Luxembourg City & the Mosel Valley

The weather forecast was not too good for Friday so we decided to take the bus and train into Luxembourg City to explore. Clive had told us that you can get a day ticket for all buses and trains in Luxembourg (the country) for just €4 each so we thought we’d give it a try.

The bus stop was just a short walk from the site – we caught the bus which was on time (aren’t they all over here?) and bought our day passes as Clive had promised. The bus was a pristine and very modern coach – they have a great system where a TV screen at the front of the bus shows the next few stops and how long before you are going to arrive at each – a very useful feature for people like us who aren’t exactly sure where we need to get off!

15 minutes later we were at the railway station in Wasserbillig where we caught the slow train into Luxembourg, which took about 50 minutes. Our €4 tickets passed muster with the guard too (we never doubted you Clive!)

The railway station is about a mile away from the main attractions in the city, so we set off walking, but soon had to stop to put on our cagoules as it started to rain. We dived into a cafe for coffee and cakes, and then when the rain has eased off continued on our way.

We walked past some imposing buildings – Luxembourg is a big financial centre, and all the most impressive buildings once again seem to belong to the banks.

We arrived at the centre, and headed for the Skyline – a large temporary tower with a revolving doughnut, which moved up and down a central column. We bought tickets for the ride, and got a 360-degree bird’s eye view of the cityscape. Great photo opportunity!

The ride lasted 10 minutes or so, and we then explored on foot. We visited the cathedral, saw the Courts of Justice, the Grand Duke’s residence, and the Maison de l’Union Europeenne – we certainly don’t have one of those in post Brexit Britain!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at a bar for a quick lunch when it once again started to rain, and afterwards tried to find a museum where we could take shelter, but couldn’t find it, and got soaked in the process, so decided to cut our losses and head back to the site.

It had stopped raining by the time we got back into Born, but the weather remained unsettled throughout the rest of our stay. We did manage to food shop and blog on Saturday though, and had dinner in the site restaurant that evening, where Karol sampled the local sparkling wine (called Sekt) and I tried a rump steak – but horse, not beef. It was a bit chewy but very tasty nonetheless.

Sunday we packed up – whilst the rain held off everything was very wet and muddy, but this has been the first occasion when we’ve had to pack everything wet, so I guess we’ve done pretty well considering. We said our goodbye’s to Clive, and set off for the short hop to the Mosel Valley, about 2 hours away. The weather gradually improved, and we arrived at Campsite Hollandischer Hof in Senheim – a Dutch owned site with river frontage onto the Mosel in the early afternoon. All of the other campers are either Dutch or German, and once again we’re the only Brits, but it’s a lovely site, with really clean facilities, and well maintained pitches.

The whole area is served by a network of cycle paths, so on Monday morning we set off on our bikes to cycle the 17 km to Cochem, the largest town in the area. The cycle path follows the river, and passes through a couple of very pretty villages on the way, and even a couple of vineyards.

We took our time, stopping for coffee at Bruttig, and arrived at lunchtime.

Cochem is quite a busy place, with a very pretty centre, an imposing castle and lots of shops, cafe’s and bars. It is also a stopping off point for the large river cruise boats – we were amazed to see that some even had crazy golf courses on the roof!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a pleasant afternoon walking around, and taking more photos before setting off back the way we had come. The cycle paths are often busier than the roads here, as everyone seems to use bikes to explore, which is great, but means you have to keep your eyes peeled as some of the disciplines and the etiquette leave a lot to be desired. Karol’s collective noun – an arrogance of cyclists – remains very apt! Once again coffee and cake beckoned as we refuelled on route, and we made it back to the site. This has been Karol’s longest cycle ride ever now, beating Austria. Her confidence has improved immeasurably since we set off in March, and she’s a really proficient and confident cyclist now.

On Tuesday the weather improved still further, so we spent the morning on a few housekeeping chores and a walk into the village of Senheim, and then set off to explore down the west side of the Mosel in the afternoon. The cycle path ran alongside the road for much of the way, and wasn’t as interesting as the east side, so when we got to Poltersdorf we caught the ferry across to Beilstein on the east bank.

We spent a lovely couple of hours exploring, wine-tasting, and taking photos. Beilstein is a chocolate box pretty village which has been home to a Jewish community since the early middle ages. The people of Beilstein wrote letters of safe conduct for Jewish families threatened by pogroms and allowed them to stay. We walked up the hill to see the old ruined castle, and to enjoy the amazing views of the valley, before heading back in the early evening for a barbeque and we sat outside until sunset.