New bikes, new luck! And now with a tent too. We started in Marburg, headed down the Lahn, and then continued along other well-known German rivers: the Rhine, Ahr, Moselle, and Saar. Any wine connoisseur can see the cunning plan:
First cruise, then booze!
Well, it wasn't that bad, but let's go through it step by step:
The plan was to start right outside our front door, see how far we could go, and then take the train back. Unlike our Weser River trip, where last-minute hotel bookings made it quite an expensive vacation, this time we aimed to be self-sufficient with a tent and keep the costs down.
Always along the Lahn
We live right on the Lahn Cycle Path, so that's where we started. From Gießen through Wetzlar, the beautiful Weilburg, to Runkel. On the first day, we covered over 100 kilometers with full gear. We set up the tent, had a pizza, and then fell asleep exhausted.
The second leg from Runkel through Limburg, Diez, Nassau, and Bad Ems to Lahnstein was equally impressive. We had a completely different, dreamy perspective on our "home river." That we ended up in Lahnstein on the second day was due to the fact that the campsites in and around Bad Ems were fully booked.
On day 3, we cycled along the partly restored lower Ahr Cycle Path to visit friends in Ahrweiler. The next day, we made another visit to friends in Königswinter before heading from Ahrweiler towards the Moselle.
The Moselle Cycle Path
The first leg along the Moselle ended at what was probably the best campsite of our trip in Hatzenport. On a small island directly by the river, the location was almost perfect. As camping beginners, we learned right away during our first night that there are ultralight camping chairs that significantly improve life "on the road." This investment had already paid off several times over here on the Moselle. Just chilling and watching the ships!
The cycle path runs almost always directly along the river in this narrow valley, offering numerous opportunities for spectacular views. Our power banks were almost empty, so we quickly decided on a small vacation apartment in Traben-Trarbach. The route has so many highlights that you can't linger everywhere if you want to make progress. However, you can't just pass by Cochem, Beilstein, Calmont, Zell, and Pünderich.
All the way to Luxembourg
In the next sections, we cycled through Bernkastel-Kues and Piesport to Riol, where we had the chance to stay in a wine barrel. Since Trier was chosen as the final destination, we bypassed the ancient Roman city and crossed the border to Luxembourg at Wasserbillig. To reach our daily goal, we soon turned back and rode a few kilometers up the Saar. We highly recommend a visit to Saarburg, and I enjoyed celebrating my birthday at a campsite for the first time in my life.
Finale
Since Trier was our final stop, we took the short final leg to the city. After a city tour, birthday dinner, and sightseeing, we fell into bed tired and took the train home the next day.
The new bikes proved their worth and expanded our adventure radius. The plans for the summer tour are already underway, and we want to take it up a notch.
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