Day 19. Bernkastel to Trier

Day 19. Bernkastel to Trier. 84 km. 5h15.

Another grey morning as the low pressure system remains settled over Europe, but fortunately only a few drops of rain. We even had a few moments of sunshine when everything warmed up rapidly and the definition of the scenery improved immensely. 

We set off from our smoky, but otherwise good, B&B after good German breakfast. (Fruit, yoghurt, cereal, rolls, boiled egg, cold meats and cheese, jam and coffee). We cycled back across the river to look at the central square of the old town of Bernkastel - very attractive and well preserved. We then snaked our way along the river bank as it winds in tight curves through the hills with vineyards planted on the south facing slopes. The valley had become wider and less steep so there are greater expanses of plantings. We had a few diversions due to the flooding of the river bank. The Moselle is still flowing strongly.

In Piesport we arranged a tasting at Lehnert-Veit Weingut, a family-owned winery now with its tenth  generation winemaker. The winemaker's mother gave us a very informative explanation of their wines as well as the current dynamics of the German wine industry. They concentrate on Riesling but also make a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Kerner, as well as Pinot Noir. We really enjoyed the very elegant 2014 Goldtropfchen Riesling Trocken. The Goldtropfchen vineyard is one of the most famous of the Moselle vineyards, and the name is protected in the same way as Champagne. The sweet botrytis wines last for many decades - as the hostess explained, good marmalade needs lots of sugar to last.

From there it was a flat 50 km cycle to Trier. As we approached this busy city, we passed through industrial areas and were surrounded by highways, but found our way to the impressive old Roman entrance to the old city, the Porto Negra. We walked our bikes through the old city with its famous Hauptmarkt.

The accommodation I had booked was further from the city centre than I had imagined and was in a pretty crumby part of town with a dodgy smoky pub downstairs. Our room is painted bright blue. We had planned to have a rest day here but will definitely be moving on tomorrow. 

Supper was pizza and shishkebabs in the square outside the hotel, accompanied by a an Oster-Selbach Spalese 2009 (WWS 9 - outstanding) and the Lehnert-Veit Goldtropfchen 2014 (almost as good), while all the Hungarians in the area cheered on their team in their Euro2016match.