Germany & the Moselle River with Darren, Brigitte & Nina

Germany & the Moselle River 

Deep in the heart of the vineyards, set right on the Moselle River was our fabulous accommodation. We could already tell we were going to have an fun, filled week. 

It was time to set sail on this famous waterway which took us past some famous villages such as Piesport one of Germany’s oldest wine towns. We travelled for 2 hours which was about 20 miles in total. It was such a relaxing journey, and we loved waving to the cyclist and campers along the way- we felt like royalty! A highlight of the trip was waiting at the lock and as the waters went down the lock opened, and our journey continued. 

Our final destination was Bernkastel and as we docked, we noticed the castle ruins of Landshut high above the town. It was full of cute Fachwerk houses (timber framed), pretty fountains and surrounded by vineyards. We walked the streets admiring the higgledy- piggledy houses overgrown with flowers. Obviously an ice cream treat was a must! 

The bus was waiting for us and with our packed lunch in our backpacks, we took our seats and made the journey to Luxembourg. After getting our bearings we wandered the cobbled streets, walking over the Adolphe Bridge. This then took us to Place de la Constitution where we saw the "Gëlle Fra", a monument that was set up in 1923 to commemorate the Luxembourgers who perished in the First World War. Today it symbolises freedom and resistance for the Luxembourg people. Next, we headed into the main square Place Guillaume II named after William II, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It is home to the town hall and host many concerts. To our luck we were able to watch a group of singers and dancers performing here. The buildings were very grand and oozed opulence. 

It was then back to the bus which drove us to Germany’s oldest city Trier which is home to 100,000 people. After a lunch stop, we started our explorations where we found the statue dedicated to Karl Marx, a German-born philosopher, political theorist, economist, historian, sociologist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. We of course all had our photo taken with him. The city is known for the Porta Nigra a large Roman city gate. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. As we wandered into the heart of the city, once again we were wowed by the pretty buildings and the iconic Trierer Dom cathedral. It is the oldest cathedral in Germany and the largest religious structure in Trier, notable for its long-life span and grand design. The central part of the building was built of Roman brick in the early fourth century, resulting in a cathedral that was added onto gradually in different eras. The imposing Romanesque westwork, with four towers and an additional apse has been copied repeatedly. We felt very peaceful and some of us chose to light a candle in memory of loved ones. 

We sure know how to party on a JollyDays holiday and luckily for us there was entertainment every night! We danced the night away and even took to the microphone for a spot of karaoke.....we would certainly give X-Factor a run for it's money! 

Our trip today was to the Wild & Erlebnispark, a safari tour! Over 2 hours we toured the park by bus, stopping at certain points to get up close to some amazing animals. There were ostriches blocking the road and wild boar roaming freely. The deer were in abundance and were more than happy for us to stroke them as were the donkeys. One took a particular fancy to Tim’s map and started eating it! After lunch we explored the petting area where we were able to feed the greedy goats and ducks. We spotted an amazing peacock showing off his colourful feathers. Another memorable part of our day was taking our seats for the falconry show. The bird keeper was full of energy and put on a great show with Mia, Adele and Christine who did not always do as they were told. The birthday boy, who has a real passion for birds was thrilled when one of them landed on his head! His smile said it all!

      

There were so many great activities onsite for us to participate in and we all loved a competition! There was boules, crazy golf and we discovered a brilliant new game- Sjoelbak which is a Dutch equivalent to a type of shuffleboard game. 

We couldn't not visit the family owned vineyard that was just down the road. Peter Loewen is now the 5^th generation to run the winery. Upon arrival we were greeted by Peter, and he took us straight into his cellar where all his wine making machinery is housed. We learnt that in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, his white wines are aged at the highest level. He explained that he harvests his grapes in October and just today he and his family bottled 6500 bottles in 5 hours! That sounded pretty impressive. His land consists of 17 acres which he still uses his tractor to help him collect the grapes. 

       Over our wine tasting session we tasted 6 different wines from a Riesling to a sweet red wine that his wife asked him to produce! He also explained that you should never uses a grape that is already smashed as the flavour isn’t as good! One of our favourite wines was the Spatburgunder Rose which had a slight fizz to it……it was so good most of us bought a bottle to take home! Peter was a wonderful host and happily answered any questions that we had. A glorious way to spend an afternoon in wonderful company.

We love celebrating a birthday on one of our holidays' and we pulled out all the stops for Peter. 

Our final trip took us to Koblenz a city on the banks of both the Moselle and the Rhine. From the moment we arrived we could dee that it was steeped in history, and we were keen to explore. Originally it was established as a Roman military post around 8 B.C. We took a trip in the cable car up to the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. The views as we passed over the river were breathtaking and made us even more excited to explore. Once at the top we were able to walk around the edge of the ruins which was built in 1830. We then climbed the viewing platform and from this vantage point we could truly enjoy the unique panorama of the Deutsches Eck headland. Back on solid ground we made our way to the equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I. It depicts the emperor sitting on his horse at a height of 14 meters, in a uniform of a field marshal, next to him a female genius figure wearing the imperial crown of the old empire. This monument was erected to commemorate the first emperor of the newly founded German Empire. Peter L was fascinated, and he wanted to climb all the way to the top which he did so! We walked along the river and discovered three concrete posts that were originally part of the Berlin Wall which is now a memorial to all those that lost their lives. Then, we wandered into the old town where there were so many statues and fountains amongst the grand old buildings.