Blogging and bikes: 08/09/14

Thursday, July 10th 2014 - Day 8

Mettlach to Trier

50.4 km , 295.5 km so far

elevation gains: 290 meters

Tracks for the day:

Mettlach to Konz

Konz to Trier

Pleasant day, some sun, temp from 16 to 25 Celsius

(The text is by Erika with pictures and captions/commentary added by Marvin in italics.)

Our path at the beginning of the day

Erika is wearing her "rain cap" but it wasn't really needed on this day.

When we got up this morning it was no longer raining but the sky was still grey and there were dark clouds on the horizon so we donned our rain gear once again and headed off down the trail. Fortunately, as the day progressed, the weather improved. As the weather improved Marvin started removing layers of clothes. Good thing it didn't get too hot before we got to Trier!

A shrine and a small chapel showed up on the trail as the day began

A chain hangs down just within reach, making it possible for me to ring the bell

Another view through the bars with the chain held out of the way

So we made this the bench of the day

Another part of the shrine

Unfortunately, we had to cycle on more of the red clay trail. It was still wet and splattered our once clean gear again. However, the area was beautiful and in no time we were cruising into the beautiful town of Saarburg.

While it wasn't actually raining, we had to deal with puddles and gritty conditions

Across the river is a mining operation. I think they were mining iron, hence the colour of the soil.

The path crossed the river and that resulted in pavement again

We were cheerfully cycling down the path when the river took us around a corner. There in front of us was the castle, church and old city walls of Saarburg. At first we were not even sure it was Saarburg but, as I was leading the way, I turned into the town. I had read about the town and knew there was something in the town center I wanted to see.

First views of Saarburg

C'mon Marvin, let's go into the town

Once we were in town we found the town square but just before entering it I pulled over and walked up to a stone wall. Marvin got off his bike, walked up to me and said, "Is this what we came to see?" I told him to look over the wall and then enjoyed seeing his reaction as he discovered the waterfall that exists in the middle of town. It is hard to explain all the shoots and wheels that take advantage of the rush water that comes off the falls so I will have to hope that our photos speak for me. It was really lovely.

Erika took this video of the water works
And I took this one (Notice how they have a lot of controls to regulate how much water goes over a waterwheel and how much is redirected downstream.)

Maybe more pictures here than you want to see, but the town and the water really was lovely

The history of the waterfall

As it was noon we chose to pause at a conditori and enjoy the view while enjoying good old German baking with hot chocolate.

Ha ha, not exactly baking but Eis and stroodle for me!

Some final pictures of the town and its waterworks

Couldn't resist taking a picture of a lovely marina

Seeing fishermen on the trail is not uncommon

The sign says a left turn will take us to Konz in 10 km !! This is a big deal to us as Erika explains below

Nice park so we stopped for a snack

As always, I find locks fascinating when there are boats in them. This one is waiting to go upstream

While this one is almost ready to leave going downstream

Once we were back on the trail we were excited to realize that in a few kilometres we would be reaching the confluence of the Saar and the Mosel. The whole idea of bike touring started first with our friends Steve and Dodie but the big kick start came when my father emailed me a slide show of the Mosel almost two years ago. Marvin and I were so excited by what we saw that we ordered the BikeLine book for the Mosel Radweg as it was in English. The dreaming really began then as did some of the planning and preparing. Last summer we cycled on San Juan Island so I could practice distance cycling. Then we went to Pender Island so I could practice hills. Finally, we cycled the Wiilamette valley to ensure I could do bike touring and to test run gear and ability. Then good fortune occurred when the International Nurse Educators Conference was scheduled to occur after CPE in Holland. Wow, suddenly our dream started to look like it could be reality! So, there we were: about to cycle up to the Mosel !

I made this video of the confluence

When we got to the confluence we just sat and enjoyed the sight. Of course we also took a lot of pictures of the best looking person I know... Marvin!

Actually, we had another group take a picture of the best looking couple from British Columbia on the Mosel that day

Looking downstream toward Trier from the bridge over the Saar as it flows into the Mosel

The park below the bridge where the video and the picture of us was taken from and where we left our water bottles, though we didn't know it yet. To get onto the bridge we follow the path leading off to the left for a couple hundred meters and then a u-turn takes us up the ramp onto the bridge. In the video of the confluence (the link above), right at the beginning you can see the bridge that we are now standing on.

Again, the MOSEL !!! We just could hardly get over being there.

We were so excited to head down the Mosel Radweg that we forgot our water bottles. Fortunately we had not gone too far before some people we had met on the trail caught up to us and asked if the bottles they had seen were ours. Marvin quickly zipped back and picked up the bottles while I read over the maps and book on the Mosel Radweg. We were also pretty pumped when we found our first Radweg marker with the Mosel "M" on it!

Our first Mosel marker

And there it is! Note what a beautiful afternoon it is by this time and we only have 10 km more to our next stop for the night.

It was while we were stopped taking pictures of our first "Mosel marker" that we had someone ask if we had left the water bottles. We had just come down off the bridge, so I went back for them. While I was gone, Erika took several pictures, including a couple of selfies.

She also got pictures of these very cool map signs

The ADFC referred to is the tour cycling organization of Germany. They are the same organization responsible for the Bett und Bike book and reccomendations that we refer to elsewhere in this blog. You find their website HERE

As we started down the Mosel, we came to a camping platz and a nice restaurant where we stopped for some refreshment, but not the kind depicted by the flag. I got a kick out of the fact that they had several country flags with a bier stein thrown in.

The Mosel valley is very broad and flat at the section where we begin to follow it.

We zipped past Konz and before long were entering Trier. The first thing we saw as we approached Trier was the Roman Bridge. Five of the original nine pylons are still in place. Impressive for a structure built in the second century.

Also along the Radweg by the River are two round towers that at first Marvin mistook for windmills. It turns out they are old cranes that were used to load barges centuries ago. Before the next bridge I turned into town taking a tunnel that passed under the railway. It turned out that by following that route we cycled directly to the Porta Nigra. What an imposing structure that is!

Frankly, I was blown away by the awesomeness of this almost 2000 year old structure. I had seen pictures of it but didn't look that closely at them and seeing it in person really took my breath away. Lots of pictures to follow will be of this gate.

The Porta Nigra was built by the Romans in 180 AD. Its main purpose was to impress on the locals the might of the Roman Empire. It is still VERY impressive. Originally it was white but time caused it to blacken and therefore the name. It is also impressive to note that the entire structure was build using no mortar but by securing the shaped stones with metal braces. An amazing piece of work for any time.

It even dwarfs some pretty impressive buildings around it

Here at the information centre I got a Porta Nigra hatpin for my new hat

The city has many imposing churches and beautiful architecture but before doing much exploring we were off to find the hostel we were booked in. Yes, tonight we will be the oldest couple in a hostel. Luckily, we do have our own room. We will be sharing the bathroom with two other rooms but so long as it is free for my night time potty excursions, no problem!

We spent the evening strolling around town, ate a bratwurst in a bun for dinner, took more pictures of Marvin in front of beautiful buildings and fountains, and then finished the evening off with a wonderful wild berry eis for me and a mixed fruit eis for Marvin. We are now back in the hostel and I, for one, am ready to close my eyes and dream about tomorrow.

As a couple we have had many great vacations together but this one is so different. In many ways it is THE BEST VACATION EVER!!!!

Mmmm, cherries !

You don't see too many local drug stores that look like this here in Canada

I don't have captions for a lot of these. I can't begin to keep track of all the names and different places in a city like Trier. I just like to show pictures that remind me of the feel and wonder of the whole experience.