It is a rainy Saturday afternoon, and some quiet time for us, so I can tell you about our adventures of yesterday and today.
Yesterday we visited the most charming little village, called Bernkastel. This tiny town is situated right in the middle of wine country. I do believe, of all the darling little villages we have seen this is the most delightful. The town dates back to the 13th century. There are still many of the old half-timbered houses still standing.
This little house (pictured) is one of the oldest, and while it is starting to lean to one side, it is still being used as a Weinstube, or wine shop. Notice how much smaller the bottom of the house is compared to the top. This is because taxes were paid according to how much street frontage the building used. (As an aside, this system was also used in Venice, but taxes paid according to how much Grand Canal frontage the building had.)
St. Nikolaus hospital, across the river in Kues. This was established in the 14th century, and is now used as a rehabilitation hospital, a clinic and has 47 rooms for senior housing.
We stopped at a cafe for apple strudel and coffee, wandered through the little town for awhile, then visited a wine cellar for a lecture on wine making and got to do some wine tasting. Of course, this is Reisling country. Other types of grapes do not do as well here, but the Reisling wines are very good….some were a bit too sweet for my taste, but I did learn that the sweeter the wine, the less alcohol in it. So I suppose I prefer the higher alcohol content. Hmmm. I may have to check into that rehab hospital across the river before this trip is over…(just kidding..the hospital is actual for physical rehab).
Today we went to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Roman occupation of this town dates back to 2nd century A.D. but it was occupied by more primitive tribes even before the Romans were here.
We walked past the old Roman baths, past the Prince Elector’s Palace. We ended our guided tour in the old Market Square, where a festival was taking place with music, and of course sausage stands, beer stands and wine stands. We had to have a bratwurst and beer, of course.
We were going to stay longer, but the rain which has threatened us all morning, started in earnest, so we went back to our ship, to enjoy watching the rain from our cozy cabins or from the lounge.
It is actually very nice to have a day where we can just relax. Tonight we sail again, and will be slowly making our way back to the Rhine River. I can’t believe that we only have 6 more days on this trip before we fly back home again. It has been such an enjoyable trip.
As we sailed to Trier, the vineyards went on for miles, and I think they are just beautiful.
So until next time,
Auf wiedersehn
Dolly
The post Bernkastel and Trier, Germany appeared first on Purple Roofs Gay Travel Blog.