle winegrowers’ houses.
The Graach Gate was built in 1300 as part of the town wall. In the beginning of 18th century it was used as a prison, and later – as a hostel for homeless. Today, there is a museum of local history:
The Graacher Gate is the last remaining town gate of Bernkastel.
The iconic medieval marketplace with the Saint Michael’s fountain from 1606 in the middle:
It was easy to spend a day in Bernkastel. The weather was nice and there was a lot to see.
When it was time to leave, we boarded our cruise ship again that waited for us in the harbour. There are in total 28 changes of water level on Moselle, 10 of them – in Germany. We used one of such locks (both ways) on our tour. You simply sail in:
The “doors” are then locked:
It took about 10 minutes for water to reach the necessary level:
Then the “doors” open on another side, and you sail out. It was fun to try.
Both riverbanks were covered in vineyards, and we often saw helicopters spraying chemicals over the numerous vineyards:
Coal was transported along:
Many interesting stories were told on the way, unfortunately in German only.
We had a couple of stops during the trip, and some of the towns looked very charming:
The barrier formed by the Eifel mountain range, shields the area from west winds, thus putting it in a rain shadow. The air is warm, as there is only a very slight air exchange. Together with high humidity, it gives muggy weather at times, which we also experienced.
In the evening Flemming and I arrived back to Tarben-Trarbach, our “home” town:
We had a great day and loved the tour.
