Distance: 53.48 kilometres
Time: 2 hours 52 minutes
Speed: 18.6 km/h
Ascent: 148 metres
Total distance: 295.9 kilometres
Total time: 16 hours 55 minutes
Word of the day: Mäanderdurchbruch: The physical breakthrough or shortcut where a winding river cuts straight through the narrow neck of a meander loop, usually during a flood. Admittedly, the choice of this word kind of spoils the joke, as the word itself is much more concise than the definition!
The Captain writes:
In all honesty we were a tad disappointed with Traben-Trarbach. When we visited in the winter we tried to stay there, as we had heard it was one of the most beautiful towns on the Mosel, but we both felt we had seen far more lovely places on our journey so far.
Or perhaps we were cross, because the host of our AirBnB turned out to be one of the most unhelpful and ungenerous we’ve ever encountered (and we’ve stayed in more than a hundred AirBnB apartments and houses on our various trips).
There were things we liked, though…
We were able to gaze out on the inside curve of a fine meander from the balcony of the apartment…
…and to relax for a day, do the washing, plan the onward journey – all the things we habitually do on a rest day. So it wasn’t all bad – takeaway Turkish Pide satisfied our hunger pangs on the first night, and we managed to source bratwurst, schnitzels and rösti for our various meals on our day off. Not forgetting some delicious sparking Riesling and a bottle of Spätburgunder – we have to keep the standards up!
If Traben-Trarbach wasn’t quite all we had hoped for, the scenery we saw thereafter on today’s route was absolutely breathtaking. We travelled as far as Cochem alongside a series of intricate meanders which were simply stunning.
The first of these, starting at Pünderich and continuing past Zell towards Bullay, was the absolute highlight. At this point in the river there’s a goose-neck in the meander which, in a few millennia, is going to be a fine ox-bow lake.
The Stoker has insisted that I explain myself. I argued that everybody (at least everyone of my age-group who studied geography at any level) has heard of an ox-bow lake. It’s true to say, though, that for some reason the teaching of geography was subsumed into ‘humanities’ in subsequent years, though, and the finer points of geomorphology may have been lost in the mix!
An oxbow lake is a curved, U-shaped body of water formed when a wide, winding river meander is cut off from the main channel. This natural separation occurs as erosion and sediment deposition cause the “neck” of a river bend to narrow until the river breaks through, leaving the old loop isolated.
Lesson over! Anyway, this was an amazing section of the river. On one side there were serried rows of vines, on a steep south-facing declivity. On the other, forested slopes which were too steep for the growing of vines. In between the two, the green, limpid, clean, sparkling waters of the Mosel.
And some geese!
All along the river, too, were lovely small towns, all formed from the same basic ingredients – a spired church, sundry half-timbered buildings and some later constructions, built in a way which was very easy on the eye.
The cycle path was extremely busy. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we passed many hundreds, perhaps even a thousand cyclists today. When I say ‘passed’ I don’t mean we overtook them all, we’re not that quick! Many were coming in the opposite direction. As well as the cyclists there were water-skiers, people in kayaks, joggers, parascenders, scooter-riders and people in pleasure-boats both large and small.
There were fields of enormous sunflowers…
I do find it a bit odd, though, that the locals rarely smile. As the Stoker has mentioned, there seems to be a ‘stern resting-face’ tendency in those we see. It’s not universal – the tandem, being an unusual phenomenon in these parts, tends to raise the occasional smile, and I’m sure that at least some of them are enjoying their day out on the cycle path, perhaps it’s just not the done thing to show it.
We stopped three times to consume bidons of water today – it was clear that the temperature was on a rising trend, and we may have to depart earlier on for the next couple of days as the forecast is for the temperature to reach the mid-thirties on each day.
After a long-ish day (at least by recent standards), which was hugely enjoyable and a visual treat, we rounded the final bend in the river towards Cochem, and saw one final treat – the finest castle of the trip so far. It’s visible from the balcony of our small room in a delightful small hotel.
Tomorrow the Mosel straightens out somewhat, leading us towards our next stop at Koblenz, where the Mosel joins the Rhein at the Deutches Eck.
Here’s today’s route:
…and a short video