I’ll Take the High Road
Mosel Bike-Barge Day 5 – Wed 31st August 2016 – Trier to Saarburg (bike tour 30 Km)
Weather: 13⁰C min – 27⁰C max, fine, clear
“ Life may not be about your bike, but it sure can help you get through it ” ~ Hallman
Because we only had a short ride today our start time was delayed until mid-day so as to give us time to explore the interesting city of Trier, often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. As you can imagine a city so old has some incredible history, and our very knowledgeable tour guide Ilse took us on an interesting walking tour. Here are some of the highlights:
Porta Nigra (black gate) – Was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. It is a large Roman city gate, given its name in the Middle Ages because of the darkened colour of its stone.
Cathedral of Trier – Opened in 1270, the Cathedral is the oldest in Germany.
Kurfürstliches Palais (Electoral Palace) – A beautiful rococo building built around 1615, located in the park between the roman baths and the basilica.
As usual the ride was broken into two groups, one led by Ilse and the other by Francien, only today we were given a choice … the high road (heading into the hills for a change of scenery) or the low road (following the Saar River which joins the Mosel near our lunch point of Konz). Having eaten too much good food cooked by Bas this week, it was not surprising that 16 of the 23 riders (including myself) elected for the harder ride!
We were starting to regret our decision to take the harder route when we encountered roadworks at the foot of the hill, but after a short dusty detour we turned onto a quiet country road that climbed steadily from an elevation of 120m to 270m at the summit.
After reaching the top we made a short detour into a small village called Mannebach, where we enjoyed very welcome cool refreshments at a lovely place called Manne Bacher Braubaus.
Then came the best part of the ride … an exhilarating descent to the picturesque town of Saarburg, where Iris is moored tonight. Adding to the charm of Saarburg is a 20 metre high waterfall right in the middle of town, with an old mill at the bottom.
Our chef Bas had a birthday today, so we presented him a card signed by everyone. His entertaining recitation of the menu for the evening meal was greeted with the usual cheers, before we were served a 3-course Italian meal that matched his mouth-watering description. Oh why does this dream have to end in two days time!
