I'm Getting Antsy - last minute trip to Germany, Luxembourg, and France via Bike & Barge

"Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving!" -- Albert Einstein

"Wine is sunlight held together by water." - Galileo Galilei

We had thought our new Camper Van would be available the beginning of July, but it was delayed, "possibly til August", and I was getting antsy for another adventure. So, Jack found a Bike & Barge trip in Europe. Who would have thought that two planners would book a trip in less than one week to Europe -- talk about stepping outside of our comfort zones to experience new things...

Posting this after completing our trip, as there was little time -- biking most days and socializing with fellow bikers or visiting new cities every evening.

We flew Saturday-Sunday and stayed a few days in Cohem, German (yep- we were just there, but that is where the barge trip started). We made the most of it -- trying new wines and eating German food. We also had the opportunity (in good weather, this time) to visit beautiful Cochem for a couple of days and just relax.

We boarded the Barge - Magnifique I - on Tuesday, 25 June, with our first bicycling route on Wednesday -- cycling 23.9mi/38km from Cochem to Zell. We traveled along the beautiful Moselle River, flush with vineyards as far as the eye could see. It was quite zen-like, traveling through the quaint town of Beilstein and passing the steep vineyards with 60 degree slopes. That evening we enjoyed a wine tasting at the Weingut (Vineyard) Treis with our fellow voyagers.

On Thursday, we cycled 27.8mi/45km from Zell to Bernkastel-Kues, stopping by Traben-Trarbach and Krov. In Bernkastel-Kues we explored beautiful half-timbered houses from the 15th and 16th century. We also had the opportunity to enjoy a sparkling wine experience at Deinhard - quite an experience and stimulating!

By the way, Jack and I were two of about 8 passengers with normal bicycles, everyone else had electric bikes - talk about a workout for 7 days!

Friday brought our hottest and most "undulating" (Jack called these steep hills) voyage from Bernkastel-Kues to Neumagen to Schweich for a total of 33.6mi/54km. After arriving at Schweich, our barge sailed to Trier, where we had a lovely dinner with new friends.

On Saturday, we took a walking tour of Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Trier was founded around 15 BC by Caesar Augustus. As a trading town and administrative center, Trier flourished during the late imperial age. You can see the the city gate Porta Nigra (in the first picture), which was built around 18 AD.

Then, after lunch, we cycled along the Saar River to Saarburg for a short 17.5mi/28km. Saarbug is a stunning old town with a castle built in the middle of the 10th century and an amazing waterfall through the middle of town.

Sunday brought cooler and rainy weather with a trip from Saarburg to Remich, Luxembourg, Due to the rain, only the die-hards (including us), biked that morning for the full ride of 32.6mi/53km. Along the route, we sampled 'Cremant' - Luxembourg equivalent of champagne, and saw an amazing Roman mosaic floor made up from 3 million tiles from ~200 AD.

On Monday, our last day of cycling, we traveled from Remich to Schengen via our barge. Schengen is a 3-country boarder where the 'Schengen agreement' -- removing border controls in most of Europe -- was first signed. From Schengen we biked to Thionville 20.2mi/33 km. From Thionville the barge sailed to our final destination of Metz, France where we enjoyed a nice farewell dinner and walk in the city, leaving us ready to disembark on Tuesday and head home!

With this long post, I will wait til next week to provide my top 5 for this trip.