Triberg`s famous waterfalls

The first photo below is a shot of the little church on the hill at dusk when it was illuminated and looked very pretty in the half light.

Today we left Gengenbach and drove up to a Town called Triberg in the mountains, famous for it`s waterfall that is the highest in Germany and  drops 160 metres in the valley and town below. There are also Red Squirrels in the woods but we weren`t lucky enough to see any. There was cabin doing a brisk trade in selling bags of peanuts to tourists though. Apparently their favourite tread but not enough to tempt them today.

It`s a very quaint town with lots of souvenier shops full of Cuckoo Clock – the other thing Triberg is famous for. It`s also a very hilly town with almost every street requiring climbing equipment, needless to say Sue wasn`t impressed so having seen what we needed to see, we set off for Frieburg.

This should have been quite a simple 65 minute drive until we reach a road closure ! plenty of signs, but none that my limited understanding of German could decipher. So I had no alternative to set the sat nav for a road blockage and let it guide us. Well, it did to a degree but took some roads that were less than ideal ! It was however a very senic route and I enjoyed that aspect of the detour.

Sue on the other hand was gripping the armrests and turning a strange pale colour, unable to utter anything ! I swear there were finger prints grip mark imprints in the armrests afterwards.

Anyway, all`s well that end`s well and we reached Freiburg in one piece and found the town Wohnmobil stellplatz (GPS 47.99978 7.8257) without any further problems.

They have us crammed on here like sardines but it is a very good Stellplatz being quite close to the town and only 9 euro for the night.

It`s a very busy town with a big University and students tearing around on bicycles all over the place.

On the plus side it is very flat so a late afternoon stroll into the town for some tea was called for.

We had a bit of difficulty finding the Altstad (old town) but find it we did and enjoyed Schnitzel and fries (me) chicken burger and fries (Sue) accompanied by some local beer, delicious.

Freiburg suffered extensive damage in WW2 and little is left of what was there before but it`s an interesting town with some good architecture (re-built) and lots of graffiti absolutely everywhere.

The walk back to the Stellplatz was seeming less appealing by the minute and I considered a taxi or maybe the tram that runs in our direction ? The trouble was all the pay machines were in German only and we knew neither the name of the pickup point where we were or the stop we wanted to get off at ! or how much to put in the slot.

At that point, a tram arrives and we decide to get on and blag a lift. If an inspector got on, I`d have had to play dumb tourist (not hard) and hope we weren`t thrown in the town jail for the night. Anyway we got away with it, nobody asked us for a ticket and we got off at our stop un-noticed. So apologies to the fare and tax paying residents of Freiburg, we owe you probably 6 euro.

Back at the Stellplatz, we continue to receive a satellite signal and so UK television can be endured, sorry, enjoyed. A state of affairs I fear won`t be the case for long as we continue in a South direction.

Actually I have quite liked the new “Who wants to be a millionaire” I think our Jezza is doing a good job there.

The little church on the hill at Gengenbach

Triberg Waterfalls 

Triberg Waterfalls

Triberg Waterfalls

Cuckoo Clocks everywhere

Wohnmobil Stellplatz

Hans Jakob Realschule complete with graffiti

Louis very impressed with these permantly re-filled water bowls in town

Gengenbach ~ A delightful town

This morning we set off from Baden Baden to drive the senic route to Gengenbach. We travelled through some beautiful Black Forest Countryside, set of by the bright sunshine and crystal clear blue sky.

Last night I gave the windscreen on Ed a wash to clear off all the bug splatter and I`m so glad we had a clear un-interupted view of the scenery.

We are parked tonight on the town Stellplatz called Womo Park next to the Kinzig River (GPS 48.40224  8.00754)

We had a walk in the warm sunshine into town this afternoon along the river and across the footbridge. It is everything you would imagine of a Black Forest town.

Quaint timbered buildings, a tower and gates at each end of the high street and busy shops. Today was particularly busy as they were holding a market in the square so we had a brouse and Sue bought a new sun hat from one of the shops.

Louis was struggling a bit in the heat but took delight in having a lie down in a small stream that ran along a rill in the cobbles.

Later it was back to Ed for tea, salmon fillet on the barbeque, the barbeque is proving extremely useful at the moment.

Not much else to report, the fridge is playing up a bit and won`t light on gas, so I`ve identified a shop not to far away where I hope to get a part to fix it myself, if it`s in stock. It works ok on 240 volt and 12 volt but it is a bit of a problem not working on gas if it`s going to be hot.

Having said that, the forecast is for cooler weather for the next few days with some rain and I understand the UK heatwave is coming to an end also.

That shop will be the first stop in the morning before heading to our next destination……. yet to be decided.....

PS, note the little church on the hill in the first photo, nothing comes easily to believers, or so I`m sure worshipers were told ! that`s quite a climb up to there !

Before you ask, no we didn`t visit the church, it was far to hot.

Gengenbach Town view from Kinzig River walk

Gengenbach Town Stellplatz at Womo Park

Gengenbach Town Hall & busy market

Gengenbach High Street

Gengenbach Town Gate

Gengenbach Town Gate to keep out unwanted visitors

Gengenbach Town Square & Market

Kinzig River

Return to Germany

Today we left our rather remote overnight stop in France to continue across the mighty River Rhine and back into Germany to the Spa town of Baden Baden, first settled by the Romans and we all know how the Romans like a Spa.

It is a prosperous town on the edge of the Black Forest.

Ed the motorhome is parked up on the free town Stellplatz at Gaggenau GPS (48.80832 8.30292) Just a few miles from Baden Baden. It is on the edge of an attractive park and Rotherma Thermalbad Spa and Saunapark.

We first drove to the Baden Baden Park and Ride and caught a bus into town for a wander around. It`s an interesting town with a reputation for being a hang out for the rich and it was clear from some of the high end shops that indeed there must be some big spenders in this town.

Whilst it was an enjoyable town to visit and quite attractive, it didn`t have much of the architecture I had anticipated. With the odd exception the buildings were fairly non-descript, modern and not that interesting.

Two café Lattes and a ham and cheese toastie later and we were heading back to the bus stop in the hope we could remember where the P&R was.

The barbeque was lit for tea and a couple of bottles of beer were sunk.

I got talking to a Swiss / Italian chap in a very impressive Niesmann Bischoff motorhome parked next to us – it is HUGE and has a very well stocked beer and wine store that was revealed when he opened one of the lockers. I`m afraid I was gushing a bit, hoping for an invite for a conducted tour of the gin palace on wheels, but sadly that never came.

Tomorrow we will continue further into the Black Forest to a location yet to be decided…..

Trinkhalle (Drinking Hall) Baden Baden

Trinkhalle (Drinking Hall) Baden Baden

Gaggenau Town Stellplatz

Baden Baden Town 

Baden Baden Gardens

Trier ~ What a surprise !

Today we traveled further South down the Mosel River to the City of Trier (pronounced Tree).

What a surprise Trier turned out to be. I wanted to visit to see Porta Nigra, (Black Gate) the Roman gate into the important Roman city of Trier and I wasn`t expecting much else to be there. Research had not shown up not a great deal else there and the suburbs were very un-inspiring. However the city centre turned out to be a very charming surprise with lots of interesting architecture, parks and the Cathedral Square which contained a number of churches, Konstantinbasilika, Church of Our lady and Trier Dom Cathedral first build during the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine. All were stunning in their own way.

After a wander around, lots of photos and a couple of Café Lattes in the shadow of Porta Nigra where Roman Infantry once paraded, we said a sad goodbye to the Mosel region, but I am certain that I will be back again one day to see more of this beautiful area.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) is probably Trier`s most famous son, he is a very prominent character around here, his name seems to crop up all over the place, he was even having a life size sculpture carved out of a tree stump.
I don`t like his politics but he`s certainly a big cheese in these parts.

Next it was a pit-stop Luxembourg, about a 20 minute drive for cheap diesel, 1.08 euro a litre !

After a stop for lunch we headed South towards the Black Forest and are tonight in a Campsite in France ! Parc Naturel Region des Vosges du Nord, a small village called Baerenthal. Not much here but a Pizza for tea was enjoyed in the Campsite Restaurant.

The weather is still warn and sunny.

Tomorrow we will enter the Black Forest, not sure where yet.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday tomorrow !

Konstantinbasilika

Charming Trier City Centre

Charming Trier City Centre

Ponta Nigra (Black Gate)

Ponta Nigra (Black Gate)

Trier Dom Cathedral

Karl Marx, Triers most famous son having a sculpture made 

Another Lazy Day

Louis in his Doggyhut Trailer

Nothing much of any note to report today except that the sun has shone from 7am and is still shining at 7.30 pm. A beautiful day in the Mosel River Valley.

The Stellplatz has filled up steadily throughout the day and is now pretty much full with mostly German, Dutch and Belgium motorhomes.

I had a cycle along the nearby cycle path and took Louis in the Doggyhut Trailer. I cycled for about four miles to a nearby village and Louis ran most of the way back whilst I cycled alongside, (trying to keep up).

The barbeque was lit for tea and we enjoyed it sitting out in the afternoon sunshine.

The birds I spoke of yesterday are Mistle Thrust I think, so not very rare. They kept me entertained this morning though. The adults were collecting grubs for a youngster who refused to stay where he should and kept hopping off.

When the adults returned, there was severe reprimanding going on !

What is it with birds though ? watch them for hours then go get a camera and you don`t see them again for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow we move on from here to the once important Roman city of Trier.

View from the cycle path

Kesten Village from across the river

Mistle Thrush looking for grubs

Lazy Days

We have done very little today, after leaving Cochem we drove to a town called Zell where I`d found there was a retail park so we stocked up on groceries.

After driving for an hour and following the meandering path of the Mosel River, passing mile after mile of grape vines, we arrived at Wintrich.

Some of the sloping sides of the banks the vines are grown on up a really steep gradient and we wondered how they were tended.

Then we noticed a small rail running up the slope and at the bottom a cart with a seat. It seems this little “train” carries the worker up the gradient to his work place and I assume it carries the grapes down at harvest time. It looks just about the most unsafe method of getting to work you could imagine ! Unfortunately I didn`t get a photo but will try and get one tomorrow.

Wintrich is a sleepy town with not too much going on. All the locals seem very laid back, no doubt happy it is Friday and the weather is fine and the sun shining and the grape vines shooting their foliage in preparation for another harvest later in the year.

We parked up on the village Stellplatz (GPS 49.88363 6.94837) and a very good one it is too. 9 euro per night including electric and water and an exceptional location on the banks of the river.

This afternoon we sat in the sun and did nothing of any note except admired our view of the river and watched the birds busy doing what birds do. I`ll try and identify them and report further.

Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend folks, looks like were all getting some decent sunshine to enjoy :o)

Our view for this evening

Mosel River Meadow

Village Square fountain, had to be a wine grower !

Moselle or Mosel ?

I had become aware of different spellings for the same river so looked into it.

It seems that as the river flows through three countries, Germany, Luxemburg and France they all have their own spelling as follows…

Germany : Mosel

Luxemburg : Musel

France : Moselle

So there we have it, something learnt today.

For a wine update, it seems that Reisling is predominantly the main grape used in local wine and the tourist shops are full of it. Light fruity and tasty.

Me ? I`m going looking for an Aldi or Lidl tomorrow for my supplies.

Today we left Alken and drove about ten miles to Eltz Castle.

Eltz Castle is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Mosel River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago.

It is one of only a few castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed.

The castle is surrounded on three sides by the Elzbach River, a tributary on the north side of the Mosel. It is on a 70-metre (230 ft) rock spur, on an important Roman trade route between rich farmlands and their markets.

Platteltz, a Romanesque keep, is the oldest part of the castle, having begun in the 9th century as a simple manor with an earthen palisade. By 1157 the fortress was an important part of the empire under Frederick Barbarossa, standing astride the trade route from the Mosel Valley and the Eifel region. 

In 1472 the Rübenach house, built in the Late Gothic style, was completed. Remarkable are the Rübenach Lower Hall, a living room, and the Rübenach bedchamber with its opulently decorated walls.

Between 1490 and 1540, the Rodendorf house was constructed, also in Late Gothic style

Sadly no photos were allowed inside but it was very impressive.

Probably the setting is the most spectacular feature of the castle. Remarkable that it was built a private residence.

After lunch we set off and drove for about forty minutes to the town of Cochem on the banks of the Mosel River. Yet again a fortified castle stands in a commanding position above the town below.

It`s quite an interesting town but very much aimed at the tourist market.

We are parked up on the Stellplatz between the river and the town and have lovely views of the river for the princely sum of 1 euro for overnight parking ! What a bargain. I`m beginning to love Germany. No services but who cares with a view like that ?

After a walk along the river and through the town, we had dinner “en van” pork chop, butternut squash and spinach crocquets and baked beans – delicious.

Eltz Castle

Door of the Day - Eltz Castle (It`s about 3`6" tall !)

Eltz Castle View through the Ramparts

Cochem Castle

Our view for this evening

A journey Along the Moselle

Firstly apologies for Google Maps not updating properly. I always put a pin marker on stops but for some reason the map on the right is firmly stuck on the UK. You can still drag the map to see where we are. 
Also, I get an email alert to comments left, but for some comments they don`t then appear in Blogger.com. So I`m not ignoring you and I will endeavour to sort this out.

Today we left Koblenz and had a detour to a store in the town to get a broken bathroom tap fixed and then onto a small town on the River Moselle about ten miles away so just a short drive.

It is a very pretty small town called Alken (GPS 50.25093 7.44573) with a free Stellplatz ( German name for overnight motorhome parking ) There are no facilities but it is right next to the town with the river just across the road so we have a very picturesque view for this evening.

We are nestled against a backdrop of vineyards to the side and behind us. I had assumed they were Chardonnay vines but when I asked in the restaurant for a local wine, the waitress suggested a Reisling, so maybe some more research needed there. Either way, it was very tasty.

The weather has been warm and sunny today so we sat out a bit before having lunch then a wander around town. After that I took Louis for a walk up to a castle, Burg Thurant  that sits on a rocky outcrop high above the town.

The views from the top were amazing. They didn`t allow dogs in the castle so we just had a mooch about and took some photos.

This evening we had dinner out at a nearby restaurant and the food was very good.

We have to decide this evening what were doing tomorrow, there is another castle nearby I would like to go to, or maybe we will just stay here another night………

Burg Thurant Castle

Alken Vineyards

Door of the Day - Burg Thurant Castle

Alken Town

Alken Town and Moselle River

Into Germany

After a rather stormy and rain drenched night we woke to a distinct chill in the air and so left our free site at Lac de la Gileppe and headed off into nearby Germany and the historic town of Monschau. What should have been a thirty minute journey turned into more like sixty minutes due to a road closure.

The detour took us through the Parc Naturel Hautes Fagnes – Eifel, which was a very senic detour.

The town of Monschau is very quaint and has changed little since the 1700`s.

The rain stayed off and weak sunshine did it`s best to warm us but it was distinctly chilly so a walk through the town was completed then back to Ed to move on.

Next stop was on the River Roer which together with the nearby town of Schmidt, was very significant in WW2

Schmidt was almost completely destroyed in WW2 as it holds a strategic position overlooking the Schwammenauel Dam. In 1944 as the Allied army was advancing through Germany, the Germans still controlled the Dam and the Allies were desperate to capture it to stop it being blown up, flooding the Rur valley and killing large numbers of Allied troops. There was prolonged heavy fighting and severe casualties on both sides.

Lunch was enjoyed here before moving on to Koblenz.

Koblenz sits at a point where the mighty Rhine River meets the Moselle River. There is a spit of land called Deutsches Eck (German Corner) that juts out into the river with a very grand monument atop. Our campsite for the night overlooks this impressive monument and there is a foot ferry crosses the river to the old town which we took advantage off today. A cable car also goes up the the second largest preserved Fortress in Europe called Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.

Tomorrow I think we will head off down the Moselle River.

The weather picked up considerably in Koblenz and the forecast for the next few days is good.

Monschau Town

Door of the Day, Monschau

Monschau Town square

Monschau River

Dammed River Roer near Schmidt

Wild flowers (weeds ?) River Roer near Schmidt

Deutsches Eck (German Corner) 

A view of Ehrenbreitstein Fortress from our campsite for the night