The Mosel Valley is full of vineyards, with charming cities and villages interspersed between the growing regions. One day we went north toward Cochem, and on the second we headed south, stopping in Saarburg and Trier.
Cochem
Located further in the central/north of the valley, the vineyards got steeper as we followed the river north.
Along the way we stopped at several overlooks, and made our way up a narrow one-lane road to the valley views from the Marienburg church.
In several places we saw vehicles parked along the road and people picking grapes.
We took a brief detour up the hillside of Bremm, but the views here were underwhelming, so we continued to Cochem. Parking in town is rather pricey, even across the river. We had a short walk across the bridge with some views to the old town and castle above it.
A small market was in progress, and we picked up a pastry from Die Lohners which was fine, but not memorable.
On the whole, the town seemed more touristy than others in the valley, so we didn’t stay too long here. The river flooding was noticeable as well.
Saarburg
On our drive south we followed the road along multiple steep hills, past farms and through villages, including one memorably tight one-lane passage. In Saarburg we parked in a free lot near the train station, then walked over the bridge which had some nice views.
From there we followed the walkway to the famous waterfall in town – given the rain there was good flow!
St. Laurentius was around the corner, and we lucked into hearing an impromptu men’s chorus sing two songs!
We crossed the creek and went up the hill to see the Evangelische Kirche Saarburg. It was not open, but we got some great views from Turm Belvedere.
On our way out of town, we made a quick detour for a Florentiner cookie from Café Hackenberger – a little pricey at 3,50€, but a delicious combo of chocolate and almonds.
Trier
Returning from Saarburg we decided to stop in Trier, which was a lot bigger than expected. While there were a lot of parking options, the prices ranged significantly, so it took some Googling to locate a lot close to the Old Town for 2€ per hour.
We entered the center through the large Porta Nigra which was nicely gardened.
The center was bustling on this weekend afternoon with lots of people, kids and dogs. Leandra wanted a snack, so we settled on fries at Patat-Haus. She didn’t realize mayo was extra (and the lady put way too much on) though the fries were good otherwise. While standing around we noticed a wine stall, where I got a glass of the Schieferkristall Riesling (light slate mineral as always, light coating mouthfeel, too light for me) and Leandra got the Crémant d’Alsace Rosé. We paid a 5€ deposit for the glass and had it refunded upon return.
We also witnessed an Omas gegen Rechts “Grannies against the Right” protest – people clapped as they passed.
With our parking running down we had just enough time to duck into two churches – lots of ornate carvings in the Trier Dom, and beautiful stained glass in the Liebfraukirche.
