My husband has a sweet tooth so it won't take much to twist his arm ;) thanks for the tip , PalenQ. I'm also going to check with Burg Hotel Auf Shoenburg to see if they have bikes available - thanks for that suggestion too.

I just lost my reply to you. I hope the lovely mansion estate winery we visited is listed on my most recent report ( but still years ago). I recall seeing bike rentals , I think, in Bernkastel- Kues. As far as Trier goes I think you can play some of this by ear and just see how you feel once you are nearby, leaving that day or two "open". Whatever you do it will be a wonderful vacation . I think you are going to like the Mosel so much that you will be back.

Ryanair flies into Frankfurt HAHN, for those looking at how to get closest to it. This older military airport is just 10 kms from Bernkastel Kues or another town on the Mosel. We always fly in there from Spain, staying at a chef's B+B which is along a bike route mapped out by a biking club. We find a car gives us the most freedom to do a lot of visiting up, down and across during the day, but I have always wanted to just bike along the Mosel for a day or two. It is flat, so would not be a problem for anyone who can peddle.

Hello lincasanova - I read thru your 2007 trip report (thank you for pointing me to it - good info) and didn't see a winery/hotel mentioned. Yes, I agree with you regarding playing some of this by ear. Just before reading your response, my husband and I had just had the very same conversation.

We will indeed have a rental car. I've seen 2 different rental companies mentioned most often, can't recall the names at the moment, but we will be using one of those probably instead of our usual go-to's here in the US. I travel a lot for work so most often use hertz or enterprise but I don't think they are nearly as prevalent in Germany as the other 2.

Thanks,

shelley

For what it's worth, I loved Trier, most of all for the ancient Roman archaelogical sites. We took a boat trip on the Mosel from Trier, which was only available when the water level was high enough. This was years ago, and it may not even be offered any more. Only part of the river was navigable.

car rental, the mere fact a company in Europe uses the same brand as an American company means .... SFA
Unless you get a great deal from your existing supplier under US legislation then go with Europe Auto, they can discuss with you all the insurance details before you get to pick the thing up when you are jet lagged etc, and they will sort out the differences between US/EU stuff. They are easy to get to talk to and they talk your language

Eiswein is supposed to have no botrytis in it, while Beerenauslese and TrockenBeerenauslese is and they are often sweeter and more interesting that Eiswein. You'll often find bars have old versions on these wonders by the glass for peanuts. With Onion Tart what a snack!

Hi Bilbobulgler - yes, I had that same train of thought re rental cars - thanks for re-enfocing!

Bvlenci - thank you for taking the time to post and for the thumbs up on Trier. If time allows, it is on our list so we are happy to hear you liked it and the boat ride sounds like something we'd enjoy.

Hi All - is Freisburg a worthwhile visit and if so, is the drive from Oberwesel to Freiburg a scenic one?

Thanks,

Shelley

If doing a bike ride on Mosel the Trier area is not the most scenic but Beilstein to Cochem and v.v. has regular boats in summer and is very scenic. The Mosel around Trier is blah compared to the really nice valley that starts several miles downriver.

You don't have much time in Mosel to see Burg Eltz, Trier, Bernkastel, wineries, putz along the river, etc. Trier I think is worth it for a few things - awesome things like Porta Negra and the old Roman temple now a Christian basilica - the Roman theatre but besides that it is a pleasant modern town (suffered greatly in WW2) with a nice pedestrian shopping area but could be a half-day visit.

PalenQ - thank you for your note. I agree we have a lot packed into a few days. We are going to play it by ear as far as Trier goes - all the other things you listed are all higher priority to us �� If time allows, we will go to Grier.

Freiburg is very nice, but if you're talking about a day trip it's probably too far. My wife and I made that very drive a couple of years ago, and with a stop in Strasbourg it was an all day affair just getting to Freiburg (though we did hit a pretty big jam on the A-5). Can't comment on the scenery, since we mainly used autobahns. If you're driving directly to Freiburg it's probably 3 hours without traffic. My guess is that it would take too much away from your enjoyment of the Mosel/Rhine area. You might enjoy taking the train to another town along the Rhine, such as Bacharach, Rudesheim, Mainz, or Koblenz for a diversion.

Yes fight natural desire to see everything and thus see less.

Thanks All - we've actually made some modifications for the exact reasons you listed. We are now flying into Frankfort and out of Munich. We've also cut a few things out such as Rothenburg (potentially though we are playing this by ear too) among other things.

One modification to our plan is that we are spending 4 nights in the Mosel/Rhine valleys, this is a possible because of our flight changes I mentioned in my last post. . Our lodging isn't exactly evenly spread, but it's already reserved so I prefer not modifying it as things are starting to get a bit confusing (we are possibly having another couple meet up with us along the way).

Here's our lodging: Night 1 (Beilstein - Hotel Haus Lipmanm, Nights 2 and 3 - Kobern-Gondorf Alte Muhle Thomas Horesh, Night 4 Oberwesel Burg Hotel Aug Shoenburg)

My 2 questions are:

1. Knowing where we will be staying, can someone help me with an order in which to see Eltz Burg, Must See Castles and Wineries and- (reds being our preference though I know the area specializes in whites), and Trier (should time allow). We also want to leave a full day of R and R at Aug Shoenburg. If time permits, we'd like to bike ride along the Mosel between Beilstein and Cochem as already suggested but I'm thinking we can do that in conjunction with winery visits?

2. on our way leaving the M/oselRhine area heading to Bad Wimpfen, we are considering making a day stop in Rothenburg. We already have lodging secured in Bad Wimpfen. Can anyone provide feedback on this plan? We have 2 nights lodging in Bad Wimpfen, and could modify the plan for 1 night in Rothenburg and one night in Bad Wimpfen instead. From Bad Wimpfen we are heading to 2 nights in Mittenwald.


Does anyone have any opinions they'd care to share relative to the 2 questions above?

Thank you,

Shelley

bike ride along the Mosel between Beilstein and Cochem as already suggested but I'm thinking we can do that in conjunction with winery visits?>

Have a designated biker? (Tandem)

Hello PalenQ - I'm not sure if i follow your last note: are you suggesting a tandem bike? If so, yes, that sounds like fun :)

I was jesting - winerie visits means imbibing and to have a designated biker - on a tandem of course! Not sure how available tandems are to hire.

PalenQ - yes after I thought about your comment for a few minutes, I realized what you meant and I edited my response but somehow it didn't go thru ��

My my response was something along the lines of: yes a tandem bike is a good idea, given we will be wine tasting,. I'll have my husband take the front since he's quite abit bigger than me so feels the effects of the wine tasting much less than I will ��

"can someone help me with an order in which to see Eltz Burg, Must See Castles..."

Wine rooms operated by local vintners are typically found within the towns themselves. You don't drive to some estate in the hills outside town.

Visit Eltz on the way to Kobern-Gondorf.

Aside from Eltz, Marksburg is a must-see medieval castle. It's in Braubach (nice old town market square and a good place for lunch.)
http://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4143/4...d7071291_b.jpg

You could drive from Kobern-Gondorf in the morning prior to Oberwesel. Use the bridge south of Koblenz to cross the Rhine then drive south, After Marksburg drive south along the east bank of the Rhine to one of the ferry crossings (south of Filsen, or in St. Goarshausen?) and then on to Oberwesel.

I tend to agree with fussganger on visiting wineries. Based on my experience (limited really, just three or four visits to the area) you don't find anything like the winery visitation like you have here in the US. Rather, what you usually find are tasting stands or wine tasting rooms in the towns around the region. The stands, I think, are a nice pleasure, to be standing in the square with all the activity, and lots of wines available for tasting. Prices are great, too, usually 1-3 euros per glass. If you stick to these venues, you'll save a great amount of time you would have spent combing the countryside looking for wineries that regularly welcome visitors.