Germany Rhine and Mosel Valleys

Frank, The best suggestion I can offer is to pick up a copy of the Germany 2013 Guidebook, as it has all the information you're looking for. The $20 you spend for the book will save you far more, both in time and money. Happy travels!

Or $12 if you download it to an IPad.

Frank, that's a beautiful area you're visiting! My mother and I did a river cruise along the Rhine and Mosel last October, so I can't help with lodging info, but here are a few suggestions of things to do. I am interested in history and in books, so I very much enjoyed the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, and the Roman Germanic museum. We loved the castle at Cochem, and wandering the town; also enjoyed wandering around other Mosel river towns, including Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel, where our cruise company arranged a wine tasting at the Dr. Thanisch vineyard. Yum. Burg Eltz is along the Mosel and is a wonderful, intact castle with a great history. Trier has tons of interesting historical sights: Roman ruins and the basilica, the cathedral, etc. Do check out Rick's Germany book; it's got most (or all) of these ideas and will also give you suggestions on lodging. And if you're a chocolate fan, be sure to visit the chocolate museum in Cologne; it was fascinating. And delicious. Have a great trip!

Thanks for the reply. I agree that there is no shortage of things to do and see; I am just trying to pick the brains of people tht have been there.

Hey Frank, this has been discussed quite a bit in the last few months. Try typing "Rhine Mosel" or "Rhine Moselle" into the search box at the top right. You will find a host of ideas.

I notice Kathleen didn't mention Koblenz - and I wouldn't recommend it either. Like Koblenz, Mainz and Trier were heavily damaged in WW II but the latter have some redeeming sights and nice atmosphere in spots. Mainz can be seen in a day. Be sure to visit the Dom and the adjacent old town. Trier is good for about a day too. The more remarkable places tend to be smaller places like Cochem. Be sure to check out the falconry show at the castle there. By "things to do" do you refer in part to outdoor activities? Both the Rhine and Mosel have good hiking and biking opportunities. I suggest looking further into some smaller places like Linz (north of Koblenz), Bacharach, Oberwesel, Braubach (Marksburg Castle), Burg Eltz Castle (near Moselkern), and Bernkastel. When will you be there? You might enjoy some of the local festivals.

If you're going to that area, I suggest you look at Bavaria Ben's writings. He covers all the reasonably priced B&B's to stay: http://www.bensbauernhof.com

For the Mosel, I like Cochem as a base. From there it's easy to take a regional train to visit Trier for the morning and Burg Eltz Castle in the afternoon. If you are able, the walk to the castle from Moselkern, through light forest on an easy trail, is more than half the fun. You should also visit a Weinstube for dinner and some local wine. For the Rhine I agree with Rick's assessment of the best hour of a KD line boat ride on the Rhine - between Bacharach and St. Goar. I think Bacharach is a little nicer town - some surviving wall/towers, nice downtown, and nearby fields of vines. I prefer staying at a Pension that's a little uphill from the center to get away from the train tracks that run through town. I love Burg Stahleck. It's a castle turned hostel overlooking the Rhine - a little climb up from the river. It's one of the best hostels I've ever stayed in, clean and well run. It's normally full of Germans though. If you want to try it, you need to reserve. I love Rheinfels ruins in St. Goar, it's one of the few that are the right mix of ruin/intact to be evocative. Get there first thing in the morning and it's even better because you will have the place virtually to yourselves.