Bernkastel- Kues - September 15-18
Sunday September 15 - We arrived in Bernkastel-Kues around 1 o’clock PM. Blaine and Jeri have been to Bernkastel many times, but we have not seen the parking lot as crowded as it was today. We finally found a spot to park and proceeded to the Mosintos Romischer Kaiser hotel. We have wanted to stay at this hotel in our previous visits, but never had the chance. As we entered the building, there didn’t seem to be a reception area. There were a couple of signs, but they seemed to point in different areas. We finally went into the restaurant and asked, and they directed us to a small area at the back of the restaurant. Of course, there was nobody there, but after a couple of minutes one of the restaurant workers came and helped get us checked in. Our rooms were not ready yet, but we were allowed to stow our bags in the rooms until it was cleaned and ready for us to move in. Blaine got a 3-day parking pass for the car, and after that was placed in the car, we headed out to explore the town.
We found a nice outdoor table at the Bitchen Pub. The interior is designed to look like an English Pub. Our waitress was very friendly, and we enjoyed some good Moselle Valley wines.
Back at the hotel, we got checked in and rested up before our dinner at Schutzenhaus Restaurant. Evan had made reservations for 5 o’clock and was going to bring the family to meet us for dinner. Schutzenhaus Restaurant sits above the city, and the only way to get there is to walk a path up through the vineyards. We decided to go a bit early, because we knew it was going to take our group of 70 year olds more time to get there. Mainly because we wanted to stop and enjoy the view as we headed up the very steep path. Had nothing to do with catching our breath, mind you.
Karen had promised the kids dessert, so after dinner we stopped at the gelateria outside our hotel, and she bought everyone gelato. Thank you Karen. One thing we noticed as we got back to our hotel was that the doors were locked. Apparently, they are locked at 5 o’clock. It’s a good thing we had not arrived after 5 the day we checked in, otherwise we would have been up a creek.
Monday September 16 - After breakfast, Blaine and Jeri decided to have their laundry done one more time, so they packed up the car and headed to a place on the Kues side of the river. Bill and Karen took that time to explore Kues as well. We pulled up to the laundromat, and once inside were told it would be 3 days before they could do our clothes. OK, plan B. We ended up just hand washing the few pieces we would need until we could do our laundry at Evan’s place.
Next up on our tour is Burg Landshut, the castle above Bernkastel. Blaine drove, and because they had been there before, he knew not to stop at the main parking lot. He continued down the small walking path to another parking lot right next to the castle.
In the 4th century, a Roman fort was located on the site of the later Landshut Castle to secure military supplies along the Moselle to the Rhine border of the Roman Empire.
The hilltop castle, which today stands on the foundations of the Roman fortifications, was built at the end of the 13th century by the Archbishop of Trier, Heinrich von Finstingen. According to written sources, there is said to have been a Bernkastel castle as early as 1000.
The castle was sold to the Electorate of Trier in 1280. In 1505, Trier Castle was first referred to as "Landshut". On January 8, 1692, Landshut was destroyed by an unfortunate fire and has never been rebuilt since. It has been owned by the city since 1920. The ruins are also used as a restaurant and rest area. During routine maintenance work in 2012, remains were discovered that could date back to the 5th or 6th century. It is possibly one of the oldest castles in the Moselle Valley.
After admiring the gorgeous views and exploring the castle, we warmed up with a couple of coffees and hot chocolate. They weren’t really just coffees though. They were Irish coffees!!
Back in Bernkastel, we walked across the bridge to the Bruckenkeller wine bar. We spent a couple of hours just relaxing and meeting new people. There was an older couple that lived a couple of miles upstream. The woman loved practicing her English with us. Then there was a couple from upstate New York. He was a wine distributor of all things. They were on a river cruise and had the afternoon in town to explore. Jeri isn’t really used to afternoon drinking (not that the rest of us are) but the wine hit her a bit harder than everyone else, so she needed some rest after our relaxing? afternoon.
Once Jeri was rested up, we walked around Bernkastel exploring again. Blaine wanted to show Bill and Karen a restaurant he thought they would like. It was Doctor Winestube Restaurant. Bill and Karen actually had discovered this place earlier in the day when they were out exploring while Blaine and Jeri were attempting to get their laundry done. Bill wanted to make dinner reservations when they first saw the place, but Karen reminded Bill that Blaine had a place picked out that he wanted them to try. What a coincidence. Blaine and Jeri had actually stayed at Hotel Doctor Weinstube in 2021, and he knew that Bill and Karen would enjoy the German ambience of the restaurant. We made reservations for 6 that evening.
Tuesday September 17 - At breakfast this morning, Blaine mentioned that he wanted to visit the Winery Max Ferdinand Richter in the town of Mulheim, which is about 5 miles upriver from Bernkastel. Founded in 1680 as a wine export company, today the estate of Max Ferdinand Richter is owned by the same family that first purchased vineyards in Brauneberg in 1643. The website says they are open 9-12, so we arrived there around 9:30. As we pulled into the property, it looked more like the production facility. Blaine parked the car and headed into the building to make sure we were in the right place. An elderly gentleman greeted him on the second floor, and said yes, this was the right place for a wine tasting. It turns out the elderly gentleman is Dr Dirk Max Richter, the ninth generation of the original family.
We were led to a large conference room, with a huge table in the middle. Constantin Max Richter, the tenth generation of the family, introduced himself and started our private tasting. He was very knowledgeable, and told us the history of the vineyard, as well of the region. He explained each wine as they were presented, which vineyard the grapes were grown, why the soil affected the taste. We certainly got a wonderful education. In total, he gave us 11 wines to taste. He even had a red wine for Karen!
Our last adventure of the day was a one-hour boat cruise down the Moselle. it was a pleasant day for a boat ride, with blue skies and white puffy clouds, and a great way to relax and enjoy the beauty of the area.
