Hi everyone,
I am a big wine lover and would love to visit the Mosel valley during my really really short trip to Europe this May. I managed to squeeze out a day - arriving in Mosel around mid day on 5/2 (Saturday) and leaving from Hahn airport on 5/3 evening.
My only concern is that nothing will be open on Saturday/Sundays? Has anyone done a winery tour / visit on Sundays? How about castles?
Thanks so much!
Lynn
Burg Eltz castle is open daily, so that would be a good Sunday activity, to start. Nothing would be closed on a Saturday.
Note that this is a big holiday weekend for all of Europe. Enjoy.
"How about castles?"
With limited time your easiest castle visit will be Reichsburg in Cochem. Very cool falconry show too - 4 times per day.
Reichsburg Cochem
Falconry photos
Maybe get a room at a winery/inn:
Rademacher winery
Why would nothing be open on a Saturday?
Stores are not open in Germany on Sundays, but restaurants and tourist/cultural sites are.
Germany really doesn't have self-contained tourable "wineriers" like you might find in France or California. The grapes are usually grown on leased communal land, and the actual wine making facility is usually a town collective or a small concern in someone's house. You can usually walk freely on trails through the vineyards, because it's all on public land (I lived for several years in the Bergstraße district of south Hessen, and my dog and I would often take our evening walk through just this sort of land). The collective might have a facility set up for tasting and sales, though. Although I grew to love German wine... it's pretty cheap stuff. Usually not the kind of drink that oenophiles wax poetic over, but good enough for a satisfying table wine. A bottle of Heppenheimer Riesling (the local vintage where I lived) sold for about €5 at the grocery store. And I have it on confidence that some of the collectives that cater to tourists heavily mark up the price of the same wines you could buy much cheaper at any Rewe or Edecka grocery store.
PS- How about that, I just hit 10,000 posts... which shows how much time I've wasted over the years...
It's Labor Day weekend - so everything will be open. Book accommodation ASAP.
When I was there in 2008, everything seemed to be open on Saturday (I toured the Reichsburg and tasted wines at Rademacher winery that day). Be aware, if you are using public transportation to get to Hahn on Sunday, public buses run on a reduced schedule on Sundays. I found out the hard way; I was stranded for four hours in Beilstein waiting for the bus to come to take me back to Cochem (I saw everything of interest in Beilstein in about an hour). You can check the bus schedules on the Bahn website or on the website of the local transit authority, VRM.
There is a private bus line to Hahn, but it only goes from Cochem twice a day, at 2:55 AM and 4:55 AM. The rest of the time, you have to catch it at Bullay, ~10 min away, 3.65€.
BTW, it should be noted that, although referred to as a Burg (castle), the Reichsburg is not an authentic castle. A castle used to stand on that spot but it was destroyed by the French in the 17th century and the ruins were purchased 200 years by a Berlin businessman and rebuilt. What is there now is, as explained in the tour, "a chateau".
On weekend days in May, there are 4 buses daily to/from Burg Eltz (two ea way in the morning, two in the afternoon). The closest bus stop/train station to Burg Eltz is Hatzenport. The fare from Cochem to Hatzenport to Burg Eltz is 7,90€ one way pP. The train leaves Cochem at 8:42, 10:42, 14:42, and 16:42. The trip takes a little over 50 min each way. You'll have about 15 min in Hatzenport.
As for a winery visit or tasting, in 2008 I did a tasting at Rademacher. He gave me four small glasses with 2 varieties from 2 years. I particularly liked 2, was not wild about the other two. Afterwards I wondered why I bothered. Unless you are going to purchase a case of more of the one you like, it doesn't really make sense. Just go to a restaurant and pick some wines from the menu. If you have never seen wine making, you might want to do a tour, if they have one.
