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Wednesday 28 August 2013

When things were great AND terrible...

From the noise and action of the Nurburgring - to the peace of the Moselle Valley....
 
 
This was probably my favourite part of the trip.  We stayed for four nights in a Bed and Breakfast in a small village by the Moselle.  For us, it was the perfect location.  The village was really quiet but the busy, tourist town of Bernkastel was only a two mile walk down the tow path.  Effectively it gave us the best of both worlds.  We parked up the car and walked everywhere.
 
This was our base.  When the weather was good breakfast was served on the terrace.
The owner and the rest of his team were SO friendly and kind.
It was lovely...

 
This was the main square in a village just up the valley.
Away from the 'tourist traps' the area is very quiet and tranquil..

 
This old house in Bernkastel looks like it's defying gravity.
I was completely sober and vertical when I took this picture!

 
Mark did his best to eat his own body weight in puddings and ice-creams...

 
... while I couldn't resist this local dish
(Grilled pork steaks on toast with mushrooms and hollandaise sauce,
plus a generous salad)
"Now you see it...."

 
"... Now you don't!"

 
After a couple of days we learnt how to plan our routes so that we could climb up through the vines.
It gave us a fresh perspective on the area and made the walks a little more rigorous.
This is a view of our village during the walk that we did on the third day (about 11 miles long - which worked off some of the calories!!!)

 
At the end of the 19th Century many of the wine producers built big gothic mansions by the river.  These buildings still serve as a 'front' for the businesses (with offices, storage and beautiful homes).
This was one of our neighbours in the village..

 
I felt that we'd only just started to get to the know the region when our 'time was up' and we were on the road again.  This is definitely the down-side of touring. This photo was taken at the beginning of the most difficult day of the holiday...

 
The heat in the car was immense as we travelled away from the Moselle and through the hills to the Ardennes.  The exterior temperature was probably in the low 30s but all the engine heat came back into the cabin of the car, and we were cooking.  What should have been a pleasant and interesting drive became an exercise in managing heat exhaustion.  (We found out later that all the previous driving had simply broken a seal and Mark was able to fix everything with a roll of black sticky tape - but that was another day!)
 
We decided that the only logical thing to do was to keep moving and go straight to our hotel.
From the word "Go" this third hotel wasn't quite right...
I've written a Trip Advisor review that summed it all up nicely (if you're interested click here - I'm 'Gullymog1' from Worcester)
 
The holiday picked up again nicely after all of this, but I think we were thoroughly spoilt by the great food, country-side, walking, accommodation and general 'value for money' of the Moselle.
 
I'd have stayed there forever - seriously!
 
 
 
 

13 comments:

  1. Such a shame you had a problem with your hotel, but I'm pleased to hear that your holiday picked up again after this experience. It looks fabulous, I love the quirky house and I don't blame Mark for making the most of those puddings and ice creams whilst on holiday.

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  2. The Moselle Valley looks beautiful and it sounds like you had a great stay there. What a shame the next hotel wasn't so good. I read your review and it seems you're not the only disappointed customer looking at others. It sounds like you made the most of it though.

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  3. Now this looks more my kind of thing - apart from the drive to the Ardennes:) It looks like a lovely area to spend a few days.

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  4. That's how I picture Germany to be ( a bit like in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ! ) It looks like a fairytale place. My daughter is learning German at school and I would love to go and take her. Did you find it expensive whilst you where there ?

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  5. We've often driven through areas of Germany in the past, but never stayed long in our desire to get down to Italy, which is a shame as it would have been good to spend more quality time there. Glad you had a good time despite the overheating in the car that got fixed and the strange hotel. I read your review and it looks like you weren't the only one who had some issues with it.
    Looking forward to hearing more about the Ardennes.

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  6. Sounds like a lovely trip in a beautiful area. Your hotel in the Moselle Valley looked gorgeous. Shame about the next one though. Your meal looked good and they certainly push the boat out with desserts in Germany as I recall.
    Patricia x

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  7. Looks such a beautiful place, hope you are both well and relaxed now, ready for the term ahead. It was a shame about the one poor hotel but thank goodness things picked up for you. X

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  8. So glad your trip could be salvaged by the handy use of a roll of tape. Your photographs are lovely. Thanks for sharing. Bonnie

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  9. It's such fun going to restaurants in other countries.

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  10. Maybe a place that could become your retirement area?

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  11. I would have a problem with this room, too! I don't like tight spaces. The first place is lovely.

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  12. I just completed your trip trilogy and it sounds wonderful - well, except that room like a cell. I love how you both enjoy the same things and do so much walking. You both must be really fit to do an 11 miles walk. But from the walking done on my last trip, I know that it's one of the best ways to really see a place. How fun to be able to take your own car to Europe too. I bet lots of people took photos of it too.

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  13. How pretty the region you stayed in looks from your photos and your accommodation there sounds far superior to that you experienced in the next stage of your journey:)

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