We began our journey along the Moselle this morning at 7 as we left Koblenz. At 9, we were already transiting the first locks.
From its headwaters in the Vogesen Mountains to where it joins the Rhine at Koblenz, the Moselle is only about 175 miles as the crow flies. But the actual length of the river is a little more than 335 miles, making it the Rhine’s longest tributary.
The Moselle winds and weaves its way through the vertical slopes of the Schiefergebirge mountains, and as we push our way upriver, we are already looking out on spectacular scenery – with five more days before we reach the end of our cruise at Trier.
The landscape along the Moselle is regarded as the most romantic in Germany. A little after noon, we arrived in the city of Cochem, a charming town that was settled by the Celts and later by Romans before being granted a town charter in 1332. The town and the area around it is well known for its white wines.
One of the things I love about river cruising in Europe is that on many cruises, you typically transit the rivers during the day, so that you have a chance to view the landscape alongside the river, and overnight in port, where it’s usually only a short walk into town for the evening.
Leave a Reply