The Moselsteig

In September 2024, after my initial attempt to walk the trail in 2020 was foiled by Covid restrictions in France and Germany, I finally set off to hike the Moselsteig, a trail of over 350 km that follows the Mosel river along its whole length in Germany from the point where the borders of France, Germany and Luxembourg meet, all the way to the confluence with the Rhine in Koblenz.

After four days spent hiking in the wine country of Alsace in France, one of the prettiest regions of the country (blog post pending), my wife Odile (who would be joining me for the middle week of the three-week hike) dropped me in Sélestat, just south of Strasbourg, for what would turn out to be a long train journey to Perl where the trail begins. Originally due to take 6 and a half hours, through a combination of construction work and cancelled trains, it ended up taking 8 and a half hours on six different trains. For a distance of 179 km by road! Talk about slow travel…

When I finally got to Perl, my hotel turned out to be at the top of a steep hill, a 1.5 km climb from the station. Luckily, there was an Indian-run pizza place just next door that, along with the standard Italian fare, served up a copious biryani (adapted to local tastes so rather bland) that set me up for the 23 km I’d be covering on the first day.

To be continued…