Winter ready

 After a lot of work, and about one mile of string to keep the tarp secured we are ready to leave Le rêve for the winter.











 

With the radar arch folded down and a tarp over the boat you never know you were looking at Le rêve!

Fog!!

Our idea was to make it back to Duisburg in record time, one day from Neuwied to Duisburg. When we got up in the morning it looked a little foggy in the harbor, however when we got on the Rhine we realized we had made a mistake by leaving early. However it is not easy to turn around in fast flowing water and fairly dens fog.


We did not get as far as we had planned as we were forced to anchor (radar problem) and wait for the fog to lift. However we still made it to Dusseldorf  70 nm (140 km) going with the current.

The next day we had a easy run to Duisburg. We did the Dusseldorf / Duisburg stretch in  2 hours and 10 minutes. The same distance going up stream took 5 hours and 20 minutes.
All together we cruised the Mosel the Saar, and a little of the Rhine, 750 nm or close to 1400 km  and navigated 48 locks, raising us 106 meter (approx.  330 ft) on the Mosel and about 40 meters (approx 130 ft) on the Saar
Now we have to get Le rêve ready for her winter sleep.

Cochem on our way back

As we approach Cochem the sun was in the right position to capture the castle on the hill, the  "Reichsburg" castle.

We walked around in Cochem for a bit, and then got our bikes down and went to the little village "Valwig"which we passed just before getting to Cochem.

It is nice to browse around in the bigger touristic places like Cochem however we actually prefer the smaller quieter villages.

A view of Cochem from the bridge

Shopping street in Cochem

 After we left Cochem we kept on going all the way to where the Mosel meets the Rhine.
We were surprised to see the water level in the  Rhine as low as it was. We wanted to stop and say high to our friends in Koblenz, the Eckstein's  ( glass in lead) however with the water level in the Rhine as low as it was we could not get into the marine where they keep their boat.  We approached the marine but soon found our self stuck in the mud, and we had to back out. So we went to Neuwied (where we had stayed on the way up) and stayed for the night. Even though the water level had receded (between 11/2 and 2 meter) we still were able to make real good time going down stream. Some where between 10 and 11 kns. (about 20 km/hr)

Last day in Zell

Today Oct. 12th) we will leave Zell and aim to go to Cochem.
Joanne captured this picture from the back of the boat early in the morning. The sun is starting to peak over the mountains and the early morning fog hanging over the Mosel is dissipating.

The best wine

  The owner was in contact with the pickers via walky-talky. In between dumping the wine buckets he had time, and was quite willing to talk and give us information about the in's and out's about vineyards, and grape growing in general. We learned for instance that grape vines start producing a full harvest when they are 3 to 4 years old. They will last for 50 to 60 years. The best vineyards are on steep slopes facing south.
This young wine farmer had just bought the 5 hectare vineyard 5 years ago, and was quite happy with the return on his investment.
Vineyards in this area are worth about 2.50 Euro per square meter.

When we arrived they had just finished lunch, and we noticed they were not drinking coffee, tea, juice, or milk, but the best wine of last years harvest.
There were some bottles left over and we were able to buy them from the farmer right in the vineyard.

More grape harvest education

 When the buckets are full they are lowered to the bottom of the cable track.

 Then they have to be man handled the last few steps.

And finally dumped in the waiting wagon on the road level.

Traben-Trarbach

We biked back to Traben-Trarbach and on the way stopped to watch  grape harvesting on steep slopes.
We had noticed some installations with poles, supporting a cable going up the mountains. Now we found out why these were there, and how they were used.  A tractor is parked in front of the installation, and a winch on the tractor is connected to the cable. This is how the carriage that holds the wine buckets are raised and lowered, as it is impossible to manually carry the buckets up and down the steep slopes.



Here the winemaker and his wife,
and the next generation of wine makers