Walking on Water

The Misty-Magical Moselle

Apart from the magic of sailing from Budapest, under the brightly lit bridges, on the Danube, at night, to the haunting sounds of the Blue Danube Waltz - the Moselle is one of the most wonderful places I've travelled in recent years. The water was so smooth and the reflections so perfect, that you felt you could almost step off the ship and walk straight across golden vineyards to the towns along the route. Well, I have to say that, to have an excuse for adding these beautiful photos to my "footsteps" collections!

What a wonderful place to "row, row, row your boat" on a calm Sunday morning.

After a morning's very scenic and peaceful cruising, we reached Cochem and it was time to start walking again.

A short and sharply steep gangplank led down to the path
beside the river.

You can see where our ship is docked, and the path beside - I took this photo
from the bridge in the next photo. Why is it that when travelling, we seek security
in taking plenty of photos of "our home"?

There are many day tour boats plying the river to cater for the many tourists "unfortunate"
enough to not have their own floating hotel.



 I chose to cross the bridge by foot and the effort was well worthwhile. I took my time walking up this flight of steps; I think there were about 50 steps, but I lost count when I ran out of breath! I found a narrow cobblestone road winding down a little further along near some strategically-placed coffee shops and restaurants, which was much easier for me on the return.

One last steep pinch and I head for the coffee bar.

The following morning we woke up at Bernkastel-Kues. The Moselle River divides these two towns, but they have merged their municipal areas.

A big "thumbs down" to the company who decided that overnight cruising would be acceptable to passengers

in such a scenic area. You don't pay for those balconies and not make good use of them! But I have heard since, that the complaints have been well noted. 

Back to walking on cobblestones again, I took the guided walking tour through the streets of Bernkastel.

It is 8 AM on a Monday morning. The crowds have not yet arrived in the Town Square

 



Bärenbrunnen (Bear Fountain)



 

This area is in the midst of a well-known
wine growing area. We are on our way
towards an old wine-cellar gate.

These are some of the things that I didn't purchase,
though I really love those shoulder bags!

 


By 10 AM people had arrived from everywhere!
Our ship's docking place is right at the end of the car park area.



This is the bridge across the Moselle to Kues,
but one that I didn't walk across.



A Cable Car and an Important Corner

Still in Germany, a morning with light fog at Rüdesheim am Rhein.

The Rhine river levels were still low - look at that long gangway - long this time, instead of steep!



However the streets of Rüdesheim, winding up & down from the river, made up for the steepness.

The little tourist train saved me some breathless steps on the way up,
though I did enjoy the careful walk back down to the ship after my exploration.



I was pleased to walk on the cobblestones in a relatively flat area at the top of the town.



I headed quickly to the cable car ticket office
and was on the first ride of the morning.

From my little cabin there were great views
over the golden vineyards.

The views were misty across the Rhine towards Bingen.

Heading towards the Niederwald Monument with the figure Germania, 250 metres above the Rhine, built between 1877 & 1883 to symbolise the re-establishment of the German Empire & Germany's unity. Unfortunately on this visit, it was having some restoration work done, so was all wrapped up!

But climbing the steps to the upper viewpoint was well worthwhile to me,
even though the misty conditions remained on the Rhine below.

After our morning in Rüdesheim, we cruised through the famous Rhine River Gorge. Perhaps one time I'll be lucky enough to enjoy travel via the train lines that seem to follow the river for much of the way, but either way, I don't think my footsteps will echo along the route!

Deutsches Eck
After the 65 kms of the Rhine Gorge, the end seems to be marked by seeing the first bridges across the river for a long time and we are approaching Koblenz, unmistakedly marked by the German Corner, which also marks the point where the Moselle River joins the Rhine.

A popular place for locals & tourists in the late afternoon sunshine of an October Saturday.

The equestrian statue is of the German Emperor Wilhelm I.

After our ship had berthed, I went ashore at dusk & walked a little in the town then out to the Corner.



The long river cruise ships that are staying overnight in Koblenz negotiate a very sharp turn into the Moselle River, where mooring is a lot smoother than on the fast-flowing Rhine.
As the sun sets, I'm walking back from the German Corner to my ship's landing place.



Gambling and Education

Still walking through Europe - Germany mainly. Looking for pictures that show where I have trodden, I find that it's not natural to take photos looking down at your feet! Bad composition.

On a cool morning in late October, we were driven by bus from our overnight landing place at Gambsheim, through light fog and mist, to Baden Baden, famous casino and spa town. The grass was a little damp for walking and fortunately there were many paths.

Here in the Casino, I walked on the thick carpet, reflecting on the many the "rich and famous" who would have had lost money here. With no active patrons, it was a quiet experience of grace and opulence.

The streets of Baden Baden are also graceful, with many expensive shops. So presumably not everyone loses everything at the Casino!

Heidelberg, a City of Education

A much clearer morning the next day, saw us in Mannheim and travelling in yet another bus to Heidelberg, known for its university, the oldest in Germany (founded in 1386).



Heidelberg is situated on the beautiful River Neckar.




Heidelberg Castle towers above the town



We were fortunate in that we didn't need to walk all the way up to the castle, but there was plenty of walking around the castle area, rewarded by spectacular views.



We had a hearty lunch at the Hotel Ritter in the Old Town, which gave plenty of energy and time to to wander around the shops and stalls in the Market Place.

A Taste of France

Still along the Rhine - well it's a long river, flowing from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, for a distance of over 1,200 kms.

We woke up at our landing place in Kehl, Germany. A lovely sunny day, and in front of us was the Europa Bridge which links Germany and France at that place. Our tour bus crossed the bridge and took us into Strasbourg. From the drop-off point, we were walking in France.





            We crossed the beautiful little River Ill, then reached the busy Place de la Cathedrale in front of Strasbourg's Notre-Dame.



Many pedestrian walkways in Strasbourg



Busy Cathedral Square

Souvenir shops line the square facing the Cathedral

River Ill at Strasbourg











A Walk in the Black Forest

And so along the Rhine (cruising, not walking - except for the long walk to and from my cabin), heading generally in a northerly direction. In this area, north of Basel, the river forms the border between Germany and France. We woke at our landing place in Breisach on the German side of the river. Time to put on the shoes for a 9 hour coach tour into the Black Forest area of Germany. The catchy tune of the Horst Jankowski hit of 1965 runs through my head!

The first stop of the day was at the Vogtsbauernhof Open Air Museum of country life in the Black Forest "in the days of yesteryear". An interesting walk through a display of  farm houses and other farm buildings from the area during the 16-18th centuries. Plenty of walking here.

 But before we started our walk, there was a most appropriate Black Forest Cake demonstration. Lovely and fresh for our morning coffee break!

This is the Vogtsbauernhof farm house of 1612 on its original site in the Gutach Valley.
The small building is the Gutach valley storehouse.

We were taken to lunch at Restaurant zur Lilie in Triberg. Those steps in front of the door were just a short introduction to the walk starting beside the building, to view Germany's highest waterfalls.

I walked up part of the way - enough to view the falls through the trees. An enjoyable way to walk off an excellent lunch.

Then there was the walk up the road back to where the coaches had to park. 



Path towards the Wasserfalle



  



Street in Triberg



Walking on through Europe

SWITZERLAND

21-24 October 2011

I arrived in Zurich by plane, but almost the first steps away from my hotel brought me right beside the railway station - the platform almost merging with the roadway of Zollstrasse.

So I walked inside the busy Hauptbahnof precinct several times - an excellent place to pick up a quick snack or meal and a short-cut through to the main city area.

I took a cruise tour to Rapperswil at the far end of Lake Zurich, tested the beautifully laid out cobblestones there, then rested on the perfect afternoon 2 hour ferry trip back to Zurich.

It was a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon and it seemed that everyone was out enjoying the fresh air. I enjoyed the walk back along Limmatquai to the Hauptbahnof. There were many around carrying Turkish flags - guess there was a Soccer match, but I never found out the result.

On the Monday I was in the Marketplace at Basel, getting ready to board another ship. I think my preferred mode of travel is by boat or ship, where you can just sit, relax and watch the scenery glide by, as is the case with the current popularity of River Cruising.

 

A short gangway, but still quite steep!

For the rest of that cruise, I wondered how I made the mistake of booking a cabin as far from the public areas as possible - a very long walk every time for dinner, or when returning from a shore tour.

Sailing on the Rhine out of Basel.

The length of these river cruise ships is amazing! One of the few times that I went up on the top (sun) deck - no elevators like on large cruise ships! But worth it so see the start of the journey and the first  of the many bridges along the mighty Rhine River.