rach

Will be spending 3 nights in Bullay an der Mosel first week of June. Any personal experiences with a good Gasthaus there? I am aiming for 25E or under per person per night. Require only cleanliness, friendly owners and a location walkable from RR station. I will be day-tripping and not there much.
Cafe Goergen on Bahnhofstrasse, Ferienhaus Reis on Faehrstrasse, Gaestehaus Gippert on Alte Poststrasse and Gasthaus Budinger on Lindenplatz all look reasonable...?
Re: specific Transport Question:
1) Want to see Beilstein. If I am reading my options correctly, Gebruder Kolb ships run May and June on Wednesdays, Sat and Sun only. Leave Bullay 9:55 am and reach Beilstein 11:30 am. Returning, leave Beilstein 16:00 and reach Bullay 17:35 for Round Trip price of 14 Euro---Correct?
2) Want to see Bernkastel-Kues... Bus Umweltbahnhof Bullay to Bernkastel-Kues Busbahnhof with change in Traben-Trarbach, operates Mon through Friday 1 hr 19 mins.
Do I purchase ticket (RT) in advance (in station) or aboard bus? How can I find out price/schedule now?
I now these questions are quite specific, but I am to that point now.
Thanks in advance for input!

Russ

Hi, rach. I've stayed at the Hotel Mosella - friendly owner who spent a good deal of time in Chicago and an atmospheric wine-cellar-style dining room, but it runs a little more than 25, I think. Have also stayed with Frau Eberhard, who has one page with photo on the web with her e-mail link (see below.) We had a room with balcony and a partial river view - easy walk to station - on a quiet street with the most substantial breakfast I can recall in Germany for about $15/per, but that was a few years ago before the Euro. Strongly recommended.

www.gaestehaus-eberhard.de/

If you do German, contact directly, or if not, you can find someone to help you book with Frau Eberhard - or anyone else - at the local tourist office, in all likelihood:

[email protected]

It might be a little noisy at the Goergen on Bahnhofstrasse - but as I recall, the bakery downstairs has some tempting wares. Reis has a good location over a cafe in the center a few steps from the ferry, and Budinger is just across the plaza (it was a little pricier than most when I was there.) All your selections put you within about 3 blocks of the station. I'm not familiar with the Gippert place, but its address shows it's only a couple of numbers down from Eberhard's.

I'll look into your other questions and respond a bit later.

Wish I was going to Bullay.

Also, did you know that "Happy Mosel" takes place the first week in June (Sun 6/6)? The river road will be shut down all day for biking, rollerblading, etc, and thousands of people will participate. This is THE event of the year in every Mosel town between Cochem and Schweich, and every room will be booked, so book ahead if you'll be there on that day or Sat (I can't say what effect this will have on prices.)

Russ

rach:

Question 1): I checked the Kolb schedule at www.moselfahrplan.de and your info looks correct on all counts! I would only suggest that devoting the better part of a day to tiny Beilstein might be over-doing it -it would be for me. You might look into buses leaving Beilstein or (Ellenz-Poltersdorf across the river) a bit earlier and combing Beilstein with a trip into Cochem or somewhere else.

2.) You can take two buses to get there, but it's faster (about 45 min. travel time) to take the train from Bullay to Wittlich and the regiolinie bus to Bernkastel from there. There's usually a train that leaves Bullay around 8 am with a connecting bus in Wittlich. You might want to go via Wittlich in one direction or the other to save a little time.

You could also catch the train between Bullay and Traben-Trarbach, and catch the bus between T-T and Bernkastel. Whether you do the first leg by bus or train, a stop in T-T is a good idea, either coming or going.

If you are into hiking and want to make use of the many hours of sunlight in June, there is a pretty trail I have taken over hill and dale, through vineyards and forest, between Bernkastel and T-T; it cuts about 15 km off the road route between these towns (which follows the windy river) and doesn't take that long (2-3 hours or so, as I recall.) You might inquire at the tourist office in either town.

(Bullay has a brand new station and may be selling bus tickets inside, but it used to be that they were bought on board, either one-way or round trip.)

For bus or train schedules, just go to:
reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

On Sun 6/6 - Happy Mosel - the train schedule will be significantly different, with many extra trains to compensate for the restrictions on cars on that day.

Hope your trip is a good one.

rach

Russ,
Thanks so much for your help! It cuts my stress a great deal to be (mostly) prepared ahead of the actual trip. The info from someone who has been there is invaluable! I will be arriving Bully mid-day Monday, 5/31, and departing very early am Thursday, 6/3 for the USA, so I have only two full days in the area, and will sadly miss Happy Mosel! (I am spending the first week in Gengenbach/Schwarzwald).
I realize that Beilstein may not be worth so much time, but the short river cruise works in my schedule very nicely. I want to climb up to the castle ruins, then the Jewish cemetary beyond it, after a good lunch at a gasthaus/cafe suggested on this site (name escaping me right now, but I have it at home). It will be my final day in Germany, so the lazy pace will suit me before my early morning departure. My plan in Bernkastel of course is to sightsee and primarily wine taste to make some purchases! I will meander along the vineyard paths with any 'extra' time.
Thanks again!

Russ

One final suggestion for you, rach: a walk up to "Marienburg" lookout takes no more than maybe 30 minutes. Take the ferry from Bullay over to Alf and ascend the small road (becomes a trail later) on the other side of the river road. Everyone there knows this walk, so just ask if confused. The view of the river from up there is wonderful, and there's a (indoor and outdoor) cafe up top too.

rach

Russ:
Great! I was going to ask for a suggestion for a short area walk that I can take after arriving mid-afternoon on Monday. This suits the bill.
Thanks again.