Goodbye Germany

Travelled:191km
Visited: Trier (Germany)
Stay: Dudelange (Luxembourg) aire- free parking and services GPS N49.47176  E6.07772

The rain is back....it was pouring while we were driving into Trier this morning. 

We eventually found a parking spot for 2 hours just near the centre of town. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site due to its fine Roman monuments.  

We saw the Porta Nigra, a city gate built by the Romans in the 2nd century.

We also had a look in the beautiful Dom with some unique ceilings and organ. 

After a bit of shopping we ventured our way towards Luxembourg. Unfortunately the rain decided to join us all the way. We managed to buy some tax free fuel at €1.174 per litre, the cheapest in Europe, before parking in the aire at Dudelange. It is too wet to explore our surroundings. The days are getting shorter and winter is slowly approaching. We remind ourselves that this is the last time we will stay in October! 

Moseying around in the Moselle

Travelled:43km
Visited:Moselle River
Stay:Mehring-Wohnmobilsrellplatz (aire) €6 parking, € services GPS N49.79423 E6.81976

After a relatively quiet night, we continued moseying along the Moselle River enjoying the pretty scenery. 

We decided to stop before we got to the big town Trier and we were lucky to find a water front position in Mehring. We went for a ride through the village and then along the river and vineyards. It is harvest time now and people are scattered on the steep hills picking the grapes. The vines that are growing on the flat land near the river are able to be machine picked. We were told it is all about the reisling here but we did see some red grapes here and there.

 The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the river with a cold drink or two before a BBQ duck dinner.

The icecream van for the big kids!

Local wildlife

The Moselle River

Travelled:168km

Visited:Moselle River, Cocham, Bernkastel-Kues

Stay:Kues- € parking during day, free at night (signs says no, but elderly German man said OK. There are 6 of us), € services GPS N49.91119 E7.06721

There are no quiet nights to be had along the Rhine River. The train and the barges go all night. There is no escape unless you leave the river and go up into the vineyards. It was another foggy start and it remained that way all day but it was pleasant and it didn't rain. We followed the Rhine River down stream to Koblenz, before turning off and heading west to the Moselle River. It is a smaller river and thus has smaller vessels travelling along it. The villages are quaint and are set between the river and the vineyards.

 There where many camp grounds and motorhome parking areas and we could not believe how full they were. Obviously it is a very popular area to visit, especially on a long weekend. We were lucky to have arrived early enough in Cocham to find a parking spot just at the entry to the village. We rode the short way into the centre and then walked around. There were many pretty buildings but we found that we didn't appreciate some of the tacky clothing shops clutering up the already narrow streets. 

After a cup of tea in Bluey we continued up river enjoying the beautiful landscape. We headed for the next town mentioned in our Lonely Planet travel book 'Discover Germany', Bernkastel-Kues.  This is such a lovely town with lots of atmosphere. The half timbered buildings in the main square were great to look at, not one had a straight wall!  

We again immersed ourselves and enjoyed a few local beers, some currywurst with pommes, hash browns with apple sauce and a giant snitzel sandwhich.

 Feeling very satisfied we rolled back to Bluey and hope that the Moselle offers us a quieter night...