The Moselle

Leaving Metz was as tricky as arriving, but eventually, we made our way out, and found ourselves on a brand new cycle path along the Moselle, in fact, too new to be in our guide book.
Mid morning, we came upon a Dutch couple, who were riding home after a month's cycling holiday in the south of France and Italy. They invited us for a cup of coffee, and taught us quite a bit about cycle touring, one thing we implemented at the next supermarket, was the coffee, being nescafe sachets of cappuccino, which we find are simple and superior to French coffee at cafes, which just isnt't to our tastes.

Hannelore downs a proseco cocktail

 
That afternoon, we came to the hill top town of Pels, and found a guest house below the hill, run by a peculiar little chap with a knotted beard. After a check with his “cleaning lady”, (obviously his wife), he led us up to what he called a “suite”, that had a  “60's theme”, which looked pretty good to us, we wouldn't have cared if it was the insides of a walrus's gut, the state we were in (70k's into a headwind). He said it was 70 euros, and did we still want it, and although it was overpriced, we would have paid 100 if he'd asked. His 60's theme was just that, quite well done, with everywhere you looked, some strange item, or something of that era. Today was our 34th wedding anniversary, thats the reason we were not in the tent.
Travelling up the Moselle, is mostly flat, with the occasional undulation. We are on quiet roads, or sealed cycle paths, very occasionally unsealed, but properly made tracks.

typical moselle signs

They are nicely sign posted, so it's difficult to get off the track, but I always have Hannelore beside or behind me to let me know when I do.
The setting is absolutely beautiful, sometimes we're riding between the vines, sometimes next to the river, but wherever your eye turns, there's green, so different from Australia,and wherever you point the camera, you're taking roughly the same picture.
One Tourist highlight was Trier, where we had a day off (pretty hard work), to look at the "2000 steps takes you over 2000 years" sights, such as the impressive Porta Nigra, and the Amphitheatre. 

Porta Nigra, Trier

Amphitheatre

Others were BernKastel-Kues, Zell, and Cochem, all very pretty but highly tourist oriented,as I suppose they have a right to be.

Cochem Castle, Cochem

Closer to the Castle

 






















Presently we're in Koblenz, at the end of the Moselle trip, and starting the Rhein section. This is another beautiful city as well, and we've taken another day off to have a look around here.

Deutsche Eck, Koblenz

The Deutsche Eck (Google it, it's something like that, I'm trying to do this without glasses), is where the Moselle empties into the Rhein, so, for us, it's goodbye to the Moselle, and hello to the Rhein.