Hello,
We are contemplating staying in Cochem for a few days this summer and I was wondering if you Fodorites have any suggestions for day rail trips that are doable? We are open to any suggestions! Thanks!

Cochem - Trier

Cochem - Bullay and Alf - Traben-Trarbach (pick up a bike in Bullay and wheel to Zell or beyond, then back, along the river bike path; or hike from Alf up to Marienberg for a gorgeous view or river and vineyard.)

Cochem - Wittlich + regional bus to Bernkastel (bus is included on the 1-day passes like the happy weekend ticket or the Rheinland Pfalz Ticket, and buses are timed to coincide with train arrivals and departures.) Bernkastel is precious.

Cochem - Moselkern (hike to Burg Eltz)

Boat: Cochem - Beilstein and back - only 1 hour each way.

Cochem - Koblenz is doable of course if Koblenz interests you. Or change there and take a quickie ride down to Braubach to see Marksburg Castle; or north to Remagen for the WW II museum; or north to Linz to stroll its cobbled streets and half-timebered homes.

Great tips...it sounds as though you are an expert on this region!

Russ is definitely an expert on the Mosel area. He's the first person I turned to when researching my vacation last year - most of which was along the Mosel. You might get a few more ideas by sorting thru my trip report - http://www.bensbauernhof.com/bb2005t...oselrhine.html
Ben

Thank you to both of you...great trip report!

bookmarking

Russ---you mention picking up bikes to go along the river path to Zell----how far does this path go? I have seen mention elsewhere of a Moselhöwenweg from Koblenz to Trier, but assume that is not along the river. Would that be "bikeable" too, for a loop?

Also, how does one pronounce "Trier"? Is it tree-air or something else?

Thanks!

Bookmarking...

enzian - The Moselhöhenweg is a footpath, as far as I know, that runs along both sides of the river but following the topographic high points rather than the river. I've never walked it myself. There are a number of mountain bike paths up there too but I can't tell you much about them. The paved path from Bullay is mostly independent from the main road and quite good. I've ridden to Pünderich and back, and only had to use the road once, very briefly, in Zell. I've heard that good portions of it are similar. The Mosel is pretty windy. I think it's something like 280 km from Thionville, where the path begins, to Koblenz (Long trip for me, gawd my butt hurts already!) If you can do some German you might try googling "Moselradweg" to see what happens.

Yes, "TREE-air" is about as good a rendition as I can manage without heavy phonological intervention.

Kind words, Ben, but I feel I don't really know the place that well, only as an occasional visitor. As I approach retirement, I'm thinking about taking that challenge more seriously - it's a lovely area.

I escorted bike trips for ten years along the Mosel from Koblenz to Luxembourg - there are no bike paths per se but a wide strip along the road with an occasional bike path at times - this was a few years ago and could have bike paths now but the road paths were just fine. What you have to watch on the Mosel is winds - the several thousand foot high narrow valley walls create a wind tunnel at times - it seems the wind often blows down the valley toward Cochem so you may want to take the train and bike back - the best part of the valley goes for many miles from around Moselkern to Bernkastel-Kues. Some of the boats may have bikes in conjunction or you can rent at train stations and take your bike on the train. One of Europe's premier and most gorgeous biking venues. A short putz between Cochem and Beilstein is a great easy ride. Or from Cochem to Moselkern, from where you can walk a few miles thru the forest up to Burg Eltz, one of Germany's most wondrous looking castles - so nice it once graced the 500 mark German banknotes until the Euro came.

Thank you both very much. I did spend some time on Google yesterday, with queries like "Moselhöhenweg", "Mosel Radtours", Mosel cycling, etc. The path along the river seems like a lovely route; I see a number of guided tours so it must be popular. As long as it is fairly well separated from the traffic, that sounds OK. I mainly ride on mountainbike trails and am a bit intimidated by heavy traffic. I could not determine whether mountain bikes are allowed on the Moselhöhenweg, or whether it would even be suitable for MTB use, but I'll explore that idea further. I do read some German, so that helps. I'm just starting to think about this trip; in order to give the region its due I would have to make it a separate trip from the one I'm planning now (Germany ans Switzerland in 2007).

I will probably start a new thread on this so I'm not guilty of hijacking. I'll try to be specific with my questions so if you respond you don't have to repeat what you've said here (which I've printed out and put in my "future trips" file).