Meandering Along the Mosel
Meandering is the only word to describe travel along the Mosel River as you follow the twists and turns and admire the views presented at each turn. There have been several articles in MMM about the area and reports from fellow IHers encouraged us to head to Germany rather than France in September this year. We took a route through north-east France stopping at the aire at Beausejour near Arques and an aire in Belgium at Herbeumont on the way, remembering to take advantage of the cheaper fuel prices in Luxembourg.
In Germany we used the Wohnmobilstellplatz, details of which can be found in either the Bord Atlas or the Camperstop* book, both of which are available from Vicarious Books. Stellplatz are best described as a cross between a campsite and an aire. There are numerous stellplatz on either bank of the Mosel on which to relax and watch the river traffic pass in front of you. The average charge for a night was 6 euro; this usually included access to water and sewage facilities. Some stellplatz provided electricity for an extra charge. The method of payment varied, at some a local official would visit each evening to collect the fee and a receipt was always issued. At others it was necessary to collect a card at a barrier and then pay cash at a machine before leaving. If instructions were not available in English there was always someone about who could help, quite often a Dutch camper. We were amazed at the number of motorhomes in the area, many were Dutch but there was also a large number of Scandinavians who were en-route to Spain or Portugal for the winter. The stellplatz vary in size too one had the capacity for over 400 motorhomes; we gave that one a miss. Most of the sites were visited each day by a Backerei, baker. One site took your bread order each evening and then delivered it to your motorhome at 8 o’clock in the morning, leaving it attached to your door handle or step. Not all villages had local shops and large supermarkets were rare along the route. T here was an excellent Lidl at Kues. Many retail outlets, including fuel stations, do not accept credit/debit cards so you need to be prepared and have cash available. All the villages had wine cellars and bars selling the local Riesling wines which we enjoyed sampling. Andy Stothert in the October MMM doesn’t share our view on that!
It is illegal to fill up LPG bottles in Germany. We had to convince the manager of a fuel station that we had a fixed system. He kept pointing to the LPG sticker on the van which was illustrated with bottles. We have two fixed bottles with an external filling point but he unscrewed the cover to check. You also need a different adapter to the one you use in France. Only stations near larger towns sold LPG. The Mosel has not only beautiful scenery but interesting villages with old half timbered houses as well as old castles on hill tops; many of which are now ruins thanks to the French in past centuries. If you are a walker or a cyclist there is an added attraction, well signposted footpaths and cycle paths. T he cycle paths are usually well away from the road and follow the banks of the river or for the more adventurous go up through the vines to the hilltops. 95% of the cycle paths have a smooth tarmac surface perfect for our Brompton folding bikes. Look out for the Mosel Radwander - Karte which is an excellent map and guide to the cycle paths. Parking in the main tourist areas of Koblenz, Cochem, Bernkastel-Kues and Trier are limited so motorhomes can be left safely on a nearby stellplatz and the local area explored on foot or by bike. If you do not feel energetic there are local buses along the route or perhaps take a river trip. In September the opening hours of the tourist offices were very limited so we relied on a general guide book bought locally. If you haven’t visited Germany before this area would be an excellent area to head for knowing that you and your motorhome will be welcome and provided for.
Some German cities require that your vehicle has an Umweltplakette (Environmental badge obligatory for green zones in Germany). Information on how to obtain one of these was included in issue 25 page 14. The Web site is :- http://www.berlin.de The one off cost is €6. None of the towns we visited on this trip required one but the list of towns and cities which do is constantly growing so for a very small fee it is as well to be covered.
*Our Camperstop book was one of the gifts we received at Malvern. It includes details of stopping places for motorhomes in several European countries. From their website it is possible to download the GPS co-ordinates which can then be added to your own Sat Nav.
Extract from November 2012 News Letter Thanks to Tony and Mary Sutton