A Rambling Tale of Christmas Markets & Castles: Six Days in the Moseltal

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart!" - Meredith Wilson

Since the end of August our adventure has taken on a somewhat rambling quality, with little research and a more "so where should we go now" nature. And here we are still in Europe eleven months after leaving home, with my mother in laws health still looking good, which was our reason for travelling without return tickets or booked plans past August. And so last month I bit the bullet and started making plans and booking accommodation and even bought our flights back to Australia in January.

 With two weeks earmarked for a return to England I found a German Wings flight from Split to Heathrow via Cologne I decided fate was helping us out I booked the flights, with a six night stopover. Last year I received some great advice from the lovely people over at my favourite travel forum (slowtalk.com) and Cochem had been earmarked as a great base to spend a week in summer. But in the final draft it had undergone the axe in favour of shortening our time on the road.

As a lover of all things historical ever since high school school I been keen to visit the castles of Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state. While I have visited Bavaria's famous landmark Nueschwanstein many years ago, I found it rather more whimsical than historical.

No, what I was after was honest to goodness fortresses lined up along the river ready to defend themselves against attack in an age where life has been best described by Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century philosopher, as "nasty, brutish and short", much like medieval people themselves dare I say. We had really enjoyed our time in the Dordogne in France and imagined the regions to be similar. Seeing castles and understanding the purpose of them I think that Emma has lost some of her fairytale wonder and has gained an understanding of reality when it comes to castles over the past year. Much to Julian's disgust and my amusement her puppet show games have recently taken a turn and starting including violent battles and battlefield hospital scenes rather than chivalrous knights and beautiful princesses.

While I was disappointed to discover that the castles were mostly closed in November or if they were open the tours were in German only, we were all thrilled by the idea that we would be able to visit some of the wonderful German Christmas markets during opening week. And so our week planned around castles suddenly changed in flavour and the kids were happy to spend a couple of hours each day in the car visiting marvellous towns, wonderful markets and at least seeing some picture perfect German Castles.

Cochem

Arriving in Germany we felt a definite drop in the temperature and the sudden arrival of the Christmas season. We found a wonderful home base, an apartment in Ernst (Winneburger Hof) which is a town very close to Cochem but without Cochem's touristy price tag. From here we could easily travel out in the morning on our adventures. Arriving in Cochem in the late afternoon we had the town practically to ourselves though there were a couple of market stalls already set up and a huge slide which Julian just had to try

 Cochem is very pretty, with many half timbered houses and the picturesque Reichsburg castle watching over the town and the pretty Mosel river. There are a number of super touristy restaurants along the Mosel serving every type of schnitzel imaginable. Having eaten out so many times we stuck with our mantra "avoid the chips and order a big salad" and we enjoyed a nice meal.

We returned to Cochem on evening before we left with the intention if visiting their market which was advertised as opening on that day, though I think I was mistaken. When we arrived at six in the evening the town was fairly deserted and even the handful of stalls that had been open earlier in the week were closed. 

Luckily Cochem sets up a great big marquee that acts as a weinstube with a couple of indoor market stalls and this was open. This was a terrific way to visit markets, you are not bothered by the cold air

as you visit the various stands and a glass of bubbly helped warm me nicely.

Bernkastel-Kues

 I was really impressed with the kids ability to cope with long car trips without complaint yet again. It could have had something to do with the fact that we had hired a larger car than normal to take all our luggage and they had given us a bigger one still, a seven seater Ford. The kids insisted on sitting right in the back and so Rob and I enjoyed our scenic journeys up front while the kids listened to audiobooks in the far back of the car.

Our first journey was about an hour to Bernkastel, another pretty town on the Mosel River. Along the journey, mostly wending our way alongside the river, we saw the vines the Mosel region is famous for. We also discovered on hillsides amongst the vines amazing sundials that I was unable to get a good photo of, but we were intrigued that people still use them.

The grapes are grown on the steep hills lining the river and most had rodelbahn style carriages on rails that the farmers must use to help them get up the steep slopes. The kids put in an order with there. Dad to construct a huge hill in our backyard with a rodelbahn when we get home, and here I was thinking our renovating days were over.

With our Tomtom set on the town centre we followed it without thinking, that is until it asked us to turn the car into a narrow lane between buildings that was not a road at all but a set of stairs. After that we turned off the Tomtom and found our way to the town car park by the Mosel River, which is overlooked by the remains of a castle. The car park was fairly full so we thought that boded well for a busy market.

But as we made our way through the town I started to worry. In the main town square we found a few stalls and an enormous advent calendar created using the windows of one of the old buildings. It was really one of the most beautiful town we have seen, but there was no one about and surely this couldn't be it in terms of the market. 

And so we searched the deserted town and my worry grew. I was really enjoying looking at the old buildings but where was the market, I felt a sense of responsibility and I hoped the kids wouldn't be disappointed. And so, defeated, we made our way back to the square and notice a lane off to one side that appeared to have another stall set up there and so off we went and "Eureka" we found the Christmas market, street after street of it in fact.

We found much on the first day which was repeated in all the markets that followed, bratwurst and gluhwein, nutcrackers and mass produced gingerbread, clothing and knitwear from Nepal as well as waffles and pancakes. It was lovely to wander around the stalls, the kids bought nutcrackers and knitted hats but Rob and I found nothing to tempt us except Christmas cards which we picked up at a newsagent to send home to Australia. 

We enjoyed looking at the carved wooden displays that were set up, much like the toys on sale in the market, great big tiered stands with nativity figures turning around like a many layered carousel. We were even treated to a group of kindy kids singing Christmas carols. After hot chocolate and apfelstrudel for afternoon tea we left to make our way back along the river to our home base pleased that our market days had gotten off to a terrific start, once we found it, and we counted our lucky stars we hadn't given up and missed out.

Trier

We had chosen to take the scenic route to Bernkastel so decided on the main road to get to Trier. The autobahns where an interesting novelty, with no speed limit we found the slow lane populated by slow trucks and Sunday drivers going well under 100kmh, the middle lane good for those who wished to drive at about 130kmh and I can't imagine what speed those demons in the fast lane were doing. With road works today we pretty much were limited to a slow and steady pace.

 It didn't take long to get to Trier and I looked up where to park and found our way to the Porta Nigra, the Roman gate to the city and a carpark nearby. While first it seemed strange to find Roman ruins this far north, in Germany's first city, then we remembered Hadrian's wall and reflected on just how far the Romans travelled.

Trier was a lovely day trip, a terrific blend of old and the kids found themselves glued to a shop window which had a fantastic Lego display and we agreed to go and have a look inside to get ideas for Christmas presents.

The highlights of the markets set up on the old town squares was seeing the ice-skating but the kids decided it was much too cold to consider getting close to the ice. They didn't say no to a ride on the carousel however. Our week in Germany was probably our coldest week for our whole holiday with daytime temperatures between four and six degrees. We enjoyed the stalls set up near the Cathedral the most as they seemed to have some artisan timber and craftwork here rather than the mass produced items we had been seeing.

The ancient cathedral was magnificent, with a history stretching back to early Christian Roman times. It reminded me of the early Christian churches we had seen in Istria (Croatia) with stunning simplicity but it lacked the beauty of the basilica in Porec with it Byzantine influence and stunning mosaics. Then again I think this a tough measuring stick that few churches have a chance of standing up against.

The cathedral in Trier was built by Helen, the emperor Constantine's much travelled mother, a fascinating lady who I will spend more time looking up when I get the chance. Over the ages her Roman brick chapel has been expanded, repaired and remodelled in the whatever the popular style of the day appears to have been, so their are romanesque, gothic and baroque elements at play.

After two busy days we spent next day recuperating at our apartment before we head off the next day in search of adventure again.

 

Berg Eltz

My close friend Susanne, a native of Germany who enjoyed many wonderful holidays in the area as a child, recommended we visit Berg Eltz even though it was closed for the season. And trusting in her judgement we head off for the castle the next morning and enjoyed one of those very special adventures amongst the highlights of our visit to Germany.

 We found the carpark in a forested area that was still displaying the last of its autumn splendour. We were the only car in the big car park, though another pulled up as we began our walk. Whoever decided to describe this 1.6km trail as a "ten minute walk" definitely does not have children. 

As we walked thought the glorious forest, stopping to climb leaf strewn slopes, find walking sticks, look at wonderful mushrooms growing on logs, admire the view and make sure we didn't didn't loose anyone off a cliff along the side of the trail and into the river below, we lost track of time in our enthusiasm. We were brought back to earth by a solo traveller barrelling along the trail who asked us if the castle were close by and we had no idea.

We wandered around a corner and saw on a hill above us an old fortification and Julian asked "is that it" but I didn't think so as it looked different in the photos. Rob reached an intersection in the trails first and staged a "I have no idea which way to go now" performance which we all saw straight through the act pushed past him and found one of the worlds most amazing castles.

It didn't matter that we couldn't go inside, though many people will tell you the inside is the best part. In fact after the walk I don't believe I would have been up to touring the castle and understand that summer visitors walk one way and catch a shuttle bus back to the car park. 

We wandered down by the river side to take in the view from different angles before making the return trek to the castle. There were a few other tourists by this stage and most of them were parked on the side of the road and sadly for them they missed the wonderful walk.

Our trip back to the car was much quicker, brought about by the panicked feeling we were going to miss lunch as we had no watch with us. It wasn't as late as we expected it to be and while had planned to visit the Marksburg in the afternoon, a drive of almost an hour, this was voted down in favour of lunch and Christmas markets in Koblenz.

Koblenz

In Koblenz we got our brief view of the Rhine River, which was all that we managed for this holiday. Lunch was our first priority and was enjoyed in a lovely old weinstube. 

The Koblenz markets were fabulous and for the first time we saw artisans at work creating their wonderful offerings. The market was spread out across the city and soon we found ourselves thoroughly and delightfully lost.

At one market area we found St Nicholas deep in conversation with a blacksmith chopping wood for his fire. Nearby we watched a glass blower creating wonderful christmas baubles.

Our nose lead us to another square filled with food offerings and we decided it was time for afternoon tea. Emma had a fabulous apfel pfannkuchen, Julian stuck with the familiar waffles and Rob and I chose the kwarkbollen which look ans taste like Croatian fritole and were delish, especially as they were still warm.

Cologne

Our flight to London on Saturday morning was a early one so we needed to be closer to the airport and so we booked a Holiday Inn Express in Troisdorf, a real bargain through Hotwire and not hard to guess which hotel we would get. And so we decided to leave Cochem early and spend a couple of hours in Köln seeing the wonderful Cathedral and its adjacent markets.

We parked easily at the main train station, the hauptbahnhof, and walked over to the Cathedral, you can't miss it as it towers magistically over the city. There was no queue and so we walked in and Rob, Emma and I said WOW and Julian said "this is nothing I've seen taller ceilings than that" though we were not quiet sure where. Bizarrely enough he was correct as the nave of St Paul's in Rome is actually a little less than six feet higher.

The Christmas Market was hidden around the side of the church, it wasn't hard to hide behind the largest church in Northern Europe, though the market itself was huge. It was also absolutely freezing so we quickly bought some kase spaetzel, yummy cheesy noodles with carmalised onion to keep our hands and tummies warm. I even tried a white gluwein which I found absolutely delicious, so warming and tasty and it reminded me too late that, even though I drink very little, that we have visited the Mosel Valley and we had not sampled any of the wine and it was a shame.

I even tried a white gluwein which I found absolutely delicious, so warming and tasty and it reminded me too late that, even though I drink very little, that we have visited the Mosel Valley and we had not sampled any of the wine and it was a shame.

This market held a hidden danger for us, the danger of buying too much and not fitting it in our luggage allowance. Which led us to thinking about getting all of our things back to Australia in the new year. 

We had planned to post some things back from England once we saw what we had left behind back in June. We planned to post our summer clothes to Sydney to my Mum, who we will visit before returning to Perth, from London and once back in Ringwood  some toys, school books and clothes we could go back to Perth. 

But then I remembered some long ago advice from my friend Susanne about the amazing affordability of the German post office. So on the way to our hotel we popped into the post office and discovered that DHL from Germany is half the price of DHL from London and for €42 we could send home 5kg packages.

And so the next morning we said goodbye to Germany, for now, and 15kg lighter, head off to the airport to make a return to the UK five months after we left. We had enjoyed our fill of Markets and castles while looking forward to more in Austria at Christmas time.