The river Moselle infos and river cruising experiences

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Had not thought to post this before, perhaps this is a helpful for those bicycle excursions. There is a signed cycle route along the Moselle: https://en.visitmosel.de/cycling/mosel-cycle-path

 

notamermaid

 

Yes, we cycled a lot of it on my bike and barge trip. It crosses the Moselle a number of times, and most of it was quite scenic. 

[notamermaid]

More and more river cruise ships are sailing the Moselle. What has been a small hindrance so far has been the old infrastructure. The towns need more or stronger landing stages. Traben-Trarbach will have one updated so that then 135m ships can dock on both sides of the river. The mayor is happy, some townspeople are not. There is a Bürgerinitiative, a citizens' interest group, campaigning against it. They prefer it "quiet" as it is now. Townspeople in Bernkastel-Kues are also sceptical about the modernized landing stage area. But there the main reason for the investment is the connection to electricity supplied from on land. This will eliminate noise at night but some people seem to think it will attract more ships. Again, their mayor is fine with it. It is a constant debate how much money river cruise tourists spend in a place and whether it is worth putting up with more of them, not just on the Moselle. Here is the German article on the topic: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/trier/buergerinitiative-in-traben-trarbach-fuerchtet-massentourismus-wegen-mosel-fluss-kreuzfahrten-100.html

 

notamermaid

 

[Izengolf]

I grew up in a summer tourist town and can understand their concern. We knew that the town could not survive without them but these places are different. Perhaps the docking fees or length of free time that cruise lines should give passengers to independently tour the towns should be a condition to dock there? Last fall we had quite a bit of free time in Passau and Regensburg and plenty of people from the ship sought out local restaurants, pubs and came back with high end souvenirs. Tour guides were well paid and tipped, as well as entry fees for historical places we had guided tours. Each town will need to perform a cost benefit analysis and decide for themselves if a river cruise ship does not provide the same benefit as land based visitors. 

[ural guy]

I was watching this travel show (great series, narrated by Bill Nighy) on the Mosel just after reading this thread.

 

The scene in Bernkastel, the town looked pretty busy, not sure if a river boat was docked.  For some of the wine towns, probably enough is enough. Maybe they sell a lot more ice creams and coffee than I realize, but I would think that people driving buy a lot more wine, stay overnight, etc.  If those people stay away at all due to the increase in river visitors, not a good outcome. 

 

Notamermaid, I do vaguely remember the small diesel running, Vantage had the second dining lounge above the engine and the small seating area was basically unusable with smell.  Definitely a tricky balance.

 

We were fortunate that when we docked, we stayed overnight.  I doubt Vantage was doing it with any regards to the town coffers, but it is a nice idea.  On this cruise,it was a misty/foggy November evening, perfect atmosphere.  But I don't think much money was spent in town, Vantage skewed to an older crowd.  Found a quiet wine bar and listened to 'The Blue Danube' on the radio.  Got the barman to chuckle when I said it was the wrong river.  Wandered back to ship happy. 

 

On the way back to the Rhine, we stopped in the afternoon, a Carnival festival was starting, the place was jam packed, we got to see the parade to start the day, music, lots of costumes.  The town has a lot going for it.

[notamermaid]

I must admit that I am in two minds about the updated infrastructure and the increase in the size of the ships. Well, they showed the Viking landing stage... But it is not just Viking. It used to be only 110m ships that were allowed on the river, then some years back they said 135m ships are okay, now most of them are the 135m maximum length. It is not that many more people per ship of course. So on the one hand I would say "what are they moaning about?", but on the other hand I can see where they are coming from, i.e. the passengers come in a bulk, have a guided tour, an ice-cream, and disappear. I do not fully agree with that assessment, though. It is a mixed thing. As a day tripper in Bernkastel-Kues I strolled along, had a quick lunch in a café and disappeared. And a pittance in parking fees. Almost any river cruise passenger leaves more money directly and indirectly in town. But I also do not fully agree with the mayor saying that people that have been on a river cruise very often become a repeat visitor on land (with more money they will leave in town). Again a mixed thing. Depending on the individual, the country of origin, the budget. I doubt a person from (insert US State of our choice) will tell ten friends how great Bernkastel-Kues is and five of them turn up at a café in Bernkastel-Kues a month later... Anyway, I hope they find the right balance, and do not turn the place into "Rüdesheim-on-the-Moselle". 😉

 

As for Traben-Trarbach: when I went I found it a bit quiet and so far I have not seen that many ships dock there. I understand the townspeople trying to keep a bit more of that "sophisticated" approach to tourism which is well becoming to this once famous wine centre, but a bit more should not do harm. But as always, just a bit more may turn into a lot more and better complain now than when it is "too late". I can understand the citizens looking at other places, we know Passau is struggling, and saying that they do not want this. Traben-Trarbach is too small for hordes.

 

By the way, on this topic. Beilstein. The village is quaint and popular and if a Viking river cruise ship docked there the passengers would more than double the head count in town. Beilstein only has 149 inhabitants but a landing stage for ships. The place is no hidden gem.

 

notamermaid

 

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

It is cold in Germany with the clouds bringing rain from the Baltic. A return of snow brought by "Väterchen Frost" from the Baltic (and Russia). This so far has not made the river rise, most of the rain has stayed over the Rhine while the snow is retained in the Vosges mountains. These will then drain their water mostly into the Moselle when the temperatures rise.

 

Here is a webcam of Metz, the square at the Cathedral: https://metz.fr/decouvrir-partager/webcams/place_armes.php

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 4/15/2024 at 12:15 PM, ural guy said:

I was watching this travel show (great series, narrated by Bill Nighy) on the Mosel just after reading this thread.

There is some really nice footage in this. I did not know just how many wine cellar are in Traben-Trarbach! I have been into four. One of the things they cover in the narration is the replica of the wine ship found carved as a tombstone for a Roman wine merchant. Found at Neumagen-Dhron they called it Stella Noviomagi. Noviomagus Treverorum is the Latin name of the town.

You can book a seat for one of the sailings or even hire the entire ship. Website in German only unfortunately: https://www.neumagen-dhron.de/weinschiff-stella-noviomagi/

 

notamermaid