GERMANY: MOSEL RIVER VALLEY

COCHEM

Our first stop on the Mosel was at the town of Cochem, where we were greeted by the resident swans.

Cochem is located at the foot of a hill, surrounded by vineyards and watched over by a feudal castle, the Reichsburg, dating from 1051.   The town thrived on charging tolls down the Mosel River; they laid a chain across the water to stop ships from passing.

The town itself is picturesque, with narrow lanes winding around the hillside and half-timbered houses tiled with slate from the Mosel region.  Flower boxes are filled with colorful geraniums.

 

The Town Hall is built in Baroque style in 1739 on the market square, which also is home to Martinsbrunnen (St. Martin’s fountain).  

 

The local church, Martinskirche (St. Martin’s Church) is noted for its striking tower.  It was built in 1456-1503, replacing an earlier structure from 1165. 

The Reichsburg Castle is Cochem’s real center of attraction and we had a fine time visiting there.  Having survived in one form or another for more than a thousand years, the castle cuts a striking silhouette some 300 feet over a bend in the river. 

 

The view from the top gave the castle owner a fine view of the town and river below, as well as being able to keep an eye on the neighbors – Castle Winneburg, now in ruins. 

 

In 1689, the troops of France’s King Louis XIV invaded the castle, set it ablaze, and the proceeded to blow it up.  Two centuries later, it was rebuilt and a landscaped garden was added.  Today, it contains a king’s ransom in stained glass, rich tapestries, trophies, ornate painted ceilings and four-poster beds. 

 

It’s a fun place to wander around, especially on a spectacular day (cool and sunny).  And with some binoculars, there’s even more to see in every direction.

 

On the promenade near where our ship docked is a 200-year-old Mustard Mill.  Their special gourmet mustard is made from family recipes that have been handed down through many generations.  We tasted a variety and came home with a jar of the original heirloom recipe – great on pretzels!

CRUISING COCHEM TO BERNKASTEL

Leaving Cochem, we had lunch onboard ship and then settled in comfortable chairs on the sundeck for an afternoon of sailing.  Until it got too dark to see, we were treated to spectacular scenery – endless vistas of green vineyards, sprinkled with charming villages and occasional castles on the hillside.  Scenically, this was probably the most beautiful afternoon of the trip.

The Romans brought wine-making to this part of the world and generations thereafter have created an open-air amphitheater honoring Bacchus, the God of Wine. The slate cliffs are said to store the day’s warmth for the cool nights and let the grapes ripen at just the correct angle to the sun.

We found it curious that some of the vineyards had vertical rows, some horizontal, and some had both.  According to our guides, the choice was made according to the preference of the pickers.  Would you rather walk up and down hill all day or would you rather walk with one leg uphill and the other downhill?

Here is the quaint village of Beilstein, known as the Sleeping Beauty of the Mosel, with the ruins of Metternich Castle on the hillside. The castle was once the home of the Counts of Metternich, but was largely destroyed by French troops in 1689. 

The Steuben Cloister ruins are all that remain of an Augustine nunnery that was built here in about 1140 AD.  In 1794 the cloister was abandoned as its inhabitants fled the approaching French troops.

The village of Bremm is located on the slopes of the Calmont Vineyard, said to be the most precipitous vineyard in all of Europe. 

Neef is another charming and old village on the Mosel, again surrounded by vineyards.  Its stone church is among the newest buildings in town, erected in the 1800s. 

Just past Neef, we entered the St. Aldegund Lock, one of 33 we passed through on this trip, 15 on the Rhine and 18 on the Mosel.  Like this one, some of the locks were barely large enough for our ship to squeeze in.  The captain and crew kept a close eye on the water and the walls.

 

 

The town of Zell seems like a booming metropolis; it has nearly 5000 inhabitants and has been an important trading center since Roman times.  Halfway up the slope behind the town, in the middle of the vineyards, stands round tower, the Runde Turm.  It is the trademark of the town, visible for miles around.

 

Punderich is an old, old town – dating back to a Roman settlement in the 1^st century BC.  The church that stands today dates to 1766; it was built on the foundation of an earlier church from 1529. 

Not all views were so pleasing to the eye.  We passed several RV campgrounds, filled with tents and trailers.  Many Europeans rent a campsite for the entire summer and use it for weekends and vacations – gas is too expensive for much driving around.

We did take a break from the great outdoors to meet the chef (gotta love a guy who wears checked pants!) for a tour of the galley.  It’s a very small and very hot place – totally amazing that he and his crew can create such delicious meals day after day.

BERNKASTEL-KUES

Connected by a bridge, Bernkastel and Kues perch on opposite sides of the Mosel.  Together, Bernkastel-Kues is known as the international town of vines and wines.  The grapes of 5000 vintners are marketed and some 65 million liters of wine are stored here.
 

The Landshut Castle, just above the town, was built in the 7^th century as the summer residence of the Archbishop.  It was destroyed by fire in 1692.  We arrived in Bernkastel late in the evening, and our first view of the castle was under a nearly full moon. 

We were up early the next morning to be sure it was still there, but it was shrouded in the mists of a heavy fog.  Later in the day, the sun was out and we had a good look at the castle ruins (which now house a café and restaurant).

 

We took a walking tour of the town of Bernkastel with our guide Roos, who was always ready to demonstrate just how things worked in Medieval times. 

The Town Square is a lively place, surrounded by half-timbered houses.  Also on the square is the Renaissance Town Hall constructed in 1608 and St. Michael’s Fountain, which was built in 1606. 

Bernkastel is famous for its magnificent half-timbered houses, mostly from the 17^th century.  Many have elaborate weather vanes on top of the gables.  Note:  A half-timbered building has exposed wood framing. The spaces between the wooden timbers are filled with plaster, brick, or stone.  In Medieval times, many houses were half-timbered because logs and tree-trunks could be shaped for use without modern tools to cut lumber

 

 

The most famous house of all is the narrow Spitzhauschen  (“Pointed House”) – looking rather fragile and seeming to balance on the tiny foundation on which it was built in 1416.

Nearby is St. Michael’s Parish Church, the only remaining building in the Mosel region that is preserved in the style of the 14th Century. The church tower is over 600 years old. 

“Bern” means “bear” in German and “Bernkastel” means “bear castle”.  Bear symbols are all over town – in windows, on balconies – there’s even a bear fountain.

 

Touring all over town is hard work, so … time for a little winetasting at the cellar of the Thanisch family winery.  The name of their famous wine, “Bernkasteler Doktor,” goes back to a 14^th century Archbishop who, lying on his deathbed in the castle, drank himself back to good health on the wine produced by the Thanisch winery.  The Archbishop then named the vintner “Bernkasteler Doktor,” meaning the Doctor of Bernkastel.

Today the winery notes that they consider every day a good enough reason for drinking their wines.  After drinking our way through four different types of increasingly expensive Reisling, we had to agree that they make some good stuff.  Having sailed past many miles of vineyards in the past couple of days, we enjoyed seeing (and tasting) the final product.

After our late-morning wine tasting, followed by a big lunch, we headed out on the walking-biking trail that seems to follow the river everywhere.   It’s a great path, though we did spend part of our time dodging bicycles.

 

The views weren’t bad, either.  Here’s our ship tied up at the foot of the vineyards and a nice view of the town and its castle.

 

TRIER

Much of Trier looks like any other German town:  fine old building and lots of flowers.  But … it doesn’t take long to learn that Trier is the oldest town in Germany, founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 16 B.C.  Trier’s importance was such that it became known as the ‘Second Rome,’  and the Roman buildings here are most impressive.  Several Roman emperors lived here, including Diocletian and Constantine the Great.  In the 9^th century, Charlemagne made it the seat of an Archbishop.

Impressive relics of history are all over town, but the most famous is Porta Nigra (or Black Gate), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Built in 180 A.D., this fortified Roman gateway is about 100 feet tall and 120 feet wide.  In 1040, it was converted into a church and later restored to its original state under the rule of Napoleon.  It owes its name to the dark patina which formed on the limestone blocks, which were originally built up without mortar and held together with iron crampons.  The second photo is a model showing how the Gate looked when it was built.

 

Another remarkable sight dating back to Roman times is the Aula Palatina, a basilica built in the 4^th century as the throne room of Constantine the Great.  It is also known as the Basilica of Constantine.  The basilica was not originally a free-standing building; rather it was part of the palace complex. It is the largest single room to be preserved from Roman times and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

 

Not only the Romans have left their marks here – so did the medieval Christians.  The Dom (or Cathedral of St. Peter) is one of the oldest churches in Germany, built in the 11^th and 12^th century and resting on 4^th century Roman foundations.  It was the largest church in antiquity, about four times larger than the present structure (367 X 134 feet) – it covered not only the current Cathedral footprint, but also the neighboring Liebfrauenkirche, the adjoining gardens, the Cathedral Square, and houses leading up to the market. 

Inside the cathedral, there are three crypts, cloisters, a treasury and a holy relic chamber said to contain the Holy Robe of Christ.  With its history, art and architecture stretching back over 1,650 years, the cathedral has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   

Next to the cathedral stands the Liebfrauenkirche (or Church of Our Dear Lady), the first Gothic church in Germany – built between 1235 and 1260 on the site of a Roman basilica.    The church is in the shape of a Greek cross, creating a circular effect with all points equidistant from the central high altar.  The floor plan resembles a 12-pointed rose, the symbol of the Virgin Mary, as well as the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles.

 

The Hauptmarkt is one of the most impressive and picturesque marketplaces in Germany.  It is a virtual textbook of architectural history:  Gothic, Renaissance, Rococco.   Surrounded by historic buildings, colorful market stalls crowd together around the stone market cross, which dates back to 958. 

 

 

Near the market, Jews' Alley (or Judengasse) leads into the former medieval Jewish Quarter. There were Jews in Trier as early as the first or second century, but they were expelled from Trier in 1418.  When they were called back after 1600, they settled in different parts of the city; today the Jewish community in Trier is quite small. 

House of the Three Magi (or Dreikönigenhaus) with its unusual Moorish design, is a colorful renovation supposedly true to the original design. Originally built in 1230 as a Romanesque tower house, the building was used by visiting merchants who were paranoid about security.  In those days, the “floating” door on the right was accessible only via a retractable wooden stairway.

Countless archbishops and electoral princes built their churches and palaces in this Trier.  By far the most impressive is the Palace of the Prince Elector, Lothar von Metternich.  Considered one of the most beautiful rococo palaces in the world, it is colored pink and decorated with putty embellished in gold.  Quite a contrast to the austere Basilica of Constantine visible just behind and to the left.

While the town is filled with reminders of its Roman roots, we got an even closer look at Trier’s ancient history at the Archeological Museum or Rheinisches Landesmuseum.  The museum is built along the old wall that once surrounded the city.  The museum traces the region’s history from prehistoric times, but most of the exhibits are from its collection of Roman artifacts.  

 

Numerous reliefs from funerary monuments show daily life in Roman times.  These elaborate carvings and inscriptions are an important source of information about Roman history.  One of the most interesting is the Mosel Ship, a sculpture of a wine-bearing vessel which crowned a big burial monument around 220 AD.

 

 
Also on display are many mosaics and frescoes, ceramics, glassware, and an extensive collection of Roman era coins. 

 

Locals say that anyone who digs a hole in Trier is likely to turn up Roman artifacts, but there’s actually another kind of Roman root in the ground around here.  That would be grape vines.  Grapes have been grown here for over 2,000 years – ever since the Romans got tired of importing their wine from Italy. 

A culinary note … As we sailed away from Trier, the theme for dinner was ‘Hollywood.’  One of our favorite waiters, dressed for the occasion, met us at the door with carafes of wine.  After dinner, our evening entertainment was “Magic Chris,” a talented young magician who had everybody wondering how did he do that?

TRABEN-TRARBACH

A culinary note to start the day:  all breakfasts onboard were served buffet-style, with a huge array of foods from which to choose.  The chocolate croissants were to die for, but sometimes we ordered the made-to-order omelet or breakfast special.

 

The communities of Traben and Trarbach, which remained independent until 1904, have very different histories.  The rich and well-to-do lived in Trarbach, while working class people were across the river in Traben.  The towns are united now, but there’s still some friendly competition, if not friction, between the two parts.

 

On the Trarbarch side of the river:

The Brückentor (or Bridge Gate) is the symbol of the city of Traben-Trarbach.  It  was one of the city’s first building orders for the Berlin architect Bruno Mörhing. A wine tavern is now housed in its interior.

 

High up on the hill, the Grevenburg Castle was built around 1350 by Count Johann III.  During assorted wars in the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle changed hands 13 times, until 1734, when it was taken and destroyed by the French. Today, there is a tavern and garden in the ruins.

On the Traben side of the river:

We took a short walk around town to have look at a town that definitely is not a ‘tourist’ town – except for some efforts to plant grape vines to decorate the narrow alleyways.  

We saw a statue of a woman in traditional dress and some crazy colorful buildings, but mostly it seemed that folks were just going about their lives while we wandered through their streets. 

 

A culinary note - as we sailed away from Traben-Trarbach, it was dinner time.  The appetizer tonight was “Honeydew melon with Coburger ham and port wine aspic served with fresh lettuce and grissini stick.”  We weren’t quite sure what half of that meant, but it did look pretty and tasted good, too.

Later that evening, there was entertainment in the lounge, provided by our three program directors – Bjorn, Brigitte, and Roos.  First was a skit showing how American tourists should NOT behave in a German café.  This was followed by a whacky demonstration of various German products that we might want to try or buy.  In this photo, they are showing the correct way to open a tiny bottle of schnapps and then we tried it ourselves.