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.