June 23, 2023 - Germany
Beilsten - Cochem - Mosel River Valley
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| After Wurzburg, our next overstop was in the small, quaint Mosel River town of Beilstein. We stayed here two nights. It was Lynnette's favorite part of the entire trip. Beilstein can be jammed in the peak July to mid-October high season, but it was not crowded at all while we were here. Our lodging was very nice, a short walk down to the river, parking just out front, and a nice breakfast. The hostess did not speak English, but she was very friendly and helpful and used her smartphone to communicate with us. |
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| We started our Beilstein experience at the Restaurant Haus Lipmann on a "glorious, leafy riverside terrace." That's the Mosel River with a cruise boat heading our way. |
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| Enjoying a nice German beer and wine in a perfect setting. |
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Dessert is served! I'm having key lime pie and Lynnette is having Creme Brulee.
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| From another angle. |
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The cruise boat is passing by. The dinner was perfect with the exception of receiving the check. This would be a frequent issue throughout our European trip -- not just Germany. The Europeans seem to have an aversion to bringing you the check. It's as if they want you to spend hours at your table. Or they don't care if you pay for the meal or not. I eventually learned to ask for the check whenever the waiter stopped by at the end of the meal.
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Across the river from Beilstein is a campground. Residents set up their trailers and tents at Easter and use them as summer homes until October, before the floods come.
Below, a Swan family -- the parents and six little ones -- enjoy the peaceful river.
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The very small town of Beilstein is up there on the right.
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Overlooking Beilstein is Burg Metternich. Beilstein was granted town privileges in 1309 by Heinrich VII and was fortified. Unfortunately, in 1689 came the destruction of Castle Metternich by French troops.
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A better look at Beilstein. The restaurant was directly above Lynnette's head.
Beilstein is sometimes referred to as the "Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle".
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| The next day we drove to Burg Eltz (castle), toured it. Driving back towards Beilstein we stopped at the riverfront town of Cochem and rented some bikes. There is a great bike trail that runs alongside the Moselle River. Here I'm in Cochem with my bike and the Cochem Castle in the background to the south. |
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Now on the east side of the river with a better look at the castle and the half-timbered houses of Cochem.
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| A cruise boat slides by. The Moselle River reminded me very much of the Rhine River, which we cruised a few years ago on a boat just like this one. |
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| On our bikes, we passed by this "Keep", a simple, square stone tower used in the Middle Ages. On our first big trip to Europe, to France, Lynnette and I drove way out of our way to see a French Keep. Since then I've seen them all over the place. Oh well, you have to start somewhere. |
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| Cochem -- which is larger than Beilstein -- stretches along both banks of the Mosel. Here I'm looking at the east side. |
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This colorful wall shows the history of Cochem.
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| The market square area of Cochem. |
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| Looking south down the Mosel River. Lynnette and I would ride our bikes down the left (east) side of the river towards Beilstein. |
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Passing some vineyards on the steep river banks. A tug pushes a barge full of coal down the river.
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| Lynnette relaxes on a large seat. Or is it a bench? A seat-bench? |
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Having fun riding the bike.
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| The Mosel River does overflow its banks, evidently. Those marks show how high the river was on certain dates. 1993 was a bad year for Cochem! We throughly enjoyed our bike ride. |
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| Back in Beilstein, we decided to visit the only attraction Beilstein really has: Burg Metternich. To get there we had to climb up 115 steps. |
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| Getting closer. |
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| Clearly, it was a substantial castle at one time. |
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| Looking north up the Mosel River. There is no bridge here but they do have ferry service to cross the river. |
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Castle ruins.
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| Our little guest house can be seen at center. |
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| Now looking west. |
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| Looking northwest at all the vineyards. |
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| There is a cafe in the castle ruins where we enjoyed a German adult beverage. |
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A lone surviving tower still stands and you can go to the top of it. Our energy renewed by the German beer, we climbed the stairs to the top.
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| I'm not sure why we only took one picture on the top of the tower but here it is. |
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Walking back to our guest house, we passed by this vineyard.
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| I took this picture from our guest house, looking towards Beilstein. You can see Castle Metternech's tower just above Lynnette. |
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Back at the Guest House.
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| The Guest House had this aerial picture of Beilstein hanging in the hallway. So I took a picture of a picture. |
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