Last weekend we made our annunal trip to Mosel Valley.
Friday we started our 260 mls round trip with top closed and heavy rain for the first 10 mls. Then the sun came out, allowing 3 days with top down. As usual, avoiding Autobahns was best, even with some brake fading after one long and steep descend. From then, I let 2nd gear in, when downwards. Passing some dozen small villages in US- oldtimer surely is an attraction there!
Foto 1: Saw this one of the very first Volvos, a very original one for 9999,- ? sale.
Our destination, River Mosel meanders through steep mountains of Eifel and Hunsr?ck mountains, bound eastward to the Rhine at Koblenz. Scheduled is a 6 mls walk with 4 old friends on Saturday, crossing two small valleys from Liesenich (see google map). In the afternoon, everybody else relaxing, I took the chance for a 2 hrs Plymouth trip.
Mosel Valley is the most important german vine country, having changed to quality vines only since a couple of years.
Foto 2: Funny cog-mono-railway tractors are used to reach the steep vine slopes.
Mosel Valley sees heavy train and ship transportation, linking german, belgian and dutch seaports plus the german mining zone of ?Ruhrgebiet? to the Saarland and France steel mills. This year I spotted much more ships and unit trains (4 within two hours on a Saturday!) with coal, coke and steel than last year.This could be a very noticeable result of our statal invenstment programs since the economy crisis.
Bullay double deck bridge: Built as part of the strategical ?canon railway? Koblenz ? Trier 1878, the bridge attracted some successful air raids in WW II against this nazi supply line for the Ardennes battle 1945!
pictures: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppelstockbr%C3%BCcke_Alf-Bullay
It has an upper Railway double track mainline and one lower deck for the street. Some mls eastward, this mainline passes through the longest (until the 90ies) german tunnel to Cochem.
Foto 3: I only found a desperate parking place for the foto at Bullay double deck bridge, so I didn?t dare to wait until a goods train arrived. So I took the commuter railcar. Anyhow- no good light was available?
Foto 4: At Bad Neuenahr, no good light too! These spa and casino buildings are the from 1905.
some older shots - with better light conditions:
http://www.aw-wiki.de/index.php/Kurhaus_Bad_Neuenahr
Needless to say, the car performed as usual, my wife and I love driving it whenever we have time.
Greetings from D?sseldorf! Go
Foto 5 : meandering Mosel river
Go,
Thanks for the photos and the narrative, it certainly is beautiful country.
Pat O'Connor
It looks like a great weekend, many thanks for the pictures & story.
Chet...