Rhine and Mosel Rivers

After traveling so much lately and driving big distances, we decided to take a long weekend and stick closer to home and enjoy some of what Germany has to offer.

Town of Oberwesel on the Rhine

View of Schoenburg Castle from the town

Schoenburg Castle

We live just a 10-minute walk from the Rhine River, but it is a long river and has lots to explore. We have followed the river many times by car and cruised with guests, but this time we were using a birthday gift from the kids for an overnight stay in a castle on the Rhine. Schoenburg Castle is in the town of Oberwesel and sits like many of the Rhine Castles, high up on a hilltop overlooking the town and river. Not many of the castles are still in service, many of them in ruins. They make a cruise on the Rhine quite interesting and beautiful. Schoenburg has 26 rooms and has been outfitted beautifully with such attention to detail. We really enjoyed the treat of staying overnight in the castle and exploring the beautiful grounds which are terraced all around the castle. There are places to sit and relax, even a two-story tree house with a stained glass window and metal spiral staircase! The stay was a special treat for sure!

Mosel River

Vineyards planted on the mountains of the valley

Village of Beilstein

Cochem Castlle

 

In the town of Koblenz, the Rhine and Mosel Rivers meet. Koblenz is an hour and a half from Koln. We left Schoenburg and headed to the Mosel River. The valley of the Mosel is much steeper and you still have castles perched above villages high on top of the hills, which are covered in vineyards. There are bike paths on both sides of the river, so we rented a tandem and spent the day biking on the river, stopping to take photos and having lunch in the village of Beilstein. As we were enjoying lunch we could see the small ferry that transports bikes and people across the river approaching. We could also hear music. There was a group of men dressed in costume playing instruments on the ferry. They got off in the village and continued up the street entertaining as they walked up into the town square. They were from Holland and we were not quite sure why they were here. There was a large campground across the river, so maybe they were camping and entertaining in the area too?

 

Village of Beilstein

Many of the villages are celebrating the season with wine festivals. It appears that they rotate through the weekends, giving everyone a chance to set up beer garden tables and tents. There is live entertainment, wine sampling and selling, and food cooked to order.

Switzerland - pure, exhilerating, stunning

Spending so much of our traveling time in Europe driving from country to country we often have found ourselves going through Switzerland, admiring the incredible sights. We finally decided to dedicate a trip there and park ourselves for days in one place to just enjoy the spectacular scenery! After consulting with the FedEx community, we settled on Murren in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. It is an auto free town, which was also appealing to us. We rented an apartment in a chalet on a mountainside, parked the car in the valley town below and took the gondola up, and relished 4 days of hiking, relaxing, and soaking in the beautiful mountains, rivers, forests, and meadows.

There are public hiking and biking trails all over the country of Switzerland. They are well marked and supported with maps, guides, and even fresh water along the way. Everyone that visits is there to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and gorgeous scenery. The village of Murren caters to skiers, but has beauty enough for summer hikers and ‘jumpers’ too. Everywhere you go you see people with big backpacks bursting with parachute type kites. They walk up the mountainsides and some go, gear up on the hillsides and take running starts to lift themselves up into the canyons as they glide (it looks effortless) down to the meadows below. You can get a ride with some of them (for a fee) as they ride tandem also. Tempting.

We got to talk to one guy as he was walking through town. Asking him questions about what he was going to do.   He had a small chute that inflates as he runs down the hill, towards the cliff. He cannot fly and catch up drafts. He just controls the fall down. Talk about scary! He told us to come along and we could watch as he directed us into someone’s backyard that ends with a cliff to the valley below. Amazing!!! Definitely not something I would try. I could be talked into the paragliding, but not this!

Getting ready

Set

There he goes!

 


Hiking was definitely a great activity while we visited. You can follow various trails depending on the amount of time, effort, and destination. They vary from 30 minutes to half-day hikes. Some people hike for days with breaks for stays in the villages. There are also trains and an extensive system of cable cars throughout the area. We did take the cable car system up to the Schilthorn, which sits at a height of 3000 meters. You stare straight across to the tops of the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Monch. At the top of the Schilthorn there is a pavilion where the restaurant moves 360 degrees in an hour. Outside is an open platform where you can walk all around and take in the magnificent views. You can also hike up there from Murren or the other surrounding villages. I believe it was a 4-hour hike up from Murren. As we were up there a family of four had just hiked up (they had two small children under age 5) with them. I think they will grow up to be hikers! I asked them when they had left to hike up. They just said, very early!

Duh!

   

 

Everywhere you looked the mountaintops were visible – snow capped and alluring! We feel like we have seen so many magnificent scenes on this two-year adventure, but Switzerland’s beauty is so naturally stunning and its villages are charming and authentic.  We loved our stay there.

 

Sisters in Sevilla

 

My sister Carol was taking a last minute planned vacation in Spain and after comparing schedules and destinations we decided I could meet her in Sevilla for a few days. It was a treat to spend time together and in such a beautiful city!

Plaza de Espana

The Moorish Alcazar

Isabella's name was on one side and Ferdinand on the other.

 

Friends had visited and highly recommended a visit there. It is a beautiful city with a mix of Moorish and Castilian influences. It contains a well-preserved historical center, which features the Seville Cathedral where the tomb of Christopher Columbus is. The cathedral is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. It is not tall, but takes up many city blocks in area. The other impressive structure is the Alcazar of Sevilla, which was originally a Moorish fort, but now the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe. Touring both of these sights was interesting and historical. 

Largest Gothic Cathedral in the World

 

Tomb of Christopher Columbus

 

Bridge designed by Eiffel. It looks modern, but is not.

Of course there is a river running through the city! On a cruise up the river you could see the present day growth of the city with beautiful, modern bridges and exposition areas that have been developed.

One of the modern bridges in the background.

Overall, a very clean, modern city with an interesting history, gardens to explore, and palaces to tour. The best part was seeing it with Carol and having an expert Spanish speaker along!!! You get so used to not understanding language in the different countries we travel too, it was a real treat to be able to ask what things meant and not just guess!

Bucket List Item!

Concert backdrop

Motivated by a definite bucket list item we traveled back to Tuscany for the second time in a year. In July each year, Andrea Bocelli performs in his hometown of Lajatico, Italy. The concert is in an outdoor theater that is used just once a year in this town with a population of 1400! Ten thousand fans travel to hear Bocelli, surrounded by the natural beauty of Tuscany. Sitting in the theater which is set up with movable chairs taken down after the evening, you are surrounded by gentle rolling hills, shades of green and tan, blue skies followed by a stunning sunset! The concert was wonderful and very special! Getting there and moving with 10,000 concertgoers was a bit overwhelming, but worth it!!! Unforgettable.

San Gimigiano

Because of the location of the concert we were happy to spend two days right outside of San Gimigiano, a beautiful walled city. Surprisingly, it was not as crowded as when we were here in October! Lucky, I guess. We loved walking the cobblestone streets again and finding a great little place to enjoy homemade pasta – a definite hit with Bob!

From there we spent a couple days in Florence. We did not get into Florence in October because it was pouring rain the day we had hoped to go. This time it was sunny, very hot, and a bit crowded. The car traffic in the city is kept at a minimum, which is great because it is such a manageable city to walk in. The problem is people walk everywhere, not just on the sidewalks. We took a bike tour and it was the most uncomfortable one we have done because there are people everywhere and no one moves even with a ringing bell on a bike. 

Florence

Ponte Vecchio

The colored marble on the Duomo!

The architecture is just amazing in Florence. Every building is just beautiful – old, stately, and valued for its beauty and age! The shopping is an education in itself as there are vendors and shops everywhere and the smell of fresh leather permeates! Beautiful city and fun to explore on foot.

From Florence we drove out to Cinque Terre. Here we could just relax, hike, and take in the untouched beauty that surrounds you. The ride in was twists and turns on very narrow roads. Thank goodness you pass very few cars along the way or the trip would take twice as long. We spent three nights in Corniglia, the smallest and highest of the five villages of Cinque Terre. All we had to do was open our shutters and we had the most amazing views of the town, sea, and sky!!! You could constantly be taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery that changed as the light of day moved along. 

Corniglia

Cove in Corniglia

Because of the landslides that happened here in October of 2011, many of the famous hiking trails are not completely open. The trails connect the villages to each other and are one of three ways to travel from each of the villages. We were lucky to hike from Corniglia to Vernazza. It was a beautiful 2-hour hike that took you up and down passages that at times were right on a cliff looking down at the sea and other times you were among trees in a forest. Gorgeous views in all directions. When you approach the villages on foot you have such an enchanting view of houses built into stone, vineyards thriving on steep hillsides, coves filled with tiny fishing boats waiting to work the sea. 

Vernazza

Cove in Vernazza

The nice part is you are also able to travel village to village by a train that hugs the sea traveling through tunnels that have been carved out of these magnificent mountains, or by boats, which ferry tourists from town to town all day long. Whether you approach the villages by foot, train, or boat it is a unique and memorable experience! Since there are only five villages on the seafront it is also intriguing that each is unique and appealing in its own way. We loved our stay in Corniglia, especially swimming off the rocks that required a walk down some 300 steps! The best part is you had to stop often to admire the view as you descend. The water was perfect – cool, refreshing, and invigorating!

Village of Riomaggiore

Village of Manarola

Monterosso

When we left Corniglia, we drove north and could see the devastation of the landslides. At times we weren’t sure we were on a road or a construction site! It was an even slower ride out than it was going in.

Our drive home to Koln was too much for one day, so we picked the town of Dijon France for our enroute stopover.

Beautiful, old timber buildings

Another beautiful city, another Cathedral of Notre Dame, and another great memory of France.





 

Dijon, France

You could follow the owl through the city on a historical walk.