Enjoying the Mosel

We took full advantage of the great weather last weekend by driving down the road to visit a popular little village on the Mosel river: Bernkastel. This village is a well known for it's winegrowing and of course, another castle high upon the hill. The castle, Burg Landshut, was built around 1291 at the same time the village was named "Berrincastel" by King Rudolph of Germany. Ironically, the castle Burg Landshut fell victim to a fire in 1692 and has been a ruin since then (actually, you can order a tasty treat and satisfying beverage at the cafe located inside the former castle....but I'll get to that later).

The views from the shores of the Mosel river are simply amazing. This was our first view after we parked the car and looked up the hill:


Another view from the valley only this time looking at the remains of Burg Landshut sitting high upon the hill.


Walking around Bernkastel is definetely a recommended activity. The village is filled with medieval half-timbered houses and there are plenty of wine shops to sample the local product. Riesling is the customary grape grown in the vineyards around Bernkastel, making the village somewhat of an oasis for white whine lovers.

A common feature on the homes in the village is the hook and pulley fastened to the top of the house. This system allows the residents to move large objects into and out of their homes with relative ease. Actually, given the narrow streets and small staircases in these buildings, I would opt to use the system for the entire move.

In order to hike up to the Burg Landshut, you must walk through the village to reach the trailhead. About half through the village we turned around and notice the spectacular view:

On our way to the Burg Landshut, we unknowingly walked into the famous Spitzhauschen (or pointed house). It is one of the original buildings in Bernkastel and was erected in 1416. To put that into perspective, this building was completed before the birth of Dominic Colombus, the father of Christopher Columbus. Today you can purchase a wine grown from one of the many local vineyards inside.

Just around the corner from the Spitzhauschen is the St. Michaelsbrunnen fountain that was built in 1606.

Another great view of one of the many shopping areas in Bernkastel.

Still not to the trailhead yet, but we did come across this great piece created in 1750, a good 26 years before the US constitution was signed.

The building next to the statue had the following words of wisdom painted high above:

As we started the climb up to the Burg Landshut, we noticed this collection of garages. Pretty neat view.....

The hike up to the Burg Landshut is an effort but it does reward you with very nice views.

Reaching the final destination: the Burg Landshut.

Turn around and this is the view of the Mosel valley with Bernkastel in the background.

And turn to your right......

Remember earlier when I mentioned the tasty treat and satisfying beverage? Well here is the view from the patio of the cafe. It's a great place to spend a few minutes and enjoy the view with your snacks.

You can walk around the ruin and take in the view looking the opposite direction of the Mosel river.

We opted to hike down a trail that led through a vineyard. Here Andrea is surrounded by the world-known Riesling grapes with the Mosel river in the background.

I'm convinced there is no bad view in Bernkastel.

Almost to the valley floor, this is looking out over the Mosel river.

Now that we have visited Bernkastel, we understand why this is both such a popular destination for tourists and favorite hangout for the locals. Great scenery, many trails to walk around the vineyards, and plenty of bicycle paths.....all within 20 minutes from our village. I think it is safe to say that we will be spending some quality time on the Mosel during our stay here in Germany.

Hiking Around

There are many great hikes located throughout Germany and we are doing our best to visit each one before our time here is up. Last week I kept the tradition of hiking on my birthday by visiting Echternach, Luxembourg, which offers several kilometers of hiking trails. One of the fun parts of hiking in Germany is that you rarely understand the local hiking maps posted and once you are on the trails, you will need to interpret signs and symbols so that you do not become lost....er, I mean not arriving at your preferred destination. In my opinion, experienced hikers never get lost, they simply find new locations by surprise. Back to it.

We chose to hike up to a lookout that you can see from the heart of Echternach. Why? Because the trail head location has been somewhat of a mystery to find and I love a good challenge. We hiked around and found what looked to be a promising street that went in the general direction of the lookout. I have to admit that I was very happy to find the trail head at the very end of the street.....it was hot outside and walking around in the blazing sun was not all that enjoyable. Have you seen me sweat in the sun? It's not pretty. Once we were on the trail the shade provided a nice break from the sun. I wish I could say that it was a pleasant stroll in the woods, but I would be lying. The pitch immediately went vertical and it seemed that we were going to cover the few hundred meter climb in a very short distance. Fortunately there were several cool spots to stop and catch our breath.

Feeling refreshed, we continued our journey up until we encountered the first of many "forks in the road". Now, in these situations in the past, I have always followed the sage advice from the ski film director Warren Miller: "when you come to a fork in the road, take it". As you can see, there were no signs per say that described distance or names to different locations.

In the end, we guessed correctly and found the lookout. The first sight was this old prayer chapel that was erected in 1630.

On the other side of the chapel offered a bench to rest and take in the view of Echternach.

After our quick stop, we ventured down the trail a bit and found another lookout. The only catch was that you had to navigate this near-vertical stair case:

The view was worth the risk, in my opinion.

These rock formations were pretty neat, especially since the trail went through the heart of this rock:

Destination reached, we found a trail that went down the hill in the general direction of Echternach, so we took it. Mission accomplished as we found the car....after a few wrong turns and long walk through a city park. In the end, it was a great hike and wonderful way to continue the tradition of hiking on my birthday.

Meerfeld

Another great hiking area that we have discovered is around the village of Meerfeld. It is about 20 minutes from our village and offers amazing views and several hiking options. First, we chose to walk around Meerfelder Maar, a volcanic lake created nearly 29,000 years ago.

The views walking around the lake looking up to the rim of the former volcano.


The village of Meerfeld sits near the shore of the lake and offers great views from the balconies of the local hotels. It is easy to see why this place is so popular for weekend getaways in the summer.

After our walk around the lake, we decided to hike along a trail that eventually ended up at the top of the volcanic rim. The view was worth the effort and we loved sitting on the bench taking it all in.

Since there are so many different trails around Meerfeld, we are planning to hike here often. Perhaps on our next trip we will undertake the challenge of navigating our way to the next village over: Manderscheid. We might want to pack an extra sandwich in case we "find a new location by surprise".

World Cup 2010

Watching the World Cup games from Germany has been amazing. First, we are lucky that the time zone for the host nation offers us to watch the games live during the middle of the day (typically either 1:30pm, 4pm, or 8:30pm). This is a great change from years past where watching the games in the middle of the night was the only way to catch a match live. There was the option of watching a re-broadcast later in the day, but this always presented the hazard of learning the final results from the morning Sporstcenter before I could watch the match through it's entirety.

Another great experience has been observing the pride of German citizens as they decorate their home, their car, and whatever else they can think of in the colors of their national flag. For the past several weeks most cars have been proudly decorated with a flag and rear-view mirror cover in the color of the national flag. As for the homes, well, I believe these pictures summarizes it best:





Sadly I did not have our camera when I witnessed a baby stroller going down the sidewalk with a large German flag fastened to the handle.

As for watching the games, our Slingbox has been working overtime to provide us coverage for all matches thus far. When it comes to the German team playing, the local sportplatz is the preferred venue to feel firsthand the country pride and spirit......

....which includes the German colors being applied to your cheeks. Not sure we had much of a choice in the matter.


In spite of the USA team falling this past Saturday to Ghana (again), we are enjoying watching the matches as the level of play continues to rise with each round. If you need to find us this Saturday afternoon, look for us at the Sportplatz as we watch Germany play to advance to the semi-finals.

Tour de Luxembourg

Tour de Luxembourg 2010. What a great weekend and an incredible opportunity to see the riders up close and personal before the Tour of France in July. An added bonus was hearing that Lance Armstrong was looking for more "racing time" after crashing a few weeks prior in the Tour of California and joined the race.

The 4-stage race began on Wednesday and carried the riders throughout Luxembourg. The advantage of Luxembourg being a smaller-sized country is the ease for which you can see most of the country......in one day. On Saturday we headed out to the town of Diekrich, Luxembourg to watch the finish of Stage 3. Since the Tour de Luxembourg is a smaller race (when compared to the Tour of France), roaming around the village before the riders arrived was done with relative ease.

Finding the finish line is fairly easy at these events: there are large buses parked everywhere. I like the marketing slogan for Team Radioshack: The Shack. Yeah, that bus is anything but a shack......

The obvious choice for watching the riders is on a hill climb and with the ending for Stage 3 including 3 laps around the town of Diekrich, our goal was to locate that ideal patch of real estate that offered optimal viewing. A benefit for this 3-lap finish is the opportunity to see the riders multiple times as they battle it out before the finish line.....however I'm sure the riders would disagree given the steep hills and the weather was about 27 Celsius (or 80 degrees) that day.

The final hill climb was actually a 2-part climb and began on this narrow road....our car would barely fit on this stretch:

Looking down the first hill climb....this view is about halfway up. I'm guessing the pitch is about 9%.

Near the top of the first hill climb.

At the top of the first hill climb we found the ideal real estate we were looking for. In the background, right before the red tent, is the top of the first hill climb. The riders will be coming up the hill, turning right, and then head straight past us for the second hill climb. The sign Andrea is standing behind, for those that don't know, is instructing drivers not to exceed 50kmh, the village they are entering is Gilsdorf, and they are on road 356. Quite informative....and efficient. That is how they roll in Europe.

Before the riders arrived, I ran up to the top of the second climb. The second climb was about 3/4 mile long at about a 6% pitch. This the view from the top and let me tell you, that was one heck of a party the spectators were enjoying!

We didn't have to wait too long before the riders arrived. Before all the police escorts and other vehicles, this car comes screaming by with a person on the loudspeaker announcing the order of the riders. At least that is what I'm assuming the announcer was yelling.....it was all in French and I only know how to say "thank you" and "kiss" in French. Don't ask.

The leader passing us by on lap 1 of 3.

The main peloton close behind here on lap 1.

You can see that we are right next to the riders. Talk about being aware. The riders don't take care to avoid running into you....that is your job to stay out of their way. It is about this time that I look behind me to make sure nobody is going to "accidentally" push me into the riders. Talk about making ESPN's Top 10 plays the wrong way......

Team manager for Radioshack, Johan Bruyneel

After the riders went by for the 3rd and final time, we hustled back down to the finish line (about a mile away). We managed to arrive in time to see the winners of the stage and overall receive their awards....recognition......flowers.....stuffed animal....and of course, a kiss from the local girls.

On Sunday, we drove to Mersch, Luxembourg to watch the beginning of the 4th and final stage. We discovered some great hiking trails during our 1 hour drive to the village.....a side benefit that we look forward to enjoying soon. Arriving in Mersch early, we walked around and found no buses, only the starting line. Huh. About an hour before the race, all the buses showed up and the circus quickly began. The teams removed the bicycles from the team cars and some riders came out of the team buses to sign autographs or simply rode around. Since this was a small venue, the opportunity to see each rider up close was great.

Lance Armstrong draws a big crowd. The line outside his team bus forms immediately upon arrival. I doubt we will get this close in the Tour de France.

Lance heading to the start.

The start of the 4th stage.

The finish for the race was downtown Luxembourg city, about an hours drive from the start. Of course, the riders took the long route there....which gave us the opportunity to explore the finish line and talk to some of the vendors. We met a nice gentleman from Team Shimano SKIL that helped us pass the time while we waited for the riders. He was there to hand off drinks and nutrition to his riders (the final included 5 laps around the city). We learned a great deal about what goes on when the riders are not on their bikes racing. First, it is common for the riders to expend around 4,000 to 6,000 calories each race, so food and nutrient intake when they are not racing is crucial. They typically begin their day with a large breakfast about 3 hours prior to the race. This gives the food enough time to process. During the race, the riders will try to eat and drink as much as possible during their 2 to 4 hour ride (depending on the course that day). Upon finishing, each rider will immediately begin to hydrate and eat. After the race, they head back to the hotels, shower, receive a rub down, and then onto the final meal of the day. You would think that getting to bed early would be important, but we learned that most riders stay up until 10pm or even as late as 12am each night. 8am comes and the schedule is repeated.

Andrea and Micki at the finish line in Luxembourg city before the riders arrived.

The first of the riders arrived for the 5 lap finish.

The main peloton is not far behind....perhaps 50 seconds.

Soon after the first lap, the anticipated rain showed up. At first, it was the typically Seattle rain: a little here and there, but nothing to fret over. Then, the mid-west style rain showed up.....which I'm quite certain is similar to my morning shower. The heavy rain kept coming for several minutes which turned the course into a slick track (it had not rained for at least a week, so the oil on the streets made for a very slick course). After the 3rd lap and a crash, the race was called due to weather.

Shortly after the race ended the rain stopped and the sun returned and we headed over to the stage to watch the awards. We found a great spot that positioned us in front of the riders waiting area (before they are called on stage).

Lance Armstrong giving an interview

The bicycle Lance Armstrong rode. I was shocked at the cost for the individual parts for the bike: $2,000 for a gear derail er??!! I'm guessing the total cost for this bike is around $20,000 and weighs less than 4.5 kilograms (about 10lbs).

Before the official award ceremony, Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, and Frank Schleck sharing some laughs.

Shortly after the presentation of the final award the riders quickly found their respective buses and headed out of town. What an incredible opportunity and a great weekend, even if it did rain buckets at the finish. This weekend has officially made us excited for our plans to venture to France next month to watch the Tour! Perhaps I should take to learning a few more French phrases besides "kiss" before then........