The river Moselle infos and river cruising experiences

My pleasure, tvmovielover. I thin Avalon has got two different itineraries that include the Moselle, which one will you take, if you do not mind saying, starting where and ending where?

I have just remembered that at least one company has added cycling as an optional tour on one day, so here is a(n official tourist) site about cycling on the Moselle: http://www.romantic-germany.info/things-to-do/cycling/cycle-routes/moselle-cycle-route/#accordion A dear person did this route a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I know the photos look very attractive and a bit "photo-shop enhanced", but the landscape is that lovely on a fine day.

notamermaid

We are on the Remich to Nuremberg itinerary. We were mostly interested in Trier to Koblenz Moselle and this itinerary goes to the least number of places we have already been. We did an day Rhine trip many, many years ago and a longer one 5 or 6 years ago but did not see Rudesheim because of low water so that town and a village on the Main sound interesting. Mostly my neighbor's German son-in-law told us the one place we must see in central Germany is Trier so finally we will. Not sure if a bicycle option will be offered by Avalon though they do have bikes so maybe we can do a short version-thanks for the information.

You were given excellent advice regarding Trier. Spend every minute you can in town; skip lunch on the ship to stay in town.

Be aware that your time in Trier may be limited. We did Avalon's Remich to Amsterdam cruise last year. We boarded in Remich in late afternoon and sailed to Grevenmacher, where we docked for the night. The next morning we were bused to Trier for tours (regular or Roman emphasis). We returned to the ship in Grevenmacher for lunch. After lunch those taking an optional tour of Luxembourg City left via bus while the rest of us sailed down the Moselle. The Luxembourg tour met the ship down the river past the city of Trier.

So there was very little free time in Trier--45 minutes to an hour after the walking tour.

Wow, that isn't much time at all in Trier. I would be disappointed, hopefully you knew that going in.

FuelScience, that was a short visit to Trier and the area then. Here is a thought: as the ship is in Grevenmacher overnight one could go to Trier in the evening for a nightout. You can get from Grevenmacher to Trier in a good half hour by car. Along the Moselle (nice and flat) you could even cycle to Trier, if you are fit, although going there and back is a bit of a distance of course. Public transport is also possible. The following day while the tour goes to Luxembourg the ship sails on past Trier on that itinerary. If it goes to Schweich (not that far past Trier) one can skip Luxembourg, take public transport to Trier, spent some time there and meet the ship in Schweich by taking the train. You might want a taxi from Schweich station to the Moselle embankment, it is a little out of town. If the ship sails further than Schweich on that day, you are better off going to Luxembourg or staying on the boat.

These are the sights as listed by the tourist information board in Trier:http://www.trier-info.de/english/sights-in-trier

notamermaid

FuelScience, that was a short visit to Trier and the area then. Here is a thought: as the ship is in Grevenmacher overnight one could go to Trier in the evening for a nightout. You can get from Grevenmacher to Trier in a good half hour by car. Along the Moselle (nice and flat) you could even cycle to Trier, if you are fit, although going there and back is a bit of a distance of course. Public transport is also possible. The following day while the tour goes to Luxembourg the ship sails on past Trier on that itinerary. If it goes to Schweich (not that far past Trier) one can skip Luxembourg, take public transport to Trier, spent some time there and meet the ship in Schweich by taking the train. You might want a taxi from Schweich station to the Moselle embankment, it is a little out of town. If the ship sails further than Schweich on that day, you are better off going to Luxembourg or staying on the boat.

 

These are the sights as listed by the tourist information board in Trier:http://www.trier-info.de/english/sights-in-trier

 

notamermaid

I think that the afternoon in Trier would be a good option. I just checked, and the Luxembourg tour rejoined the ship at Riol--just downriver from Schweich--at 6:00 p.m. Riol is about 50 minutes from Trier by bus.

Hello Hydrokitty,

 

 

 

 

That is highly interesting. What the modern world can do! I know that people in Germany are still looking for the resting place of their ancestors, it is an on-going search and there is a very dedicated instituation in Germany at the forefront of it. Traditionally, November is the time for asking for donations for the upkeep of German war graves spread all over the world (mostly Europe of course).

 

In the case of my grand uncle it might be not as diffcult as his death certificate is in the family archives and cross-referencing with records of war cemeteries will help I reckon. The solution might just be a letter away and I would certainly like to go there.

 

notamermaid

I drove between Compiegne and Soissons a little over 20 years ago (shortly after EU funded the Information Centres along the key parts of the 'Chemin de Fer') and took the opportunity to visit a German War Cemetery. The contrast with the American War Cemetery at Arromanches that I had visited in 1994 was immense - I was shocked to learn that so many German soldiers still lay behind the former Iron Curtain and that significant funds would be needed to locate, identify and repatriate them. A sobering afternoon during a Summer Holiday that other people's sacrifices had helped to make possible.

We are on the Remich to Nuremberg itinerary. We were mostly interested in Trier to Koblenz Moselle and this itinerary goes to the least number of places we have already been. We did an day Rhine trip many, many years ago and a longer one 5 or 6 years ago but did not see Rudesheim because of low water so that town and a village on the Main sound interesting. Mostly my neighbor's German son-in-law told us the one place we must see in central Germany is Trier so finally we will. Not sure if a bicycle option will be offered by Avalon though they do have bikes so maybe we can do a short version-thanks for the information.

tvmovielover,

It may be helpful to take a look at the dailies (at the link below) from our Paris to Amsterdam Avalon cruise last year. The first part of the cruise--Remich to Rudesheim is similar for both cruises. You will notice that our day in Bernkastel turned out to be a short morning (left town at 10:45). Bernkastel was celebrating its annual wine festival, and we had to leave town earlier than planned. Avalon took us to on to Zell for a nice afternoon there with a wine tasting on board.

Hope that these are helpful.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0nz16ahW1fiNWxTRklRY0pTVU0

A short video on the World Heritage Site Trier: http://www.dw.com/en/world-heritage-site-trier/av-38954557

notamermaid

Nice to revisit Trier! Thanks, notamermaid!

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What is the Moselle valley most famous for? Exactly, white wine, the Riesling grape variety mostly. Here is a video about the vintners strifing to produce high quality wines on very steep slopes of slate: http://www.dw.com/en/premium-wines-from-the-moselle-valley/av-40493536

notamermaid

Beyond the Moselle - why not have a drive or sail up the Saar river?

The Saar has its source in the Vosges mountains in France and flows into Germany meeting the Moselle at the town Konz. The landscape is similar to the Moselle but is surprisingly more industrial (on a small scale these days) and less wine is grown there than on the Moselle, yet does not have the river traffic the large Moselle has due to the larger river's importance for the industry of Lorraine in France. Saarbrücken, the capital of the state in Germany called Saarland, has some nice buildings and some appeal, a kind of "industrious Germany meets French attitude to life" and is different from any other German town I have visited. At Völklingen close to the river bank is a disused steel factory, so vast and important for industrial heritage that it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. A museum there explains it all. I have been told it is great to see.

If you are more into landscape the famous "Saarschleife", a narrow loop of the river, will interest you. It is fascinating to see, but better from the hill than the water.

Here is the wikipedia site with a photo of the Saar loop at the top right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saar_(river)

Who sails the Saar? River cruises on the Saar are always in combination with either the Moselle or the Moselle and the Rhine (from what I have seen so far). The German companies are Nicko Cruises, Plantours and Phoenix. For other European companies it is - you might have guessed - CroisiEurope and Dutch companies. UK operators also offer cruises for which they charter ships (sometimes from the CroisiEurope fleet).

Mettlach is famous for the china factory Villeroy & Boch. Uniworld offers an excursion to that factory on the itinerary "Legendary Rhine and Moselle".

If you have been to the Saar river, what did you see and how did you like it?

notamermaid

Back to the Moselle and the cycle route along the river. It is popular with German cyclists and a great way to see the landscape. Some companies, both European and North-American, now offer short cycle rides as excursions on river cruise trips. In 2012 a Canadian couple did a cycle tour and Deutsche Welle followed them. Quite sweet and the area really DOES look that nice in Summer: http://www.dw.com/en/the-moselle-with-a-couple-from-canada/av-16254759

Around this time of year it looks more like this though: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/62622027.jpg Burg Cochem, photo taken by a gentleman in 2011.

notamermaid

The Moselle gets a new ferry

With many bridges having been built in the last 60 years there are fewer ferries crossing the river. But one that is still there is the service connecting the villages of Oberbillig and Wasserbillig, in Germany and Luxembourg, respectively. The "Sankta Maria" is now an old lady and going into retirement. The Sankta Maria II will take over from December and she is something special: https://www.wort.lu/en/luxembourg/eastern-luxembourg-solar-and-electric-ferry-on-the-moselle-59eb0fea56202b51b13c597f

She was built in Stralsund on the North Eastern coast in Germany and transported by road and ship to her new home and workplace. For some photos of her arrival there, first for some test driving in a harbour, here is the (German only) report from the regional TV station: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rp/trier/neue-moselfaehre-sankta-maria-ii-entladen-in-der-neuen-heimat-angekommen/-/id=1672/did=20617534/nid=1672/s2r081/index.html

She is the first electric-solar powered river ferry in Germany and a financial joint effort of the local authorities in Germany and Luxembourg.

notamermaid

Most every night when I stay up late, I look at this website:

http://www.wsa-ko.wsv.de/webcam/webcam_deutsches_eck/

I noticed that the water level was up by the level of water near the trees across the river by the park.

Thank you NotaMermaid for all the helpful information you provide. I have been reading your posts for two years now.

Hello M&Rsquared,

Thank you very much.

The webcam shows Kaiser Wilhelm on his pedestal and the town of Koblenz behind him to the left. At the front to the left one can make out the Viking landing stage, very often with ships docked there, on more and more occasions two of them, i.e. rafting.

The park you mention on the right bank of the Moselle is in the suburb of Neuendorf and close to the river you can see white caravans in season, it is a popular camp site. Actually, there is also a ferry that connects Neuendorf with the town centre, she is called "Liesel".

The Moselle has risen quite a lot as well, but there is no flooding and it looks as if it the water level peaked yesterday, just like on the Rhine in the Middle Rhine valley. Most of the bridges on the Moselle were built with lots of headroom but a few are a little low. Edit: The railway line bridge at Koblenz is the lowest on the German Moselle. When a problem might arise for a river cruise ship I do not know, but certainly at the moment the river is not high enough to cause problems.

notamermaid

The Moselle gets a new ferry

 

With many bridges having been built in the last 60 years there are fewer ferries crossing the river. But one that is still there is the service connecting the villages of Oberbillig and Wasserbillig,

OK, I'm fascinated by the town names--Upper Cheap and Water Cheap? :p

LOL, one does wonder how those places got their names... But the English countryside has got some good ones of their own, one of my favourites, as I have actually been there and can confirm that it is a pleasant hamlet in Kent, is: Pett Bottom! But there are other bottoms, even a Scratchy one in another county. Just because those places are low-lying topographical features...

For those two places in Germany and Luxembourg, respectively, the explanation is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasserbillig I did not know that the Romans had been there, but then they had been "just round the corner" in Trier, so no surprise! It is a pleasant landscape, no wonder they made it a trading post and presumably planted the first vines there as well.

As regards other German place names there are some funny and sometimes "unfortunate" ones around. There is also a small place somewhere in the East that is called Lederhosen, is not in Bavaria and the name orginally had nothing to do with those leather trousers, it had just evolved ethymologically that way!

With the Christmas season coming up, here are some festive photos and tips for markets, if you happen to be in the area of the Moselle, anyone: https://www.mosellandtouristik.de/en/culture-events/christmas-markets/

notamermaid

I used weird and wonderful UK place names to teach my Guides (Girl Scouts) mapreading. How can you forget the Piddles for example. Keep cruising CA

Not a good day for Christmas shoppers and the Chrismas market stall holders today in Trier. It is raining there and in the hills the rain turns to sleet and snow. It is grey, miserable and I am not looking forward to going shopping as on the Rhine that band of clouds coming from the West has brought rain to the Rhine too.

The Moselle is on flooding status II and is being watched closely by authorities and the locals alike. The continued rain will bring lots of water to the area and it is possible that the flooding status III which necessitates a river closure might be reached in the next few days. The figures: currently 649cm, level III is reached at 695cm.

notamermaid

Not a good day for Christmas shoppers and the Chrismas market stall holders today in Trier. It is raining there and in the hills the rain turns to sleet and snow. It is grey, miserable and I am not looking forward to going shopping as on the Rhine that band of clouds coming from the West has brought rain to the Rhine too.

notamermaid

I hope that the weather improves. Your description reminded me of my days studying chemistry in Heidelberg 40+ years ago. I went into the lab on a gray, rainy day, complaining about the weather and my colleague remarked, “Das is Mistwetter!” I assumed that the German word “Mist” was identical to the English word meaning light rain. It was only when I tried to use it later that I found out that “Mist” meant manure!

You are being polite in saying manure. :D

I used weird and wonderful UK place names to teach my Guides (Girl Scouts) mapreading. How can you forget the Piddles for example. Keep cruising CA

In eastern Pennsylvania we have the ever popular King of Prussia and Intercourse. The later certainly was the cause of much snickering among the Boy Scouts.

In eastern Pennsylvania we have the ever popular King of Prussia and Intercourse.

Just add 'Bird in Hand', and it get's even weirder. 4 miles to Intercourse from there. Followed up by some Shoofly pie and a quilt walk.