Mosel valley in Germany is a beautiful drive or ride. A visit to Burg Eltz makes the experience even better!
Near Mosel Valley: Eltz Castle, or Burg Eltz
It had been four years since I came this way. Didn’t take quite the same route though. Back then I visited the castle for the first time, and stayed overnight not far from it. Unsurprising, if you’ve read some of my other posts, that happened on a whim. Well, more or less.
Anyhow, so as we made ourselves ready, after what might have been the worst breakfast on whole trip, the/our direction was sort of set. I suggested Mosel valley and a castle visit as an option. Truls-Erik had never been there, wanted to see the Mosel valley. So for once we had more than a vague idea.
We left the “battle at Verdun” behind us. Or battling with chemicals and rude staff (see previous post). Fortunately our stomachs had no quarrels or battles with the food. That hit me as somewhat surprising. given what we were presented with. Must have been the white, tasteless bread, working as a stabilizer.
(Literally) through Luxembourg
It began well, and the weather was good. We stayed on smaller’ish roads for the most part. Crossing the border into Luxembourg we chose E44 straight towards the city. The plan was to avoid riding into the city centre by taking roads around. A great idea that failed completely. And I, ahead with my GPS, was responsible for the failure.
Having a GPS is absolutely no guarantee against navigational mishaps.
We ended up on some of the busiest streets in the entire city. This is what can happen when you don’t pay (enough) attention to switching modes on the GPS. Or remember to switch modes. Curvy or small roads choices in, or towards, a city you try to avoid, works opposite of what you want.
It took an espresso to make him happy again
Finally on the other side we stopped at a petrol station. It took a good espresso to make my riding companion happy again. But it worked. We continued in direction of Trier, Germany. A city founded by the Romans back in 1st century. However exciting, that city will have to wait for another time. Because we managed to avoid it successfully.
Eltz Castle
To make up for lost time messing around in Luxembourg city we took A1 (autobahn) from ca north of Trier and a fair bit further. Since Eltz Castle was a goal it made sense to approach from the west side. And ride from Eltz down to Mosel valley. Taking off from the autobahn we found some rather cool small roads. With plenty of hills, twists and turns. The sort that we love, both of us.
In Wieschern we turned right and onto Burg Eltz Strasse. The only road leading to the castle. Or rather, a parking lot near the castle. From the parking you can either walk into the woods, which is a longer path. That route takes about 25-30 minutes.
The other alternative is to walk or take a bus from the parking lot down to the castle gate.
The road down to Eltz Castle
We decided to walk down and take the bus back up. It was pretty hot and neither of us fancied walking up again with motorcycle gear and boots. I won’t get into Eltz castle history. That you can read about on the website. But as picture might convey reasonably well, it is well worth a visit.
Eltz castle courtyard, with masks notices all over the place.
We hang around for a while, to have a look at the various parts of the castle. But didn’t take the full tour, which will allow you to explore much more of the buildings surrounding the courtyard. Nonetheless, It is impressive. What’s equally impressive, is that the castle is still owned by the same family that built it!
Eltz castle surroundings. A pathway from the parking lot in the rear.
Mosel valley & north to Gummersbach
We rode Burg Eltz Strasse back, since it is the only road into the castle. Then twice right, which took us down towards the river and Moselkern. From there road 416 along the river, north to Koblenz. We took our time and didn’t stress. The weather was perfect, the temperature perfect, not too much traffic and no need to rush.
Down by the riverside of Moselle.
We stopped a few times to watch the huge riverboats glide upstream and downstream.
Past Koblenz it was back on smaller roads again, through farmlands, quaint little villages and forests. Which was a much better option that riding further west, and have to deal with big cities such as Bonn and Cologne. Finally my navigation was back up to par!
Hotel Wyndham Gardens, total opposite of previous nights hotel!
It was pretty late when we began thinking about where to stay. Keeping north we ended up in Gummersbach and a hotel that was a stark contrast to the accommodation the day before! The hotel had a 19th century, or even older, presence about it. But was in fact built later half of 20th. That we would not have guessed if we hadn’t asked.
Main hall of the hotel
Soon enough we were installed, and enjoyed a great meal plus a few beers. So ended the third last day of our short adventure. The day’s route below. Back soon’ish with more.
Our route.
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