Today’s post is 1700 words, 52 photos, an 8 1/2 minute read. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
This week I take you to the Mosel Valley near the border of Belgium and Luxembourg. Once there we’ll stay in Mehring, a small village bordered by the river and the steep hills filled with vineyards.
If you missed the earlier post in this series from Austria and Germany, click here, here, here, here, and here. Let’s get started.
The Trail to the Mosel River Valley
As the crow flies, our next destination, Mehring in the Mosel River Valley, is due west of Neckargemünd. But the trail zigged and zagged down two-lane highways to our lodging on the hillside in Mehring. The drive was uneventful. We did make a stop in Worms for a coffee and pastry. By luck, we found the perfect place for a short respite.
During our time in Germany, the weather has been on the cool side. Today was no exception, the wind was blowing cold. When we stopped at a travel plaza to eat our lunch, it was too cool to eat outside.
We arrived in Mehring about an hour before the check in time. We parked in a lot near the river and admired the Mosel River and vineyards on the hillsides.
Mehring
Mehring, population about 2500, is situated on the Mosel River. From our experience, it’s a quiet, charming town surrounded by vineyards. The grape harvest was in full swing as was the fall tourist season also important to the local economy. The path alongside the river is inviting for walking and cycling. The hillside offer panoramic views of the scenic valley. There are local wine taverns and vineyards to sample local wines. 
Wayne and I walked into town and headed for the tallest building in town, the village church. 
The cemetery is right next to the church. I shot a few photos of the well kept graves and headstones.
An alcove in the cemetery featured a World War II memorial for those that died during the war.
This woman was tending to the gravesite of a loved one.
Soon it was time to check into our lodging. Ilse, our host, provided the directions but the nav system in the car thought otherwise. We took the steep narrow one lane cobblestone road she warned us about. We made it without denting the rental car and made a mental note to avoid that route in the future.
As we walked up the driveway, we passed the grapevine growing on the fence and the orange tractor in the small courtyard to the blue door. This was the entrance to our Airbnb.
We noticed Mehring spelled out on the hillside.
After getting settled, we took a drive along the Mosel River admiring the vineyards on the steep south facing slopes. We entered a turnout and parked across the Mosel River from the village of Longuich. 
Looking back as we crossed the bridge, there were people in the vineyards. Most of the grapes are harvested by machine, my best guess is he/she was checking to determine readiness for harvest.
The Alte Burg (castle) Longuich dates to 1360. Local nobility lived here until the later 1600s when the castle became a winery. Today the winemaking continues with the addition of a guesthouse and cultural center.
Crossing back over the river, we passed the historic Toll Bridge House where bridge tolls were paid. I should mention the bridge was bombed by the Allies in WWII and rebuilt after the war. The statue overlooking the Mosel River is likely St. Christopher, the protector of travelers and safe passages.
Our Airbnb host, Ilse, left us a bottle of local white wine that went down easy. 
Later I snapped this photo of the sun setting over the village.
The next morning after breakfast, we headed out for the day. We saw some vehicles and people on the road above the Airbnb. The road was narrow road, one lane wide on the terraced hillside. We stopped at small wayside to take photos of the landscape below.
The two photos below are of Mehring.
This is one of my favorite photos of the cargo barge coming around the bend to deliver goods such as building materials, fuel, and agricultural products. The Mosel River begins life in Vosges Mountains in northeastern France before flowing 339 miles north through Luxembourg and Germany into the Rhine River at Koblenz. It’s one of the most scenic rivers in Europe.
While at the turnout, we noticed another car parked in the shade of a tree. A fellow about our age emerged from the car and said something to us in German. I replied, “Ich spreche kein Deutsch.” He immediately switched to very good English, I might add.
Meet Stephan who was visiting his 85 year old mother in Mehring. He liked coming up to this location for the view. He currently lives south of Munich. We had a nice conversation and he made suggestions to us for places to see and things to do. He asked us if we like chocolate. We quickly nodded yes. He gave us each a small snack sized chocolate bar with a gold label. De Beukelaer Penny Melk Lait is a crispy waffle with layers of creamy chocolate made in Belgium. We enjoyed them immensely. Before departing, Stephan wanted to take our photos, We agreed. While he was adjusting his camera, I took one of him. Then one closer.
Wayne and I continued up the hillside road until it ended. The turn around had a display of an antique grape press. All the information placards were in German. While the technology has greatly improved, the grapes are still pressed with industrial sized replicas of this press. Same idea.
Trassem
After our hillside adventure, we headed for the village of Trassem, a distance of about 30 miles. Located near the border with Luxembourg and France, this is where the family of Wayne’s maternal grandmother originated.
Trassem is a small, quiet rural village of about 1200 residents in the rolling hills of forests and farmland in southwestern Germany. Trassem is close to Saarburg, population 7600, where surrounding villages can shop, do business, and work.
We saw the church, St. Laurentius, on the side of a hill overlooking the village. The parking lot was above and behind the church and cemetery. The church steeple and spire were under repair. 
I looked around while Wayne explored the many gravesites looking for relatives.
I noticed another war memorial near the church building. It contained names of men who died in World Wars I and II.
There’s been a church in this location since the late 1300s. A new church was built in the mid-1800s and heavily damaged in 1944 during WWII. It was rebuilt after the war, keeping as much as could be preserved. Some of the stained glass, the baptismal font, and other features were saved, some dating to the 1500s.
While Wayne was exploring the cemetery, he saw a woman tending a grave. He asked her in English if she knew his distant relative Stephan Hoffeld. She replied, “Oh yes, everyone in town knows Stephan.” Wayne was relieved, he tried to contact him by email and messenger for a couple of months with no response. The woman told Wayne, “Stephan lives on Schulstraβe (School Street).” She pointed in the general direction. (As an aside, we learned later that Wayne was likely related to this woman too. What a coincidence!)
Stephan
We turned on to School Street but weren’t sure which house was Stephan’s. We spotted a young woman walking her daughter to school. Wayne told we were looking for Stephan’s house. She pointed to a nearby house, “He lives right over there.”
When we pulled into the driveway there was Stephan doing yard work. The third cousins had met years ago when Stephan, wife and daughters, and his parents were in Wisconsin for a family reunion. It took a minute for Stephan to make the connection. But when he did, there was a hardy welcome.
After a few minutes in the driveway, Stephan invited us into his house. Wayne learned that Stephan did some family genealogy research and had a lot of photos and documents.
On the way into the house, I noticed this “potted” plant. He said it’s for personal use, he rolls one up every 4-6 weeks for the pure enjoyment. In Germany, adults are permitted to grow up to three plants for private use at home.
He told Wayne that he had a new email address and had been kicked of Facebook for some serious infraction. That’s why he didn’t get any messages.
After a couple of hours of nonstop talk, we had to move on to a couple more villages. Stephan had to take his cat to see the veterinarian.
Stephan wanted to know if we could come back the next day, he’d cook us nice dinner. We said sure, we’ll be back at about 6 PM.
Wiltingen
After our time in Trassem and the high of meeting Stephan, stops in Wiltingen and Zerf seemed perfunctory. But we did it anyway.
Wiltingen is slightly larger than Trassem with 1400 people. It was easy to find the church, St. Martin’s. The doors were locked so we walked around the church snapping photos.
This was a tribute to a long time parish priest.
We were looking for a cemetery. Fortunately, a couple of local residents walked by and told us the cemetery was about two blocks away. The result more photos of gravesites.
Note the dates of death on this memorial to the fallen of World War I and II. The World War I deaths were in the last year of the war, 1918. It saddened me to think that so many German lives were lost in these two wars, an estimated 9 million total. What a waste, a lot of unnecessary suffering.
It was late in the day when we returned to Mehring. After dinner and some journaling, I was off to bed. Tomorrow would be another big day.
Next week we’ll be back in Trassem with Stephan plus a couple of side trips to classic German towns. But first…….
THE FIVE SENSES PLUS ONE
Saw – a lot of vineyards, the beautiful river, farmland, tractors, lots of churches and cemeteries
Heard – wind, vehicles on the highway, people talking German, sirens, horns honking
Touch – hand railings on bridge and stairway, grapes, stone wall of church, gates
Smell – paint from the guys marking the road, marijuana plant, roses
Taste – semi-sweet white wine, pizza, sausage salad at restaurant, beer
Learned – the many differences in Riesling wines
Until next week, happy travels!
Tom
PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM