Party Time in Bernkastel: Wolf to Bernkastel to Longuich
We had a great breakfast in our B and B and headed for Bernkastel. What a surprise when we got there. River cruise ships, tour buses, and cars lining the highway. It felt like half the population of Germany had converged on Bernkastel for the annual winefest, the largest in the region. Who knew? Well, obviously most of Germany, but not us. It was hilarious. There were food kiosks, all selling German sausages, wineries were flogging their wine, breweries were selling beer and half the people were wandering the town with either a glass of wine or beer in their hand or wine around their neck in a wine glass holder. I actually quite liked the wine glass holders!
There were oom pa pa bands on every corner, people in lederhosen, dirndls, and historical garb that defies description. The only thing we didn't see was a suit of armour. We jostled our way through the crowds trying to take it all in (loved the guys with the pom poms on their baseball caps) but it was tough with fully loaded bikes. A lovely couple, Barbara and Rudolph, offered us the use of their garage for bike storage. They run a B and B right in the middle of town. Their garage was on the parade route - of course there had to be a parade! - and they let us know the parade was two and a half hours long. We either had to retrieve the bikes before that time or enjoy the parade as bike retrieval would be impossible until it was over. So we went for a beer, meeting some lovely people from Dusseldorf, and then beat a hasty retreat, buying a gigantic pretzel on the way out of town. The pictures will tell the story.
We had a picnic lunch about 10 km down the radweg, and then it was smooth sailing along the bike path. At about the 50 km mark we tucked in behind a couple who were familiar with the trail and going just the right pace. I started to chat with Uli who spoke excellent English. They led us to a Wienstub where wine and breakfast are included with the room. What a great concept. So we are tucked in for the night at Franzishus Hof. Actually right now we are in the bar across the street drinking Bitburger Pils, writing the blog and watching Germany vs. Scotland football while enjoying free wifi. Prior to that had a couple of bottles of wine with Uli and Albert from the Franzishus Weingut and met Johannes, who checked us in. I wish you could have heard them laugh when they found out we had been in Bernkastel! Off to Trier tomorrow.
Barbara who generously offered us the use of her garage so we could join the party. Rudolph in the background. Very nice people. We will be staying at their B and B next time.
