The Trip That Keeps Growing: Sailing on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers

Sailing on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers

The Rhine River starts in the Switzerland Alps where it forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein, Swiss-Austrian, Swiss-German and then the France-German border. It then flows up stream through Germany and the Netherlands before emptying into the North Sea. It is the second longest river in Western Europe at 760 miles (the Danube is the longest). It is not until you reach Basel, Switzerland that the river is navigable for cargo and passenger ships. Since the days of the Roman Empire it has been a very important waterway and it was supported by many fortified castles built on the high ridges along its banks. It is a very busy waterway and we were constantly passing other boats.

The Mosel River is a tributary of the Rhine River and flows through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. It flows through a region that has been influenced by mankind since it was first cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where "some of the best Rieslings grow” and numerous ruined castles dominate the hilltops above wine villages and towns that line the riverbanks. It is not as busy as the Rhine and you do not see as many river cruises on the Mosel, although more and more companies are beginning to offer cruises up the Mosel.

Our first morning of sailing was through what has been called the most beautiful part of the Rhine River. It is a stretch of about 100 miles that is studded with castles on both sides of the river. Unfortunately Mother Nature was not in a very cooperative mood – the day was dizzily, windy and cold. In fact it was so windy that there were white caps on the river, something our trip leaders said they had never seen. However the sun did peak out every now and then. Most spectacularly, it did make an appearance just as we sailed past the big Lorelei Rock. The story of the rock is that a beautiful siren lived on the rock, combing her hair, and luring sailors to their death with her beautiful song. As we were passing by, one of the ship’s crew dressed up as a very well-endowed siren and danced around the front of the ship, hoping to lure the captain from his appointed duties. All this while they were playing a beautiful song, written as a poem many years ago, detailing the legend of the Lorelei. But we have a great captain, and he was not deterred by the actions of our “lovely” siren. The rock itself was nothing spectacular – it is dangerous only because the river narrows at this point, makes a sharp bend, and is known for its dangerous cross-winds and currents.

During this morning of sailing, we had a running commentary on the different castles by our Trip Leaders. They told a little of each castle’s history or legend surrounding it. Today most of the castles are either abandoned and in ruins or have been turned into hotels or hostels. There was no way I could remember all the facts of the castles, let alone their names, so we bought a book entitled “Castles of the Rhine.” Sure beats trying to find each individual castle on the internet. I will try and give a short synopsis of each castle in a separate blog.

Vineyards and Castle along the Rhine

Village of Assmanshausen along the Rhine

Village of Assmannshausen

Castle along the Rhine

Village and Castle along the Rhine

Village and Vineyards along the Rhine

River Rhapsody's Lorelei Siren

Lorelei Rock on the Rhine

Goats climbing a hill

White caps on the Rhine

At the conclusion of our sail, we arrived at the small town of Boppard, which I will discuss in a later blog on the quaint and lovely villages we have visited. That afternoon we had a tour of one of the most beautiful castles still standing – Marksburg Castle. This is the only 13^th-century castle that was unchanged by war or reconstruction. The tour included the “romantic” bed chamber which was the only room in the castle that was heated. The bed is extremely small as people in that time frame were smaller in stature and also slept sitting up – they believed that the only people who lay flat were dead, so it they laid down, they would die. We saw the enormous kitchen, with a fireplace large enough to grill a whole steer, the dining room with the toilet on the outside wall. Although there was a door, people never closed it because they wanted to hear what was being discussed at the dinner table. The toilet was only a seat with a hole that emptied out onto the grounds below. In those days you did not have to watch out for the pigeons, it was the people on a “potty” break that could cause you concern. The view of the Rhine Valley from the upper gardens was stunning. After the tour, we were treated with a snack of beer (yes, I did drink another glass), soft pretzel, and brats. Just what we all needed – and our dinner on board the ship was just a mere two hours away!

Marksburg Castle

Cannons in the castle

Castle Tower

View of the Rhine from the Castle gardens

Outside view of the toilet

Wine cellar in the Castle

Eating utensils

Large kitchen fireplace

Icebox in kitchen

Bedroom

Toilet off the dining room

Chapel

Medieval Armor

And then came the morning we cruised up the Mosel to Bernkastel. I think this may be the most beautiful river in Europe, where both sides are lined with quaint little villages and acres of vineyards. The vineyards are well-groomed in straight lines going straight up the steep slopes. It is like a patchwork quilt or a paint-by-number scene where the little squares are in varying shades of green, yellow, brown and the occasional red. The water was as smooth as glass casting a beautiful reflection of the houses and trees along the banks of the river. And near almost every small village were swans gracefully gliding over the water and ducks and cormorants swimming and diving for food. What a picturesque postcard.

Village along the Mosel

Vineyards along the Mosel

Small village along the Mosel

Sailing along the Mosel

Vineyards look like a patch-work quilt

Small village-love the reflection in the water

Today (November 1^st) is a holiday in Germany—All Saints Day. We were supposed to take a full day tour to Luxembourg, but our Trip Leader told us that everything would be closed. So we choose instead to stay on the ship and enjoy another wonderful cruise down the Mosel. This time we would be seeing the part of the river from Trier (where we had sailed to two nights ago) to Bernkastel. Mother Nature was very cooperative – she gave us a sunny, cool (but not cold or windy) day with which to enjoy the splendid scenery. Again the river was like glass and going downriver the engines were throttled back so it was a very quiet trip. It was such a delightful day – sitting up on the sun deck admiring the vineyards and scenery. Just after lunch Britta showed us the Mosel Lorelei, not quite as impressive as the one on the Rhine, but the spot that marks the deepest and narrowest point on the Mosel. It was a beautiful sail into Bernkastel, seeing the Bernkastel Castle on top of the hill overlooking the small town on the right-hand side of the river.

Cormorant watching us leave Trier

Red Sandstone Rocks near Trier

Vineyards along the Mosel

Vineyards look like patch-work quilts

Beautiful scene from the Mosel

Church and vineyards along the Mosel

The most beautiful sail of this trip

Mosel Lorelei rock

Picturesque sail on the Mosel

Small village on the Mosel

More vineyards

Note the stone walls in the vineyards - they went for miles

Church in Bernkastel

Bernkastel Castle

Bernkastel

And once we reached Bernkastel, and before the group that went to Luxembourg rejoined us, Britta arranged for a tractor-drawn covered wagon trip with wine to take us up into the vineyards where she promises to teach us some German drinking songs. What a great adventure. We had more wine than the 20 people in our wagon could drink. But we certainly made a dent in it. Our German language was not very good, but our loud voices made up for it. Our tractor driver took us up to the high ridge line overlooking the vineyards and the Mosel Valley. What a spectacular sight. The sun was beginning to set and our driver took us to another overlook – this time of Bernkastel and its castle. Probably one of the most beautiful sights we have seen – the town and castle lit up in the early evening with the moon rising over the mountains. Returning back to the ship we were all in a very happy move, singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” as we walked up the gangway onto the ship. The whole crew was in hysterics. And the best compliment from our guide – we were the rowdiest group she has ever had! How’s that for a bunch of 70 ad 80 year old's!!! After such a spectacular day, this was the cherry on top of the whipped cream!