Riding through the vines – Friday 12 July
It was still cool and a little hazy as we left Bernkastel-Kues for our 76 km ride to Trier, all along the Mosel river.
Morning scene on Bernkastel-Kues bridge 
Bernkastel-Kues castle in hazy morning light – plus ducklings!
It seemed as though there were even more vineyards today, with vines covering entire hillsides. I felt impressed with the scale of the vineyards, even more so than I remember from our last trip. There are fewer castles in this part of the valley and you get the sense that it is broadening out as you approach Trier.
Mosel river barge – plus vineyards 
Vineyards – Mosel river and barge in foreground 
“Weinschiff (wine boat) Jenny”
Kris taking note – no peeing allowed in the river 
Swan family 
Kris and the vineyards 
Growing in rocky ground – very well drained! 
Esther with the vineyards and Mosel River in background 
Jenny in the vineyards 
The highest lock on the Mosel at 9m 
Barge approaching lock 
Kris and Ester – more vineyards
It was quite hot in the afternoon when we arrived in Trier. We had some beer and snacks (Kris-soup, Jenny- apple cake) at a cafe on the town square before having a look around the historic town center.
Porta Nigra Trier 
Kris riding in Trier town square 
Trier town square 
Trier Cathedral 
Trier Cathedral detail 
Kurfürstliches Palais (Electoral Palace) Trier 
Over-the-top detail from Kurfürstliches Palais
Our hotel was a few kilometers out of town and we stopped at a supermarket to buy food for supper along the way. There was a sudden thunderstorm while we were in the supermarket that cleared up by the time we got to the hotel. The hotel is fairly old and quite basic. However our room was nice and big with an outside patio where we could sit and eat our food.
We went down into the hotel restaurant later to look for a good wifi signal and to have some beer. We ended up next to a very sociable group of friends who were meeting up from all over Germany. We had a good time chatting and drinking with them.