An old trip

Sometime ago, I had the opportunity to cycle along the Mosel. I wrote up the travel in a staccato, diary-like way with the (admirable) intentions of padding it up in the course of time. However, the only thing that happened was that I did not get down to it and, now, I cannot get down to it, having forgotten the little details that make any trip so interesting. So, for what it is worth, my little black book of the trip:

------ The secret diaries of an avid cyclist (after one trip!) ----

Back from an exhilarating, exhausting and yet, refreshing cycle tour along the Mosel. Here follows a very brief description of the tour. I am in the process of writing it up completely so a thicker version can be expected soon...

Day 1-Luxembourg main city visit, with some time spent walking/biking along the city ramparts and visiting the basilica. Then took the train to Metz (Fr.) where we spent the night. This was where we began the tour. Dinner was in a little Brittany-esque Crepe place. Food was good. Tasted somewhat like a dosa with cheese and cream and egg filling. To accompany this meal, we had the local brew (apple cider).

Day 2 - Metz. It has an imposing cathedral and a very nice altstadt (old city). We spent a lot of time in the cathedral. I bought some postcards and then we spent time writing these postcards over a coffee in a little cafe opposite the cathedral. It was 12 in the afternoon when we finally started. We wanted to reach the German border (Perl) by the end of the day. Seeing that it was a good 70 km, we started in right earnest. The first part from Metz to Thionville (36km) was not so comfortable as we had to come into the main street quite often. We stopped for "lunch" at a French patisserie et conditorie (Pastries and sweets) shop in a little town called Illange. We reached Thionville at around 5:00 pm and sent off the postcards. From Thionville onwards, the road is only for bikers and is also better laid. This being favorable, we set off in good speed reaching Perl at around 8:30 pm (a dist of 28 km).

Day 3 - Perl-Konz This was another nice day with us biking in good weather (sun and the like). We reached Konz in the evening and found all the hotels booked. Therefore we had to stay in a little place called Zewen (about 5 km from konz). This was not without its advantages either. Here we had (arguably) the best food on our trip in a little Italian restaurant! Therefore we stayed here for two days

Day 4 - Konz-Tier-Konz morning visited Tawern, the site of an ancient Roman temple. The weather grew a bit uncomfortable today. Chilly with strong headwind. Spent the day visiting Trier, which is supposed to be a very old city (some say it is the oldest city in Germany). Saw the Porta Nigra (Black Gate) and the cathedral (again very impressive). Returned to the nice restaurant in the evening for dinner. Was a relatively relaxed day as we did not bike much (only some 40 km)

Day 5 - Konz- Bernkastel-Kues... probably the longest day on the saddle. Some 90 km in total with small pauses for drinking and eating. Arrived at Bernkastel, fighting against headwind. Weather - cold. The advantage of the headwind however, was that the rain clouds were blown away from our path and behind us. So we did not get wet! In the evening, ate Indian food as this seemed to be the only restaurant having something vegetarian

Day 6 - Bernkastel-Kues - Bullay: Visited the local castle in Bernkastel. Steep uphill with a superb view on top. Took the ship for a short stretch. Then, later in the day, took the path through the wineyards, which meant a considerable uphill journey and panoramic views. Stopped at Bullay-Alf for the evening. Dinner was at a greek restaurant with a sampling of the local wine at a local pub.

Day 7 - Bullay - Loef (This brought us quite close to koblenz... only some 25 km away. Saw the impressive castle at Cochem on the way. The journey from Cochem, for most part, followed the main road. This was slightly uncomfortable and so we did it as quick as possible.

Day 8 - Koblenz - back home. Reached Koblenz with a 3/4 hour delay beacuse my chain broke and we spent some time fixing it (improperly). Limped into the Deutsches Eck (German corner) where the Mosel merges with the Rhine. Took the ferry across to see the castle Ehrenbreitstein. Very impressive and very defensible. On the way to the station, chain broke again (irreparably) and so pushed the bike the rest of the way. Reached home at around 9 pm