Today’s ride was 95 km from Treis-Karden to Bernkastel-Kues. It turned out a little further than we anticipated, due to the number of bends in the river.

It was overcast when we set out in the morning – with a gorgeous quality to the light. The Mosel was very still, throwing up reflections of the town as we crossed the bridge to ride on the other side.

We paused to watch this little narrow tractor riding up and down the steep slope and trimming the vines. Now we know why they all look so neat.

The biggest town we passed by was Cochem, about 12 km into our journey.

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It started to rain a little bit at Cochem. At first it was very light, barely making a difference, and later it set in to proper rain. It was not really cold and we were still able to enjoy the scenery.

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It only stopped raining around 15 km from our destination, after we had stopped for some refreshments. It took a while to find a local cafe that was open. I had Apfelstrudel and Kris and Esther had soup. You see Apfelstrudel advertised outside all the cafes – it seems to be the traditional cake in this part of the world, something I am very susceptible to.

Another wonder of the Mosel river valley is the size and height of some of the bridges spanning the valley. This bridge is so huge it was impossible to capture the whole thing in a photo.

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Bernkastel-Kues, our destination for the night, is a relatively large town, spanning both banks of the Mosel. It also has it’s own castle which overlooks the town. Our hotel is really close to the old town, and relatively expensive. We had to telephone someone and let ourselves in after taking a key out of a lock box using a code. The receptionist appeared later and helped us lock our bikes away in their garage.

It began to rain heavily just after we left the hotel on foot to get something to eat in town. We ended up in a small pizzeria eating an excellent Calzone pizza. It was starting to dry up again by the time we left and I took a few pictures of the beautiful old buildings in the town.

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