The Moselle valley; seen from your own Linssen motor yacht
The Moselle is perhaps the most beautiful river in Germany. From the Vosges, at the Col de Bussang, the river winds through the mountainous landscape with its many vineyards and finally, after 544 kilometres, flows into the Rhine at Koblenz. With dozens of smaller and larger villages and towns, of course the local wine, many castles and the beautiful countryside, this is a unique landscape to cruise through with your Linssen motor yacht and perhaps take an occasional walk or cycle trip through the area.
The Moselle valley; seen from your own Linssen motor yacht
The Moselle is perhaps the most beautiful river in Germany. From the Vosges, at the Col de Bussang, the river winds through the mountainous landscape with its many vineyards and finally, after 544 kilometres, flows into the Rhine at Koblenz. With dozens of smaller and larger villages and towns, of course the local wine, many castles and the beautiful countryside, this is a unique landscape to cruise through with your Linssen motor yacht and perhaps take an occasional walk or cycle trip through the area.
Konz and the Saar
We start at Konz, where the river Saar flows into the Moselle. The wine village of Konz is best known for the folk and open-air museum Roscheider Hof. We could moor at Wassersportclub Konz and from there walk straight into the village. We continued downstream and soon came across Trier.
Trier
One of the stops along the Moselle has to be Trier. Trier is - together with Worms (on the Rhine) - the oldest city in Germany. With many historical buildings and sights, such as the market cross from 958 on the Grote Markt, the Basilica of Constantine from around 310, St. Peter's Cathedral with the Cathedral Treasury, which is a UNSECO World Heritage Site, the Church of Our Lady, St. Matthias Abbey, the Trier Amphitheatre and the Porta Nigra, Trier is definitely worth a visit. You can walk around on your own or join a city tour, have a drink at one of the cosy terraces and, of course, a glass of Viez. This local apple wine comes in several varieties, with each Viez grower having his own secret recipe that is passed on from generation to generation.
Halfway through the town is the old Roman bridge (Römerbrücke), whose oldest wooden parts date from 17 B.C. and the first stone bridge from 45 A.D. The pillars of the current bridge date from 144-152 A.D.
Tip: Trier itself does not have its own marina or berths for passers-by. You then have the choice of either taking your motor yacht to the Yachthafen-Trier, a few kilometres south of Trier, or going a little further and taking the larger Sportboothafen Schweich. From there you can easily take a taxi into town. Sportboothafen Schweich has a large harbour as well as a camping site, children's playground and Restaurant Zum Fährturm. It belongs to the Kreusch company, which has also been the Linssen Yachts dealer for many years. If you are cruising with a Linssen Boating Holidays charter boat, please feel free to drop by and take a look at the various Linssen motor yachts.
As we continue our journey, we pass beautiful vineyards and nature reserves. But also several campsites, such as Campingpark Triolago, located on the "Roman Wine Street". A spacious campsite with places for caravans as well as campers. The number of campers nowadays is particularly large, which is why they have made ample room for them here. The sanitary facilities, car park, children's playgrounds are all of excellent quality.
The Ristorante-Pizzeria Villaggio Da Antonio is also located at the campsite and offers a wide range of delicious Italian dishes such as antipasti, pastas and pizzas. Of course, the necessary dishes with delicious local fish and the most sparkling wines from the Moselle region.
Further away, there is also Campingplatz Mehringer Schweiz and Moselcamping "Pölicher Held".
We kept to starboard and went through the Detzem lock, swinging between the villages of Detzem and Ensch. When, a little later, we sail around the "MoselSchleife" at Trittenheim and look up at the beautiful vineyards, we experience a wonderful calm. From the top of the mountain, there is a wonderful view of the Moselle, the town of Leiwen and Trittenheim.
Of course, you can buy local wines everywhere along the Moselle. Near Leiwen, for example, is the winery Nik Weis St. Urbans-hof. Here, you can buy dry premium Riesling or fruity noble sweet Rieslings from certified steep slopes of the Moselle and Saar, as well as sparkling wine based on traditional fermentation in bottle, with at least 18 months of yeast preservation. Just the thought of it makes our mouths water...
We stop at Neumagen-Dhron on our starboard side, where we find a place for the night in the harbour. Of course, we can prepare our own food on board our motor yacht. No problem, since all facilities are on board such as fridge, gas (or induction) cooker etc. It is almost the same comfort as at home.
But you can also choose one of the many restaurants along the Moselle to satisfy the inner man.
For example, in Neumagen-Dhron you will find Brasserie Käpt'n Cook with a wide range of main dishes including Angus steaks, Filetspieß, of course various Schnitzel varieties and fish and pasta dishes.
You can also visit Weingut Des Herzens. The wide range of grape varieties includes Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rivaner. Their characteristic are fruity, mineralic wines with a moderate alcohol content. They are an excellent match for light, modern cuisine.
The Lars Görgen winery is also worth a visit. Wine is a natural product and this winery tries to obtain the best and healthiest grapes in harmony with nature. Through permanent planting, gentle pruning and manual defoliation, the natural process is interfered with as little as possible.