Wandering in Germany

[Wanders from Glos]

We also liked Trier,

Did you do the land train tour around the city? Saved a bit of walking, the pups liked it

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Ha ha we saw it.

 

[Lenny HB]

We like Piesporter wine

Oh dear, deepest condolences.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Oh dear, deepest condolences.

It’s a matter of taste

Every couple of months we meet with friends for a wine tasting. There are eight of us and we usually have 3 bottles of white and three of red. In 25 years neither of us have learned a thing!

 

[Wanders from Glos]

A bit misty this morning on the Mosel, made for fabulous views from above. We headed towards Minheim but the campsite was full at 10.45 with a queue and a bit chaotic with people trying to get in and out. It looked very good though. The beauty of motorhoming is we decided to just drive toward Bernkastel, soon there was a sign to a stellplatz in Kesten so we drove in. We have a riverside pitch for €10, plus if you want electric it is another €2.50. The only problem might be a yappy dog opposite whose owners seem oblivious. I'll make sure they are aware if it continues. We do have a great view though

This is the site:

https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/marker.php?id=10317

After lunch we decided to cycle to Peisport, about 6 miles mostly along the riverside, but some cycle path on the road. After a look around and buying some dinner for later we stopped at a Weingut. Lenny HB would have hated it, all Pinot Noir Peisporter as well as the usual whites. We left with a couple of bottles. The view was something special to sip a glass of chilled wine to.

 

[Spara4042]

Thanks Ava the Adria, I keep reading negative comments about the food so good to read your comments.

Having served in Germany for many years, I’ve always found the food to be very palatable.
Usually it’s good quality, home style cooking & you get plenty of it

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[Wanders from Glos]

Another misty and quite chilly morning, but as the sun burned the mist off the river it became beautifully sunny and quite warm. We decided to cycle along the Mosel to Bernkastel today. Another beautiful ride and fascinating watching the machine that picks the grapes climbing the steep slopes and also controlling the tractor towing the trailer. Others were not so hi-tech with pickers toiling on the hills in the sun, it looked hard work. Along the way we came across the ruins and reconstruction of an CE 300 wine press.

Bernkastel itself is very attractive with C17th buildings lining narrow streets and surrounding a marketplace. It is on the trail for tours such as Viking Cruises so was quite busy, but not so bad you couldn't move or see anything. Probably more touristy than we have encountered so far, but we enjoyed it.

We climbed ups to the castle, which is a partly restored medieval building built on roman foundations. It was a steep climb and we were quite hot by the time we reached the top, but it was worth it, the views were stunning.

We also had our first meal in a restaurant. I think we need to place a caveat on our thoughts because it is a tourist town and this is a sample of one! Unfortunately first impressions were not positive. Choice was quite limited and vegetables non-existent. My meal came with a salad, that was described as small, but was closer to a small mountain. It was slathered in salad cream and balsamic vinegar which masked any other flavours, whilst the schorles was heavy and tasteless. Claire's gratin was better but also very heavy (hearty?) not like the fluffy version we are used to in France. It's only the first meal but we left disappointed and only we scored it a dull 2 out of 5. Hopefully the next one will be better.

 

[suavecarve]

After a good nights sleep we moved the motorhome to a pitch with electric so that I can charge my bike battery tonight (yes, I forgot to do it before we left). We don't have an inverter and only have one leisure battery, but I could do it with the cigar lighter plug when we are travelling. Electrics is not my strong point, others would know what we need to do.

Straight into Trier today for cafe unt kuchen.

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For those who haven't been I would say Trier is a must do for Germany. History is more my specialist subject (I'm just completing a PhD in it) and Trier has a lot to offer, from 160 CE in the reign of Marcus Auralias onwards. It seems a very clean and relaxed place. We climbed the Porta Negra aka Roman gate, which survived as it has because it was turned into a church in the C11th and it was not until Napoleon arrived that the medieval part was removed. There are lots of the traditional coloured buildings and there are good cycle paths. The squares are lovely places to people watch too. A few photos...

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Tomorrow we are going to move on, awe think to Minheim recommended on here by Holly's mum. We like Piesporter wine so plan to cycle into Piesport and buy some. That said, we very often get up the next day and do something completely different!

You dont need to worry in Germany about electricity for your bike.

Its free in loads of places.

If you have mapy.cz then download teh area then do a search for tankstelle or ladestation but be wary they might be electric vehicle stations.
Alternatively go into the Tourist Information and ask for a map of the area with all the FREE bike charging points.
Many were located near to bars, which was quite lucky for us.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

You dont need to worry in Germany about electricity for your bike.

Its free in loads of places.

If you have mapy.cz then download teh area then do a search for tankstelle or ladestation but be wary they might be electric vehicle stations.
Alternatively go into the Tourist Information and ask for a map of the area with all the FREE bike charging points.
Many were located near to bars, which was quite lucky for us.

Excellent tip thanks.

 

[Howard B]

Yes its fine, it does the job. It’s a large air, probably over 100 vans so toilets and showers are limited, there’s only three of each. If you want electric and a choice of pitch its probably best to get here by early afternoon. There’s enough space to put table and chairs out. Some road noise at one end but it didn’t bother us. Easy cycle in to Trier, there’s also a bus or 2.5k walk.

Booked the campsite for tomorrow and Saturday. Will probably get the bikes out on Sat morning and ride into the City. Liking the sound of Lenny HB suggestion for the bike parking by gate

 

[Peavy]

Never been in this area of Germany. Looks beautiful, I'll take some notes

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[Wanders from Glos]

You dont need to worry in Germany about electricity for your bike.

Its free in loads of places.

If you have mapy.cz then download teh area then do a search for tankstelle or ladestation but be wary they might be electric vehicle stations.
Alternatively go into the Tourist Information and ask for a map of the area with all the FREE bike charging points.
Many were located near to bars, which was quite lucky for us.

Found one, what a great thing to do.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Booked the campsite for tomorrow and Saturday. Will probably get the bikes out on Sat morning and ride into the City. Liking the sound of Lenny HB suggestion for the bike parking by gate

Trier is well worth a visit and there are bike racks everywhere. A lot of Germans don't even seem to bother locking theirs up. Another world!

 

[Lenny HB]

Found one, what a great thing to do.

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Common in Belgium as well.

 

[Jays2]

Found one, what a great thing to do.

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Are you plugging in your own charger?

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Another Misty morning but warmer and by 10am the sun was out. One of the fun aspects of motor homing is the random nature of just wandering. I drove today (we share the driving) and Claire had the S4S and CamperContact apps open. After about 20 miles we diverted into a Stellplatz guarded by a stern lady who could not quite believe we didn't speak German. As the driver I literally had no idea where we were, but it tuns out we are in a village called Enkirch. A lovely place with houses over 1,000 years old and not at all touristy. The houses are the usual wood and plaster for example (this one is a mere 950 years old):

The village really could teach the UK a thing or two. The stellplatz is run by the village tourist board and costs €10, plus you pay for extras, like electric, a shower, or water. Although for some reason we haven't had to top the electric up at all. There are probably nearly 100 vans here from Morellos carrying Smart Cars to self builds, stretched along the river with plenty of space. That is over €1000 euros a day straight into the village's coffers for allowing motorhomes on a field. In the evening there was a flow of people walking to the bars, cafes and restaurants. Anyway I'll get off my soap box and get back to the travelogue.

It has been very hot today, so we decided to just sit around and enjoy the sun, although it got so hot we had to retreat into the shade eventually. At about 4pm we decided to cycle into Traben-Trarbach and have a look around. Quite pretty along the waterfront, but maybe a little poorer one street back than some of the other towns.

We also saw a rather unusual water taxi, a throw back from the 1970s perhaps.

The bell tower next to the church was also unusual for the glockenspiel attached to the side.

We cycled back to Enkirch for a glass of Riesling. They really don't do half measures here, so once again we found ourselves wobbling back to the van to cook dinner. By the way the food in the cafe we stopped at looked reasonable, but it was fully booked.

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[Wanders from Glos]

Yes you us

Are you plugging in your own charger?

Yes you use your own charger, although the one in the picture wasn't mine.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

We decided to take a deep breath and stay at a campsite near Cochem today. More than double the price of a Stellplatz but despite the expense it was worth it, Cochem has a relaxed vibe despite being a tourist hot spot. A lot of the river cruises seem to stop here but it was still calm and not too busy. The market square and bell tower are impressive and the castle a bit surreal. It was rebuilt in the C19th to the style of the C14, all turrets and archways. No idea how accurate it is, but certainly a bit Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

 

[Lenny HB]

There is an interesting bunker just up above the town where there stored millions of Dutch marks. Well worth a visit. The info is on one of my threads I'll find it and give you a link.

 

[Lenny HB]

Found it.

Lenny's Short Trip to Germany

Too hot for a for full meal so we shared a couple of light lunches, I did manage 2 beers.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

We decided to take a deep breath and stay at a campsite near Cochem today. More than double the price of a Stellplatz but despite the expense it was worth it, Cochem has a relaxed vibe despite being a tourist hot spot. A lot of the river cruises seem to stop here but it was still calm and not too busy. The market square and bell tower are impressive and the castle a bit surreal. It was rebuilt in the C19th to the style of the C14, all turrets and archways. No idea how accurate it is, but certainly a bit Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

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Stopped of there for the day and was lucky to get a parking spot at the Stelplatz down the end of the town, saying Stelplatz but it is dedicated MH parking but no facilities .
Nice little town but a day is plenty I think.

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[Wanders from Glos]

There is an interesting bunker just up above the town where there stored millions of Dutch marks. Well worth a visit. The info is on one of my threads I'll find it and give you a link.

Thanks

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Stopped of there for the day and was lucky to get a parking spot at the Stelplatz down the end of the town, saying Stelplatz but it is dedicated MH parking but no facilities .
Nice little town but a day is plenty I think.

Yes I agree a day is enough. The stellplatz at the end of the town is now free after 7pm until 8am, but you pay during the day. I can’t remember how much, but we thought it was quite expensive. There was plenty of space.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Not much to report today. We decided to move on from the campsite at Cochem, for what it cost we felt it was poor value. Everyone was crammed in and the facilities were nothing special. It also seemed a good idea to move away from the Mosel to avoid the Unity holiday weekend crowds. The beauty of the Mosel is there are so many stellplatz in the various small villages along the banks, there will be plenty more to see for another trip.

We wanted a bit of a rest and the forecast for the next few days looks quite good so we have headed to a lovely stellplatz near Koblenz, at the confluence of the Rhine and the Lhan. Although full it is more our sort of thing with a chilled atmosphere. There is also a huge Globus store five minutes away that covers three floors, two of them selling food. There are a few castles to explore, walnuts to collect and I am sure we will go into Koblenz one day.

 

[Howard B]

Think we will end up where we end up tomorrow. Would have booked a few more nights in Trier if we had know how busy it is thus weekend. Plenty of Stellplatz and campsites on the Mosel, there must be a space fir us somewhere

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Think we will end up where we end up tomorrow. Would have booked a few more nights in Trier if we had know how busy it is thus weekend. Plenty of Stellplatz and campsites on the Mosel, there must be a space fir us somewhere

Many were busy, there is a nice one in Kesten. Its not far from Peisport but I think they may have a wine festival there so maybe busy too.

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[suavecarve]

Excellent tip thanks.

Where can I charge my e-bike? | bike-energy

Where can I charge my e-bike? Here you can find an overview of bike-energy charging points throughout Europe. We also offer an app.

bike-energy.com

You may find this one useful as well for Germany (Just posted it elsewhere)

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Nice slow start this morning, coffee outside on a lovely warm day. We cycled into Koblenz and found a surprisingly nice city, possibly aided by the glorious weather. We walked to Deutsches Eck where the Mosel and Rhein meet, marked by a large statue of Willhelm I rebuilt around 1990 after unification.

The city was badly damaged by the bombing during World War Two and now has modern areas alongside rebuilt older buildings. We walked along the various riverbanks and then into the centre for lunch. I can report the food was better than last time, not up to French or Spanish standards but at least enjoyable.

We walked past a temperature display outside a chemist after lunch that said 34 degrees. As its is supposed to be even hotter tomorrow we think we will stay another day, do a big shop at Globus and perhaps check the cable car out. I am happy to report that after two days we have not used a watering can to top up or a bucket to get rid of grey waste, and don't expect that to change

 

[Jays2]

We stopped for a couple of night there last year.
But in the spirt of being a tight arse on paying , we stopped across the river in an on street parking area with three other campers.
Plus it was wet, half of the time.
we drove across the river to the hill that the cable car goes too, e route to somewhere else.
Had a nice walk on that side with some good viewing platforms.

 

[BikerGraham]

But you need to move forward from the 60's & 70's they were flat dipping. The
lack of beam benders on Euro vehicles probably because the UK is the only country in Europe that drives on the left and very few of them visit the UK. But they drive across boarders all the time. A lot upmarket cars the beams can be changed at the flick of a switch

My current car and last few cars have been able to change the headlight beam direction from the drivers seat using the instruments.

Not sure about the motorhome one which is a 2017 Peugeot boxer though. But haven’t out the beam benders on anyway.

I understand the motorbikes are all central anyway so don’t need changing. So have never done so when across the water

 

[Wanders from Glos]

My current car and last few cars have been able to change the headlight beam direction from the drivers seat using the instruments.

Not sure about the motorhome one which is a 2017 Peugeot boxer though. But haven’t out the beam benders on anyway.

I understand the motorbikes are all central anyway so don’t need changing. So have never done so when across the water

My last three cars adjusted headlights, the current one automatically.

So far we haven't needed to think about firing them, but I can do if that changes.

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