15 June ’04, Tuesday. If we have learned anything on this journey it is that you will find lot’s of wonderful surprises at each and every village, town and city we pull into. Bamberg Germany is by no means an exception. Our campground is on the Main River bank. I would say there are approximately 200 + rigs here with a little more than half being permanent. That is pretty common here in Europe. The Europeans have so many great campgrounds to use that they will pull their caravan (average camper trailer in US) into their favorite location. They live fairly close by so that they use it as their second home in most cases. If the campground closes in the winter then they will have to move everything out until next season. The season usually runs from April to November and will cost around $900-1200 per season plus electrical. Well getting back to Bamberg…Louise and I walked out to the entrance to the campground and there was the bus waiting to take us into town for $1 EU each. We were dropped off in the center of town and it was really quite a ride. First the streets here in the old town area are very narrow and even with that they will allow cars to park on one side. With the large buses it is quite a challenge for the driver to weave through. After a short walk we were in the Grote Markt which is a traffic free area and filled with all the shopping your heart and pocket book can handle. Surrounding the Markt are buildings from a great history and each has it’s own story to tell. As we walked through one of the city gates which has a rushing river under it we noticed the remains of a white water kayak event. A tour through the “Lower” and “Upper” Parish Churches and the Bamberg Dom proved to be a wonderful event. Each church has it’s own personality and valuable pieces of history to be proud of. The city dates back to the 15th Century. Bamberg also host’s a large contingent of military families from the U.S. Tomorrow…..Closer to Prague.
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14 June ’04, Monday. Last night we were handed a catalog from a distributor of camping equipment. The catalog was very impressive so we planned to go shopping in the morning. Off we went about 10:30 ready to spend, spend, spend. Well you might say that after we found the place we were greatly disappointed. It was more of a catalog store that a store that had things that you could walk out the door with. A great disappointment to say the least. The only positive was we came back with money saved…. We had set this day apart just for that bit of shopping so we just headed back to camp. Louise has one of those books that she just can’t lay down so that has given her a full day of reading. As for me, I dug out the car wax and waxed the van….boy that was fun. One thing that we do look forward to is meeting as many people we can at the campgrounds. Because we are running with Dutch license plates it is often very confusing to our camp ground compatriots when all they hear from us is English. Most of the campers here are German and a few from Holland, Poland, and Italy. We have found that just about 60% or more will speak English once we have gone through a little conversation of both languages and it is hopeless to continue on their side. All are very gracious and interested in our journey. They are also a people that travel quite extensively. We have gotten many interesting ideas and locations that we should see and do while we are here in Europe. Today we did find a Internet computer that we could use for our email. I just happened to see a sign across the street from the grocery store that said “come browse the internet”. Well it didn’t take long for me to make it across the street. The shop was owned by a young German who had a chance to live in Texas for 4 years while working for a big telecom company. His English was perfect, even with a Southern accent. He even offered me the opportunity to use my laptop to up-load to the web. All this was free…Thank You Greg !!! Tomorrow…..Busing it to Bomberg for the sites of the town. 13 June ’04, Sunday. Last night after dinner we met a wonderful couple from Sterling Scotland….John and Muriel. We’ve been anxious to see Scotland and now we have another reason to look forward to our visit. Well we pulled out of Frankfurt about 10am and believe it or not….again we went the wrong way….we have got to do better on leaving these bigger cities. It didn’t take us long and we saw our mistake so we did a “U-ee” and got back on track. We are heading for Prague and taking as many back roads as we possibly can. As we travel these smaller roadways we are constantly amazed at the beauty of all the small villages and some of the big surprises they will show you. Today was no different….about 1pm I was looking for a place to have lunch and we drove into a small village called Lohr A. Main. The small town of Lohr in situated on the river banks of the Main and the Rechtenbach. Today it is pretty much a tourist village but is also very busy in high tech, lumber, and glass (especially mirror glass). Also there is a beautiful castle that was the home of “Snow White”. Yes, Snow White. After many years of investigation, Dr. Karlheinz Bartels was able to prove conclusively, on the basis of facts provided by “fabular” science, that Snow White did come from the castle in Lohr. His study even goes on to include the 7 small people around the area of Lohr. One more bit of information on Lohr….The mirrors were so elaborately worked that they were accorded the reputation of “always speaking the truth” and become a favorite gift at European Crown and Aristocratic Courts. We just thought you would like to know about this little village. We really did enjoy it. Now back to the back roads and onto our final destination for the day, Bamberg. Tomorrow….More on Bamberg, Germany. 12 June ’04, Saturday. We didn’t have any real “sightseeing” plans in mind for Frankfurt today but we were on the tram by 10:30 anyway. The weather was very nice but did give the feeling that it might not last throughout the day. As we walked out of the underground tram station we noticed right away the clouds looked threatening again. But our thoughts of the probable inclement weather was soon forgotten as we saw that we were once again right in the middle of another celebration of some sort. It turned out to be Corpus Cristie. Just about as far as you could see down the main street of Frankfurt was music, food, wine and beer gardens just waiting for the crowds to arrive. Well here we are !!!! The biggest problem we encountered was what to order….it really can be a problem you know. Enough about our gastronomical delights. The history of Frankfurt is deep with life and legends but as for the old structures of history past, almost all were totally destroyed in the bombings from World War II. Frankfurt has and still is being rebuilt. Of those buildings that were left untouched was The Dom (Cathedral). It is beautiful and it was wonderful that it survived. We were only able to glance inside because they were just getting ready to bring into the church those young people for their first communion. It didn’t take too long before the thunder and rain started. Although it wasn’t the down-pour we experienced yesterday, there was enough that it made you go into one store after another until you’d had enough and decided that it was time to grab the tram back to the van. Tomorrow…..East 11 June ’04, Friday. The head was doing just great this morning and we decided to pull up stakes and head up the Mosel to finish a wonderful leg of our journey. The weather was still slightly overcast but overall, things looked good for continuing. About 15 km up the road we had one more stop that we wanted to make. The Burg Eltz castle is one of Rick Steves favorites, so that in it’s self made it one of our “most see” sites. After we parked the van we knew that we would have at least a 45 minute walk ahead of us through the woods above the village of Moselkern. It was just like walking through the woods back in Washington State. It even smelled like it. Almost, allllmmmoosst made us a little home sick. It was, as described by Rick, just as it appeared when we got there. As you come to the end of the trail, the Burg Eltz is just sitting right there in front of you. Prior to that you only knew that it was supposed to be out there somewhere. It is pretty spectacular, but I will have do disagree with Rick on this one. In my opinion, the Reichsburg Castle in Cochem is “the” castle on the Mosel to see. I’m sure Rick Steves really cares about my opinion don’t you think?…. A little history on the family Eltz…. They started building the castle over a thousand years ago. The surrounding forest provided a wealth of food and natural resources, and from their high vantage point the Eltz family controlled traffic between the fertile Maifield plateau and the Mosel River, a major trade route. Otherwise, income from taxes on goods going by or out of the area. There is much more, but you will have to read the book. Now that we are back to the van we head East by North East to the meeting place of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers….Koblenz. As we were just arriving in Koblenz, the sky opened up and it rained as hard as I have ever seen it rain. Right there and then, we decided to continue on across Germany heading toward Prague. We made it to Frankfurt and left the rain a little ways behind for now. Tomorrow….let’s see Frankfurt and hope the rain hasn’t caught up with us. 10 July ’04, Thursday. Well, is it too much to ask for the “CHICKEN DANCE” ? We went into town this morning to visit the Reinburg Castle and tour the town as well. We did. Also we wanted to find an Internet Café….We did. We also again wanted to go to the grocery store early this morning and again…We did..Except in this case for some unknown reason the store was CLOSED. What is this ANOTHER HOLIDAY ???? And beside that a 4 DAY Holiday ???? We try to follow the holiday schedules that we have found in all the books (but apparently we are reading the wrong books) but again we are just lucky as we can barely get by with what provisions we have one more time. Enough about the holidays. The Reichburg Castle is really stunning. The first construction started on the castle in the year 1000. Final restoration was completed in the late 1800’s. As you come in to town it is the first thing you notice as it sits high on the hill side overlooking the town and the Mosel Valley below. It is completely furnished and each person that comes in has a guide to acquaint you with all the history of the castle and the decor. This evening we took the van and drove back into town after a thunderstorm. This gave us an opportunity to visit the Internet Café and spend just under 2 hours as well as take in the evenings festivities. We were very pleased to get so many emails today. Not only from the girls and mom but from Claudia & Leroy and Els & Cees as well. Els and Cees are just about ready to leave for Croatia from Holland….we would really like to bump into them there. Then off to the evening festivities that included at least a dozen wine makers circling a band stand. On the bandstand, was a large ensemble playing wonderful German music that kept you swaying from side to side and singing out even when you didn’t know the music or the words (we were probably helped by the wonderful wine). It didn’t bother anyone who made it to the festivities, that it was raining like heck. It just mattered that we all had a good time !!! Tomorrow….well, let’s see if the head will function before we put anything in gear. 9 & 10 June '04, Wed & Thurs. Our travels have brought us further up the Mosel. We are now in Cochem. We arrived yesterday afternoon and it was "Hot" and I mean "Hot". For all the travels we have had in the past few months this was the hottest. I'm sure that the humidity has something to do with it. We have moved into another pitch on the Mosel. This one is larger and very clean facilities but, it isn't what we have had in the past few weeks. Oh well, it isnj't about campgrounds is it? We made it through the afternoon and into the evening and the temp did come down so that we could sleep quite well. This morning we got an early start. There is a beautiful castle on the hill overlooking the town a the Mosel that we want to tour early to stay out of the heat of the day. Well, we made the tour and it was a great one at that. On the way back into town from the castle we noticed that the clouds were getting very dark....yep, it turned into a lightning storm and has been a down pour since. Tomorrow....further up the Mosel. 6 June ’04, Sunday. Louise and I headed out just after breakfast for town and you couldn’t believe your eyes….we don’t know just where they were coming from but they were all arriving. Big, little, and in-between, dads, moms, kids, grandparents, dogs, all on a whole bunch of bikes, scooters, trikes, and roller-blades as well. One of the first things that was really obvious was the lack of car noise…motors, tire and just the whishing… Pretty nice. After we got into town and did some of the usual things we decided to go to the castle on top of the hill above the towns. Now I must tell you, this was no little task. It was straight up and it was hot !!! Well, we were proud of our hike and decided we would treat ourselves with lunch up there…not to be…CLOSED? Who makes these decisions? We were hot, hungry, thirsty, and ….oh well, we’ll make it down and have a great meal….Beer and Brocks !!!! Just what we were looking for. On our arrival in the campgrounds we met our neighbors who were from Bavaria. Sascha, Karlygash, and Aidana have been using this campground for a number of seasons. They helped Louise and I with a ton of information as to different locations and campgrounds throughout Europe that they thought we might find a lot of fun to visit. They also invited us out on their boat for a day of cruising on the Mosel and to their new home that they are just now completing. What can we say again….Great people and families. Tomorrow….Traben-Trarbach. 5 June ’04, Saturday. Winding twisting Mosel...what a beautiful sight, taste, and aroma all wrapped up into one. Well, I’m jumping ahead a little. Last night after dinner, Louise and I were just settling in (I was doing my journal) and our neighbors came home. They were carrying a bottle of wine with them from one of the many wineries. Well, I hate to say it but this was an opportunity to open a conversation (if they spoke English), so I flung our door open and said “Hi”. This is all it took and the rest of the evening was about to begin. Warner and Eri (Raiser) came into our lives (remember, they had the wine). Just kidding, they are a couple that are on vacation here on the Mosel (from a town just outside of Stuttgard) and they just happen to have a VW Campervan as well (only theirs is just like new but a couple of years newer). They were gracious enough to offer their wealth (the wine) which we found very tasty. After a late night and getting up very late this morning we said goodbye to Warner, Eri, and Neumagen and headed further up river. After passing through many incredible villages we finally pulled into Bernkastel-Kues. We knew a week or more ago that we wanted to stay here but really didn’t know it would be so soon. Oh yes, we did stop in Piesporter. Louise and I first fell in love with a Piesporter Goldtrofen Spatlese in Spokane quite a few years ago so we definitely wanted to pick up at least a couple more bottles now. As it was we bought 4 and would have bought more but we just don’t have the space…. We do look forward to some “good drinkin” in the next few weeks while here in the Mosel Valley and beyond. Enough about wine…(is there ever enough?)…we have some exploring to do as well. The two villages of Bernkastel and Kues (1 on one side of the river and 1 on the other) offer romance in all the unique nooks, crannies, narrow lanes and picturesque architecture. This is like stepping into a fairytale book and living it as well. There is a lot of history here starting with 700 years of history with the town gate. Enough for now….Tomorrow….Bernkastel and Kues (with out cars, trucks, motorcycles). 4 June ’04, Friday. 0615 is the earliest we have made it up so far. Now you have to understand, we were doing it for “Bumble Bee”. We wanted to be first in line this morning to get an oil change. By the time it was all over we had a few minor additions added to the bill but all is good. We wanted to get an early start on the road as well. This would give us a chance to travel the riverside road and enjoy the beautiful scenery. As we left Trier I wanted to fill with gas but the only station I found was charging too much for their gas so, I drove on….yep, you almost guessed it. It was really close, but we did find a station to fill at and it didn’t take us too far out of the way (now that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). Anyway, the roadway we took today was really beautiful. From both sides of the river valley, to the crest of the steep hills, and just about as far as you can see were grape orchards for the wineries. The Mosel is a winding and twisting river that almost crosses over it’s self as it carries onto it’s meeting with the Rhine. We have also come across quite a few Roman ruins. Sometimes it is just a pillar or a stone with some carvings on it, and then there are those ruins that are quite spectacular. We traveled less than 50 miles and were impressed. As we approached Neumagen (which we had never heard of) we decided to stop at the campgrounds next to the river and do some exploring. Well, we not only found a nice place to spend the night but we also found that they are not left out of the Roman ruin tour. We spend at least 2 hours walking this small town and just allowing the Roman history (Noviomagvs Neumagen) that we have seen here soak in. Truly beautiful !!! Speaking of TASTY, yep, I’m changing subjects…this evening we went wine tasting. This will not be our last!!!! Delicious…. Our first venture was “Dillé Wein - & Sekthaus. For a very dry and very tasty Riesling I chose a Dillé Riesling, Spätlese and Louise had a Dillé Goldfäbchen (a very smooth sweeter Riesling). And then for desert….Traditionelle Flaschengährung Riesling Brut and Extra Brut (Sparkling Wines)…..aaaahhhhh!!! What can I say….Goodnight All. Tomorrow…more of the Mosel |
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