Kattenes to Ediger-Eller

May 13, 2024

We have loved staying in Kattenes at Gastehaus Burgberg. We had an extensive suite with a sitting room and cooking area plus a bedroom and large bathroom. As well as being comfortable and functional, the view out the front window made it special with a clear view of the Moselle River, vineyards and a castle. Last night we walked next door to their restaurant Weinhaus Fries for dinner and this morning we returned for an excellent breakfast. These people are busy as they not only run the guesthouse, restaurant but they also own and run the winery, Winehaus Fries.

Smoked salmon and a breakfast wine from their winery.

Breakfast is only served to their guests…good quality food, made in house and included in our room rate.

It is a cool morning…the weather is changing from sunshine to lots of rain in the coming days. Most of the guests ate on the terrace, but we enjoyed the cosiness of the dining room.

A quirky wonderful place with many accolades for their hospitality and wines.

Our host, her husband and their children run this restaurant, guesthouse and winery. They are busy folk. We loved chatting with her and enjoyed her wicked sense of humour….much laughter ensued.

Like most wineries, there is a tasting area at a lower level with access to the wine cellar. And of course, since the Moselle region is synonymous with cycling, it seems appropriate for there to be a bike in this room.

We liked their label…the curvy line represents the undulating curves of the Moselle River and the dot (upper R) shows the location of their winery.

Our view from our sitting room….the Moselle River and the town of Alkan on the other side. Note the castle atop the hill.

This is the castle we see from our suite. We read that the Castle has been renovated and is worth a visit….perhaps next time.

Heading out for another day on the Moselle.

Most of the time, the cycle route is completely separate from the road. Occasionally, we share the road with cars. It is not too bad though, as the brightly painted border with a serious “rumble strip” keeps the cars away.

It’s that time of year….new born chicks are everywhere…Canadian Geese, Egyptian ducks, swans.

A lovely day of riding so far. We rode the Moselle several years ago, and our second ride here is as magical as the first.

Interesting to see the chapel and living quarters intact.

Each village has its own character and charm.

An impressive castle atop the vineyards in Cochem. The Reichsburg-Imperial Castle is the largest of the Moselle castles. What we see now is very different from the medieval castle that preceded it. It was rebuilt in the 19th century, in a fairy tale style akin to Neuschwanstein, by Louis Ravens a Berliner who made his fortune in iron and steel.

We enjoyed Cochem on our previous visit years ago…fun to explore it again. It has a small but very interesting old town…worth a visit.

The weather may look fine, but this covered archway is soon to come in very handy as the rains are coming shortly and this will provide shelter for us and many others. The weather is funny here as it changes so fast.

A close up of a detail we liked on the building below.

These lines are a sobering reminder that flooding of the Moselle River is a frequent challenge for these towns. It is hard to conceive that the river has risen to these heights.

Lunch is leftovers from our meal at Weinhaus Fries last night.

Fresh desserts from the bakery in the square. Strawberries are excellent this year…so delicious and “red right through”. Reminds me of my childhood in Ontario, when we would pick fresh strawberries at Prince Edward County. Yum.

Another marker of flooding over the years.

On the Moselle, you are surrounded by beauty and history wherever you look.

We marvel at the hard work that goes into tending the vines….just ascending the steep slopes is a feat in itself. Truly it is a labour of love and a passion…not just a job.

Many of the wineries are family run and have been so for generations.

This contraption on a single track blows our minds. The gradient is insane, yet we see workers going up and down with a load of grapes (when in season). We have debated, which would be scarier…ascending or descending? I go for the latter.

We had a brief, but heavy rain as we were finishing lunch. But now it has caught up to us with a vengeance. We managed to find some shelter, but it is not easing up, so we will head on to our next stop for the night…Ediger-Ellar.

The raindrops are huge and it looks they are dancing.

Buster, our intrepid co-captain, is not pleased by the weather.

My fellow stoker, Wickie (named for a Canadian pro female hockey player, Hayley Wickenheiser) is with Buster on this subject…enough with the rain!

We have reached our destination of Ediger-Ellar and we look like drowned rats. The day began sunny but as predicted, deteriorated into heavy rain and the temperatures dropped. The hotel had no garage, so we had the challenge of carrying our big tandem (which doesn’t bend!) down 6 stairs into a sub basement which required a 90 degree turn. There was some cursing involved but we got it done. The fellow at the hotel assured me that it was straight in…no problem. Clearly he has never tried to carry a recumbent tandem into tight corners like this But we persevered and got it done.

I’ll try to keep my hyperbole to a minimum, but the historic charm and quaint towns make this route world class…and best of all, bikes and their cyclists are truly honoured guests here. It is a joy to cycle tour in a place that anticipates your needs as cyclists, offers nutritious food and makes the safety and maintenance of your bike a priority.

This wee bakery was the width of a very small room. We were able to get a few treats for the evening.

If all goes according to plan, our intent is to ride the Moselle to its source in southern France, the town of Fellering. We have to evaluate our time as we lost some weeks at the beginning of the trip.

Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 253 km (157 miles)

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