Catch Up

Tues.6^th August  :  In the nearly two weeks since we left Paris, we have travelled     across France to Metz, followed the Moselle River into Germany and on to Koblenz and from there drove to Cologne, which is where we are now.

The proposed bike ride along the Moselle did not eventuate…when we met Debbie & Kym in Paris on the morning they arrived, we offered them the use of our bikes, if they found them suitable for the purpose, as hire bikes hadn’t yet been organised…we didn’t know at the time that my bike had been stolen and we had only one bike!  Our first night with them was spent in Chalons en Champagne where they pitched the tent they’d bought en route…it rained through the night and again the next night at Corny sur Moselle but they stayed dry and on leaving Corny s/M the following morning, we spotted a Cash Converters with a row of bikes at the front of the shop so swooped in to check them out.  They found a bike they liked and bought it, strapped it on to the bike rack and continued on to Metz where we spent a couple of hours strolling around the town, stopping for coffee at the Kangourou Café and checking out the magnificent St Etienne Cathedral which was being renovated.   Debbie & Kym decided to ride from there

to our next stop near Thionville and we drove to the camp to wait for them.  Unfortunately, they didn’t get very far as there was a problem with the tyre on Mike’s bike and we had to backtrack to collect them, buying a new tyre and spanners to fix the problem when we reached the camp, and after pre dinner drinks and showers all round, Boris took us to a nearby cafe for a lovely meal.

We drove to Merzig the next morning and the cyclists set off from there to ride to Saarburg.  It turned out to be a rather hot day and by the time they reached the camp alongside the river, they had decided that Mike’s bike was not really suitable for their purpose and they’d be just as happy travelling with us and Boris, so that’s what they did. That night we had heavy rain and strong winds…the awning tried to blow away and we had to get out of bed to wind it up, shut all the windows and hatches and put everything away…late at night and all the other motorhomers were up doing the same thing.  The little tent was waterproof so our guests stayed nice and dry.

After we left the camp the next morning, we drove the couple of kms into Saarburg, a lovely little old town that we ambled around for a couple of hours, taking the obligatory photos…

Mike and I took a chair lift ride up the big hill while Kym and Debbie walked up to the church on a different hill…both gave wonderful views of the town and river and then it was on to Trier where we stayed overnight.  It was a 2km walk into the town for the usual look see, not so many photos there as we’ve visited before and have hundreds on file but had a wander around, ate near Porta Nigra and shared a taxi hom.

The next five days were spent travelling along the Moselle River, stopping to investigate many small towns along the way, enjoying the company but not always the weather as it alternated between hot and humid and cool and wet. The Moselle is a wonderful place to visit with lot of small towns to investigate and we only travelled a short distance each day.

We revisited Berkastel Kues and went to the pub we visited 4 yaers ago that served Kolsch beer.

There are so many Motorhome overnight stops that there is no problem fing a place for the night. The last place we stayed had a swimming pool and cold beer and was a welcome relief from the heat, so we stayed there two nights.

We parted company with Debbie and Kym on Saturday morning, when we left them at Koblenz railway station to catch their early morning  train to Berlin…we then backtracked a little to visit Burg Eltz, a wonderful old castle which has belonged to one family for 33 generations…superb!  Even older than Neuswenstein (Disney Castle)

After our visit, we drove to Neuwied on the Rhine River, camped at the boat club harbour , snoozed a little and spent a restful afternoon and night.

On Sunday morning we made our way via the autobahn to Cologne, settled in to the camping place by the river, contacted friends Pam and Manfred from Perth who are here visiting family after recently completing a couple of ocean cruises and were collected by them and Manfred’s sister Brigitta and taken to Brigitta’s allotment garden where we spent a very pleasant and happy afternoon catching up.  Yesterday we cycled into the city, parked and walked the short distance to the Dom which is a magnificent structure and amazingly escaped serious damage during WW2

We met our friends again for a visit through the cathedral and a stroll around the town, then returned to camp for a while before being collected by Manfred’s other sister and brother-in-law, Doris and another Manfred and driven to a pub to meet the other three for drinks and dinner. It has been lovely to spend time in the last couple of weeks with friends from home and to make new friends.  So far this morning we’ve done very little…shifted Boris to the opposite side of the camp to take advantage of the afternoon shade which we didn’t have where we were, planned the next leg of our travels, tidied up a bit and just generally taken it easy.  After lunch we went for a ride on the cable car over the Rheine and back

and then called in to the biergarten on the river next to the camp for a coldie. Before going up the the youth hastel to post this blog. Tomorrow we back track a little towards Wurzburg and the Romanticstrasse. Still two months before we have to get on the big bird.