rach

Will be travelling in May 2004 for one week to Black Forest area (Ferienwohnung). Thereafter, plan three nights in a Gasthaus/Pension/Cheaper Hotel for closer exploration of Mosel Valley. Currently considering Winningen or Pommern an der Mosel as a home base, but Boppard am Rhein looks intriguing, and close by as well....
Have already "done" the Rhein in depth twice (including Bacharach, St. Goar, Assmannshausen, Ruedesheim), so NO further interest there. Have also already explored Cochem, Moselkern/Burg Eltz, Trier and Koblenz more than once.
Very interested in seeing Beilstein, Zell and Pommern, although the first two are harder to access (I will be travelling by train with one or two day trips by ferry).
Any input on Boppard/Winnigen or Pommern as my home base? I do not require nightlife, just safe evening meanderings and cozy Stuben for winetasting and relaxing.
Any personal experience on Beilstein, Zell or Bernkastel-Kues as targeted day trips-which would you most highly recommend and why (keeping in mind lack of rail connections and need to 'boat'it)?

maitaitom

I stayed in Beilstein for a couple of days in September. It's a cute little town, but not a heck of a lot to do there. It has the requisite castle on the hill (about a 15 - 20 minute hike up from town) and a church. There are beer gardens near both. Beilstein has lots of wine stores and little caves to sample vino.

We stayed at Haus Lipmann (85 euros a night...we really liked it...great bargain). It has a very good restaurant on a terrace overlooking the Mosel. Sunset on the Mosel was really cool.

If you are there on a Friday or Saturday night, the night life takes place at the Zehnthauskeller, located on the square behind the Lipmann. Lots of Germans singing folk songs and drinking mass quantities of beer and wine (along with a couple of drunk Americans like myself). We had a blast. If you imbibe, you might want to reserve a room at the Lipmann to give your liver a good night's sleep.

We also walked around Berkastel-Kues and Zell. Berkastel-Kues is a really pretty town with half timbered buildings throughout, and a nice town square (Marktplatz). You might think about staying there.

Personally, my wife and I were disappointed in Zell. It looked tired and worn out. It certainly was our least favorite of all the Mosel towns visited on this trip. We walked around town for 20 or 30 minutes and hightailed it to Bernkastel-Kues.

I am certainly not an expert on the area, but I think you'd have a good experience going to BK and a fun time if you hit Beilstein on Friday or Saturday. Hope this helps.

rach

Thanks Maitaitom!
I definitely plan to visit Beilstein--the castle ruins and Jewish cemetary above town sound like a worthy hike (Rick Steves 'undiscovered gems'), followed by lunch/or dinner at the Zehnthaus am Marktplatz. But because it is not conveniently situated on the rail lines, I can't use it as my home base (too much time spent making bus or boat connections).
Thanks for sharing your experiences there!

maitaitom

"and Jewish cemetary above town"

I forgot about that when I was there. We hiked up to the castle on our first day after arriving from California. We were so tired we almost didn't remember our names and forgot to go to the cemetary (although we looked dead).

I'd recommend lunch/dinner at Lipmann. The food and the view from the terrace are really great. Very relaxing spot for dinner. Then maybe head over to the Zehnthaus. Either way, have a great time.

RufusTFirefly

Like mtom--we stayed in Beilstein at Hotel Haus Lipmann and had a great time. It's better as a homebase for someone with a car--very relaxing to come back to each evening. No traffic, no trains. Just the Mosel crawling by.

Most people would see Beilstein as just part of a day trip.

mkdiebold

If you enjoy wine tasting, be sure to visit the Wein Institute in Bernkastel. For 9 euros you can taste over 150 wines. I know that's a lot but describe the type of wine you like and the proprietor will direct you to the proper location. We found some excellent Rieslings for under 5 euros.
Enjoy!

Russ

I'm very fond of Boppard as a base for exploring the Rhine. It's a good deal larger than Bacharach or St. Goar and has a wonderful atmosphere and several diversions. But if you're not going to explore the Rhein any further, it's a bit far removed from the towns on the Mosel you plan to visit.

I don't know Winningen or Pommern; although the whole river is pretty, I find the upper reaches of the Mosel, where the river is windy, a bit more interesting as far as the landscape goes. You might also look into Bullay as a base. It would be more central for daytrips to Bernkastel, Zell (almost next door) and Beilstein than Winningen or Pommern. Bullay itself is a small (on the order of Bacharach) town between Cochem and Wittlich, a fairly modern place with a major (for the Mosel) train station where the IC trains stop and from where a secondary rail line shoots off to Traben-Trarbach, another interesting river town. There isn't a lot to do in Bullay proper, but there are a handful of cafes there, and right across the river (ferry or bridge) from Bullay is Alf, also a cute town with a few places to eat. From Alf, you can walk through the woods to Burg Arras (castle) or up to the Marienburg (lookout point over the windiest part of the Mosel, nice cafe up there!) Bullay has a winery called "Uncle Tom's Cabin" that's a bit of a hike from town but where you can do some tasting. Bullay is also great for biking. You can be in Zell in just a few minutes or continue upstream to Punderich and beyond along the paved riverside bike path. In Bullay, we stayed 3 nights in a B&B, a simple place run by Frau Eberhard with a little balcony that had a partial view of the river. She undoubtedly served the best breakast of our trip. There are also several Ferienwohnungen there that in May might be happy to rent out for just a few days.

There's a tourist office that's run out of a travel agency in the middle of town. If you want the contact info, let me know and I'll hunt it down for you.

harzer

If you have already seen parts of the lower Mosel you might consider going to the parts of the river upstream from Trier - the stretch from Trier to Thionville (France) must surely harbour delights for the more adventurous tourist.

Harzer