Windmills & wine

[Irish Rambler]

I spoke of the importance of canal junction of the Dortmund Ems canal from a logistical point of view but it's topography raised some challenging engineering problems to try and overcome a 13.5 metre height difference in canals.
Why did it need to go to Dortmund in the first place ?
Forgive the long winded explanation but imagine if you will the 3 leaves of a shamrock, the left hand 2 leaves being 2 valleys, or basins, the spine of the left hand leaf is the Ruhr river, the spine of the right the Rhine river, the surrounding foliage an enormous basin creating the Ruhr valley. Massive coal deposits were found around this region and with the coming of the industrial revolution factories were built next to the abundant fuel supply creating the powerhouse of Germany's production.
Krupp produced much of Germany's steel and ancilliary engineering company's sprang up around it.
The 1st world war and subsequent 2nd triggered a frenzy of steel consumption as factories raced to keep up with demand.
In turn this created some 15 major towns.
Today these towns and surrounding villages have all merged into an area housing 10 million people.


The head of the river Ruhr valley had been dammed to provide water for the people, produce hydro electricity and provide water for the Mitteland canal and if you followed my earlier advice and watched 'The Dambusters' film you will know by now that dam as the 'Moehne See' dam.
It became an important British target named 'Operation Chastise' to disrupt the logistical flow to the German military.
The idea to destroy the dam was not Dr Barnes Wallis (he invented the bomb) as shown in the film but the result of a military planning session in 1938 when Mr Hitler was getting a bit frisky, in all other aspects the film is accurate and truthful.
The German military drafted in 4,600 workers who worked in shifts 24 hrs a day and it took them 5 months to repair the bomb damage.

We paid homage to the final resting place of the commander of that raid, Sqn Leader Guy Gibson and it is shown in post 38.
The Ruhr valley then is of critical importance to Germany's economy and transport connections were vital as I'll show you in the next post


Photo's.
Coal mine wagons.
Hydro Electric turbine from the Moehne See dam.
The breached dam after the raid.
The repaired dam.
Photo of the flak tower and roadway.

 

[Irish Rambler]

I've given you the reason Why, now I'll show you How.

To overcome a height difference of 14 metres and allow the Dortmund Ems canal to reach the industrial heartland there were several ways to achieve it.
At Henrichenberg a flight of locks were ruled out due to insufficient water supply and very early attempts included a wooden human powered vertical lift using ropes, pulleys and a team of brawny men which could lift a barge of 80 tonnes with a pulley ratio of 5:1.
The first true ship lift was built in steel and opened in 1899, it had a trough of 70 metres long by 8.8 metres wide, using a float and screw guide system it could lift a barge in just 2 and a half minutes and worked efficiently right up until 1970.
A barge would be driven into the lift, the water drained from the trough into the pit below containing the floats which being buoyant would then rise.
On reaching the top the screws would hold the lift in position while the trough was filled with water and the barge driven out.


Photo's.
Early wooden shiplifts.
Early inclined plane.
Diagram of the Henrichenberg shiplift.
The shiplift today is a museum.
Pit with cylindrical float shaft.
Valve to drain the shiplift trough.
View of the top of the shiplift.
Steadying screw.
Entrance to the shiplift.


It had it's own boiler house to make electricity for the pumps and lighting.
The towers are copies of Egyptian obelisks and the eagle is the Prussian eagle.


As an aside the oldest incline plane still working is in Poland.

 

[Irish Rambler]

The early shaft lock has now been made into a service road.
Below are a series of photo's showing handling equipment preserved at the museum.


Photo's.


Entrance to the old shaft lock.
Electric train used to pull barges alongside the wharves for loading/unloading. Early barges had no engines and were towed by steam tugs.
Cranes.
Repair yard with cradles and side slipway.
Kilometre sign on the canalside. These are still along the canal today, either on a vertical post or set in concrete as this one is.
Prussian eagle on the shiplift.
These reservoirs contained water for the old shaft lock.
Gearbox for the steadying screw on the shiplift.
Steadying screw.

 

[Irish Rambler]

A newer shiplift was built at Henrichenberg to cater for increased traffic using only 3 buoyancy floats but I'm afraid I wasn't allowed to go and take photo's for you.


The new shaft lock was built and is in operation today as you can see.
It can take 2 barges 110 metres long or one pusher at 220 metres.
We look miniscule compared to the barges.


Photo's.
Queue at the entrance to the new shaft lock.
All barges display their length, Breadth and carrying capacity.
Control tower for shaft lock.
Inside the shaft lock are hooks set into the walls and also slots with floating bollards to attach to.
Tanker barge, the nearby town of Marl has the largest concentration of chemical companies in Europe and tanker barges ply this route night and day.
220 metre long pusher barge, I couldn't get this in one photo.


Some historic ships, can you see the barge behind the 2 smaller ships ? then check the next post.

 

[Irish Rambler]

One of the earliest motorised barges was called 'Franz Christian' and is now in the museum.
It was launched in 1929 and retired in 1974 and able to carry 319 tonnes, the same family operated it and lived on board until the last generation retired.
I always wanted to see a barge engine, did you ?
C'mon, we'll take a peek together.


At the side of the museum there is parked a green double decker bus, this is an iconic ex London Transport Routemaster bus which covered millions of miles in it's daily working life on routes around Britain's capital city with a different driver every day.
They entered service in 1954 and were built by the Associated Equipment Company at Park Royal in London (they also built engines and trucks) until 1968 and finally withdrawn in 2005 due to new emission rules.
2,876 were built and 1280 are believed to be still active.
Testimony to British engineering and build quality.
When these were sold off for a more modern fleet, many went on to have a second life with their roofs chopped off and became sightseeing buses, many of which are still working in cities around the world today.
This one even has a third life as a bar and 'schnell imbiss' (quick service) snack bar dispensing beer and German sausages (Bratwurst) which are a bit like a hot dog,,,on steroids ! they're a meal on their own and incredibly delicious.
German beer is wonderful must be tasted frequently to be enjoyed.


Photo's.
Diesel barge engine in the museum.
Open con rods and a leisurely 150 revs per minute.
'Franz Christians engine, an air start 70 hp 3 cylinder diesel, there was no reverse gears, the engine was simply stopped and started in reverse.
many barges still use this system.
Interior of the barge hold, Pat Butler reading the history.
Interior hold.
Viking ship, I've never seen one with a Yamaha engine though !
Ex London Routemaster.

 

[Irish Rambler]

On a more mundane note, Germany is very heavy into recycling, each house has 4 bins to segregate rubbish and if you buy cans, bottles or even crates to carry drinks there is a logo on them.
You return empties where you bought them, receive a credit the machine in the photo is at a German discount store, Lidl.
The machine reads the barcode, accepts and crushes the empties to compact them and then issues you with a receipt after doing your shopping and you present this ticket and receive a discount off your shopping bill.


Snails are supposed to be hermaphrodites when it comes to sex, right, they're both power and sail.
Then how does the chat up line go ?
I guess it goes at snails pace !
These two were at it on the bike path, she was coming, he was coming, I was coming but only me had brakes ! ! 1


Photo's

Recycling logo & barcode.
Recycling machine.
Recycling machine.
Two snails.

 

[Irish Rambler]

We've been moored for a couple of weeks at Waltrop beside the shiplift in a very friendly marina, everyone here has made us feel very welcome, one man especially has been very kind, Dieter has used his car several times to help us and even drove us to the train station for a quick trip to the South of France by Ryanair to show a prospective buyer around our Birchwood boat that's for sale.
From previous posts you will know that we have no Wi-Fi coverage in the marina and we have to go on a 10k bike ride to a local McDonalds to check the mail, the upshot is that I'm now as fit as a butchers dog and thinking of entering the geriatrics 'Tour de France'.
An added benefit is that nearby we have a terrific DIY store called Hornbach, with quality produce at keen prices that's allowed us to carry out some more improvements to 'Snow Mouse' to make her more comfortable for the next leg of the adventure.

 

[Mainship400]

Thank you Irish rambler! Your thread is helping us plan our next year charter trip to "test the waters". Thinking 2 weeks in either June or September 2017 on the canal de midi. Any advice on charter outfits to look at?

 

[Irish Rambler]

Hi Mainship.
Depending what type of holiday you would like August is the hottest busiest (and most expensive) month on the Canal Du Midi
Le boat is possibly the largest operator but I can't recommend them. Take a look at Ireland to the Mediterranean Part 1, at the end are some photo's of their boats.
A company called Locaboat is probably the better company to holiday with.
The canal du Midi as it's generally known stretches from Bordeaux to Sete.
For more insight look on Amazon Kindle for a book called 'How To Cruise Between Two Sea's' by Geoff Woolley, it will give you all the info with photo's.
Alternatively why not buy my 33' Birchwood motor cruiser that's for sale with a group of friends and use it as a timeshare, with Brexit the exchange rates are in your favour.
If you need any specific questions about your forward planning just ask and I'll be delighted to help if I can.

 

[Irish Rambler]

As we travel around the Ruhr valley we see the strong efforts the Germans are making to clean up the old industrial region. Many of the old factories and steel foundries that had chimneys belching black coal smoke have been modernised and are now super clean and efficient.
Many have relocated as they no longer depended on coal for fuel and these old factories have been demolished, so thorough is the demolition that some places have actually become farmland, others in the towns have now been made into parks.
Everything here is recycled right down to the cement dust.

Incidentally the Romans invented cement/concrete as we know it today, they mixed 2 parts slaked lime with 3 parts of a local red sand found around Puteoli in Italy and named the mixture Puteolaneum after the region it was discovered in, it would even set solid below the water and revolutionised the building industry. The Roman governor Agrippa used it to build wharves, jetties, aqueducts and bridges.


Politicians dream of empires.
Soldiers conquer them, but it's the engineers who build them.

Here in Germany the bricks and cement are crushed and used as a base material for foundations, you can even buy 1 ton bags in your local DIY store to use as a base material for laying a stone drive.
The old mountainous waste tips from the mines around here, called 'slag heaps' are also being removed slowly and the material graded, any coal is scavenged and separated and used in power station furnaces.
I also discovered that there were 2 Irish owned and run coal mines, Shamrock and the Erin mine owned by a man named Mulvanney.
There's a company in Northern Ireland called Powerscreen who make very efficient machines for doing the job of grading this material.
Barges transport this material to where it can be utilised and nothing is wasted or dumped unnecessarily.


On a lighter note we went to an 'Irish Folk night'.
We were expecting a visiting Irish group, in fact they were German and we were a bit surprised to hear some of the renditions which kinda had a nodding acquaintance with the right words and with no fiddle or accordion, well, shall we say it was an interesting experience ! They meant well and the local Germans loved it and that's the main thing.


Were just waiting for a new Bimini to be made and fitted before we get on the move again after our mid journey R&R.
Rest and Recuperation ? not on your ruddy life !
No, it means Renovation and Repairs, with the DIY store beside us We've been working hard taking advantage of it's range of German quality goods to update our beloved 'Snow Mouse'.

 

[FF]

Pictures of boats going up and down in a lock are fine.

BUT we were treated to a passage in the Corinth Canal where the bridge was lowered into the water so the vessel could pass over it while submerged.

Submersible bridge Isthmia Corinth Canal - Βυθιζόμενη Γέφυρα ...

▶ 1:58

Oct 24, 2015 - Uploaded by Αναστάσιος Στατήρης
The Corinth Canal in Greece cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and ... The primary advantage of ...


Corinth Canal and submersible bridge at Isthmia - Corinth Forum ...

www.tripadvisor.com › ... › Corinth › Corinth Travel Forum




TripAdvisor


May 13, 2009 - Corinth Canal and submersible bridge at Isthmia. Watch this Topic ... Are cars stopped regularly so that the bridges can be lowered? If so, how ...

 

[Irish Rambler]

Hi FF.
The reason we show the interior and operation of locks is to illustrate to people with no previous experience who may be thinking of a similar adventure what to expect and prepare for, a, different sizes of locks encountered in Europe and b, show the different methods for safely attaching your craft.
In France and some of the very small 'turf' canals in Holland they are still using wooden gates with built in sluices, not much changed from Leonardo Da Vinci's first concept of a lock.
Because of the size of the barges operating here they obviously need much larger locks and wooden gate type would simply collapse with the sheer weight of water and would be impractical and guillotine locks became 'de riguer' for many years.
They are now adopting the 'lowering gate' type similar to the Corinthian canal for the newly built very deep 'shaft' locks both in Belgium and Germany.
Because of the method of construction these locks fill from a series of channels in the base of the lock and are so gentle you hardly need to tie up during the locking cycle.
My first experience of the 'lowering gate' type was in Padstow many years ago after crossing the Bristol channel on my first journey from Ireland to the Spain.
But Don't worry there are no locks on the next leg of our journey up the river Rhine.

 

[Irish Rambler]

Hello fellow TF'rs
I apologize for the absence of updates over the last few weeks. No it's not the hangovers from the delicious German beer, it's the German internet facilities, or lack of them.
There are very strict rules here in Germany, for example cutting your lawn or making any noise or disturbance on Sundays and on visual things too like TV's aerials and Satellite dishes disfiguring their houses, factories or countryside, as a consequence they use fibre optic cable systems and Wi-Fi, called Wlan, pronounced veelan) is rarely available.
However as we've just crossed the continental divide and I now have full use and will begin to update TF as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

[Irish Rambler]

At last we got the good news that the river Rhine which had been in flood condition for some months due to heavy rain in the Alps was safe for us to navigate.
Quick checks got us back in cruising mode and we set off to good wishes and many Gute Fahrts (good journey) from our new found German friends who had been so helpful to us. Very friendly and kind hosts.


The first leg of our journey to us from Datteln down the Rhein-Herne canal to Duisburg. Geographically we were skirting the Ruhr valley industrial hub of Germany, not everything is smoking chimneys as the authorities are turning derelict factories into recreational parks by literally removing all traces industry and returning the land to it's former glory. (photo).
Old coal burning factories now use gas and even the gasometers are prettified.(photo's).
We even saw where someone had imported sand and made a beach with rows of deckchairs and a bar, even the surrounding windbreak wall had a tropical island mural.
This is a very busy commercial water way and just look at the headroom this 'Rhine barge' has.(photo)
Duisburg is the largest inland port in Europe and it would shame many a seaport, the barge skippers are just brilliant at handling their craft they would shame many of us and these things can be up to 6.000 tonnes ! (photo).

 

[Irish Rambler]

According to the pilot book we could go into Duisburg marina and fill up with fuel before tackling the river Rhine. Unfortunately we picked a time when one of the bridges was having repairs after the winter floods and so we set off up the Rhine to the first marina. This was obviously our first experience ad if I tell you it was like a marine motorway believe me I'm not exaggerating.
This was our first experience of 'Blue Boarding'
When a skipper shows a metre square blue board with a flashing white light in it's centre it means he wants to pass you on the opposite side ie starboard to starboard due to his draft or manoeuvrability, you in turn show a blue board to show you have acknowledged his intention and will comply, we showed a blue towel which seemed to be acceptable, note the blue board in the 5th photo.
Bear in mind we are in a line of maybe 5 180 metre long barges and an opposite equal number were coming towards us and just make life interesting they were all going faster than us against a 5 km current ! Exciting or what ?
I think some of the crew were damn near touching cloth....
Factories line this part of the Rhine for kilometre after kilometre.
The large tower is Dusseldorf television tower.(photo).


River bank management 'green' style, one employee, 200 hundred sheep = no machines, no diesel or petrol used, 1 crop of wool and 1 crop of spring lamb per year, no depreciation.
No redundancy or holiday pay small sickness bills.

 

[Irish Rambler]

A little background information on the Rhine.
The Rhine formed the Northern border of the Roman empire along with the Danube river.
The source of the Rhine is the Rheinfelden glacier which lies 3,353 metres above sea level and at 2,326 kms is Europe longest river and it flows through six countries, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands(Holland) emerging into the North sea via the Rotterdam.
Called variously the Rhein in Germany, Rhine in France and the Rijn in Holland.
Duisburg as I mentioned earlier is the largest inland port and acts as a feeder to the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam via the Rhine barge network.
A film was made about the bridge at Remagen where the American 1st division fought a bloody war to capture the bridge and ensure General Patton's advance. The bridge was ordered to be destroyed by the Wehrmacht but the German engineers built it so well the bridge failed to collapse after the defenders blew the charges and it was finally captured by the Americans on the 7th of March 1945.
General Eisenhower commented afterwards that the bridge was 'Worth its weight in gold'.
It was dismantled after the war and a ferry operates there now.
Just look at the navigation marker to see the strength of the current, we were making an average of 6 kilometres an hour, (3 knots) against this current for 200 kilometres.

 

[Irish Rambler]

When we approached the Rhine we initially 3 options.

Option 1. To go up the Rhine, then the Moselle and Saar valleys.
There'd been plans for many years to canalize the river Saar and it's locks as far as Saarbrucken to 'Rhine barge' dimensions, 200 metres by 20 metres to allow the Rhine barges access to the coalfields and steel works at Saarbrucken.
The politicians procrastinated as usual and by the time the work was completed the coal mining had all but been superseded by natural gas, but there was a questionable 10 kilometres section on the border with France right at the summit of the continental divide 1200 metres above sea level that may still be closed.
We didn't want to go 400 kilometres just to have to turn back.

Option 2. Travel up the Rhine to Koblenz, then via the Moselle valley, over the continental divide through Luxembourg and from there into the French canal system. Dooable.

Option 3.
If the current on the Rhine proved to be too strong for our craft.

There's a spur of mountains that stretch from Switzerland to Belgium variously called the German Alps, Bavaria, Vosges mountains in France through Luxembourg, in Belgium the Ardennes ( famous for it's delicious Pate for the gourmands among us) 'and, (where the Battle of the Bulge was fought in WW2) for the military historians amongst us.

We could've made a tactical withdrawal (good soldiers never admit defeat) and gone the long way round, down the Rhine, back into Holland, Belgium, around the end of the continental divide via the Sambre and Muese rivers and from there into the French canal system.
That would take a lot of time and fuel.

Fortunately for us I speak enough conversational German and during a chat with a Dutch skipper we found that the Saar route was open, IF we could make it up the Rhine.
In the 2015/16 dark winter night planning sessions, we as wine lovers had wished to go via the Moselle valley on our adventure before dementia to see and taste the famous wines of this region. The Sylvaners, Rieslings, Liebfraumilch, Pinot Noir, Sekt and Gewürztraminers and other lesser known wines. We've found from experience that many of these 'local' wines are head and shoulders above very expensive wines with good brand marketing.


We opted for option 1, the fuel burn was heavy on the pocket against the current but we had every faith in our Frank Perkins trusty diesel engine and she never missed a beat.tg.

When we reach the border with France I will post a map of our route through Germany so you can see our progress.

 

[markpierce]

Was very disappointed there was no longer a bridge at Remagen when we visited Germany.

Observed the sinking bridge at the Corinth Canal about ten years ago. Surprised the heck out of me (sinking bridge!). We watched it at the restaurant from the same point of view as the photos.

I'm fortunate when three out of four people pay attention to me.

 

[Irish Rambler]

I managed to cruise in an earlier life (with a sailboat) extensively around the Ionans and Levkas canal but never got time to do the Corinthian.
I think they took down the old bridge at Remagen to prevent a rerun of the last fracas.
In fact there are surprisingly few bridges over the Rhine considering the vast population that line it's banks.
As the Germans say, there are Germans, and there are Rhinelander's.

 

[Notlandlockedforlong]

According to the pilot book we could go into Duisburg marina and fill up with fuel before tackling the river Rhine. Unfortunately we picked a time when one of the bridges was having repairs after the winter floods and so we set off up the Rhine to the first marina. This was obviously our first experience ad if I tell you it was like a marine motorway believe me I'm not exaggerating.
This was our first experience of 'Blue Boarding'
When a skipper shows a metre square blue board with a flashing white light in it's centre it means he wants to pass you on the opposite side ie starboard to starboard due to his draft or manoeuvrability, you in turn show a blue board to show you have acknowledged his intention and will comply, we showed a blue towel which seemed to be acceptable, note the blue board in the 5th photo.
Bear in mind we are in a line of maybe 5 180 metre long barges and an opposite equal number were coming towards us and just make life interesting they were all going faster than us against a 5 km current ! Exciting or what ?
I think some of the crew were damn near touching cloth....
Factories line this part of the Rhine for kilometre after kilometre.
The large tower is Dusseldorf television tower.(photo).


River bank management 'green' style, one employee, 200 hundred sheep = no machines, no diesel or petrol used, 1 crop of wool and 1 crop of spring lamb per year, no depreciation.
No redundancy or holiday pay small sickness bills.

Does the pilot house on the "Arizona" move up and down for bridge clearance?

 

[Notlandlockedforlong]

Sorry about that. My fingers are too fat for my phone. Meant to copy post of the boat pics

 

[Irish Rambler]

Notlandlockedforlong.
Yes they are hydraulically raised and lowered for passing under bridges.
They also have an array of camera's and can monitor everything from the wheelhouse.
One of the most impressive things is their cleanliness, apart from the odd scruff they are all immaculately kept.

 

[Irish Rambler]

As we move further up the Rhine the impressive twin spires of Koln (Cologne) cathedral loom up on the horizon. Unusually the twin spires are not only hollow to reduce weight but they are perforated to let the wind pass through and reduce pressure on the building..


A few photo's of Koln's riverside.


Koln riverside theatre.
Very interesting chocolate museum.
Tourists having a whale of a trip, appropriately it was called 'Moby Dick'.
The two industrial jetty's belong to Shell refinery. One for dry goods and the other for filling tanker barges, they can fill/unload 8 barges at the same time.
Copy of a Mississippi steamer.

 

[Notlandlockedforlong]

Notlandlockedforlong.
Yes they are hydraulically raised and lowered for passing under bridges.
They also have an array of camera's and can monitor everything from the wheelhouse.
One of the most impressive things is their cleanliness, apart from the odd scruff they are all immaculately kept.

Haha! I can't say that for our towboats! We have something similar on the northern Ohio/Pittsburg/Three Rivers area. Much to the chagrin of their captains, they are affectionately referred to as "jack-off boats" due to their hydraulic manipulations.

 

[Panhandler]

Keep the updates coming! Sounds like an incredible trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Irish Rambler]

As we progress slowly up the Rhine here are a few more photo's you may enjoy.
One I missed because my camera angle was to narrow, the Ford car factory took up 5 kilometres of riverside. Ole Henry woulda been proud.
1, Rhine barge dimension hotel boat, they can usually hold 150 passengers in comfort.


2,This is This is the barge loading/unloading facility at Shell refinery at Cologne.


3, Floating Chinese restaurant.


4, General view Northwards.


5, An old German schloss (castle).


6, I gave you pictures of windmills in Holland and, as the title of the blog is windmills and wine, here are the vines for those lovely white wines.


7,This boat was carrying American tourists and they flew the old star spangled banner in respect of the passengers.


8, This is called a Pegel, a fixed watermark, when the level of the Rhine reaches the topmark 11 all traffic is stopped, above 1 mark no pleasure craft may navigate.


9, If you want to get ahead in life get out of bed early, if you go up the Rhine early you catch natures beauty.


10, End of the line for the Vulkan Express.

 

[Irish Rambler]

Now for this next post you've gotta do something for me.
Before you start to read it go and get a glass of Irish Whiskey, none of that Bourbon stuff or other pretenders, c'mon guys we need the exports !


OK, glass full and we're all set ?


The Lorelei


Just upriver from where we are on the river Rhine is a rock called the Lorelei in the middle of the river, it's made of slate and stands 132 metres (433 ft) high at a place called Sankt Goarhausen.


A Nymph is said to live on the rock, she dresses in white with a halo of stars in her hair and sings an enchanting melody that no sailor can resist, any who try to reach her never return.


A young warrior called Ronald was out boating one day being rowed around by an old skipper, once Ronald saw the Nymph he was enchanted and pleaded with the old skipper to row him closer, the skipper told him not to be foolish and if the old skipper took him to the Nymph Ronald's father would be very angry.
Ronald would hear no more argument, he wanted the Nymph and he jumped over the side of the boat into the water to go to her.
The old skipper was distraught and searched for hours but alas he couldn't find young Ronald, with a heavy heart he returned to tell Ronald's father about the loss of his son.
Ronald's father ordered his troops to go the island to search for Ronald and the Nymph.
As they searched the island they saw the Nymph on top of the rock and as they approached her she tore off her necklace of pearls and jumped into the water causing it to boil and froth like never before.
The turbulent water washed up young Ronald's body onto the shore.


And to this very day sailors are warned of the Nymph and to steer clear of the rock and not to heed her enticing song.


General view of the Rhine.
An old paddle steamer on the Rhine, actually it's a twin screw diesel.
The Lorelei rock.
Lorelei.
This tanker barge skipper was enticed by the Lorelei to visit her on the rock.

 

[Irish Rambler]

We turned off the Rhine at Koblenz to enter the canalised river Moselle, known more commonly as the Moselle valley.
During the Roman empire period Koblenz was a Roman border crossing point, known as Castellum apud Confluentes. The Castle at the Confluence of the rivers.
Any person wishing to enter the Roman empire had to pay a substantial forfeit and were then given a 24, 48, hours pass or 1 week, 1 month certificate to be carried at all times. Security was the responsibility of the army and any person who did not honour the rules, or was an illegal entrant was immediately jailed, thrown out of the empire and banned from re-entry for life.
Something our politicians would do well to bring back.


This is probably one of the most visited regions in Germany. In the 60's when Australia was looking for immigrants, many German people left this region to settle there taking with them some grape vines for their own use.
When they arrived they discovered that the Barossa and Hunter valleys provided the best climate and they settled there and began to grow grapes. The rest is history and the Australian wine industry was born, one of the best known is Wolff Blass, that's his name and his ancestors were from this region in Germany.
There's even a small town just outside Adelaide which is a copy of a German town.


Photo's.
Statue at Koblenz of King Freiderich Wilhelm 1V at the junction of the Rhine and Moselle rivers.
General view of the continuation of the Rhine.
Vines, Vines and more Vines.
The Moselle river.
The vintners use these tiny rail wagons to bring the grape harvest down from the terraces.
Each vintner advertises his name.
Impressive autobahn bridge over the Moselle.

 

[Irish Rambler]

The Moselle valley is beautiful and it's income comes not only from wine and tourists.
Koblenz is, and always has been, a garrison town and where once the Roman Legionnaires tramped it's streets now it the Bundeswehr (German Army).
The procurement and testing establishment is based in Koblenz along with support services bring the garrison up to 9,000 of military plus their families.
The river Moselle not only carries tourist traffic but is also a through route to Luxembourg and Saarbrucken for commercial barges.


The terraces date back to Roman times and the whole region is simply picture postcard gorgeous as you'll see from the photo's below .


1, Roses are planted at the end of rows of vines, they're more delicate than the vines and any greenfly or disease will show on the rose first, alerting the vintner to address the problem quickly.


2, One of the little motorised trucks on rails for bringing down the wine from the terraces.


3,4,5,6,7,8 Architecture of this region.


9, Modern type of sun dial, the name Pommern,
is the local village.

 

[Irish Rambler]

There are two main towns in the Moselle valley, one is called Cochem,the other is Bernkastle.
Cochem being the first 'up' river, they have a small but practical municipal harbour protected by a small breakwater to stop the surge from passing barges.
We spent a very pleasant evening strolling around the shops, sampling the wine and having a gorgeous meal in a restaurant.


There are 5 main grape varieties grown here but only Pinot Noir gives red wine.
White wine is in the predominance in Cochem but don't for a moment ignore the reds, they are full bodied, super smooth and gorgeous, you really can't fail to enjoy the silky pleasure as you sip a glass.


I hope you enjoy the photo's.


1, Weathervane with a difference.
2, Old post box.
3,Rooftop restaurant in Cochem for delicious schnitzels.
4, The real McCoy.
5,So hard to choose.
6,Main street view.
7,Superb Carillon plays on the hour.
8,Yet more wine.
9, Souvenir shop, look at the pewter German bier steins(mugs) and the pewter bier horn.