This was a relatively easy day with just 14 km to cover. However, it was made a little complicated by heavy rain. It also saw the first stirrings of a muscular problem that would bother me on and off over the coming days. Breakfast in Ürzig was a relatively simple affair, but served in the… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 11 – Ürzig to Traben-Trarbach

After an easy day, this one, with around 17 km to cover, would be a little tougher with some steep ascents. Plus the weather forecast was for showers throughout the day so we kept the rain gear at the top of the pack. And wisely so. This stage began with a steep, 300-metre climb out… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 10 – Bernkastel-Kues to Ürzig

Odile’s first day on the hike with me would be a fairly easy one with just under 14 km to cover to reach Bernkastel-Kues. Over breakfast, we got chatting to a German guy who was on one of the Compostella trails that cross Europe. He was doing it in two week stretches and going as… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 9 – Osann-Monzel to Bernkastel-Kues

The weather was due to take a turn for the worse today and when I got up at 7:30 the sky was grey and there were a few drops of rain on the bathroom skylight. My wife Odile would be arriving that afternoon and it unfortunately looked as if the week she would spend hiking… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 8 – Neumagen-Dhron to Osann-Monzel

Day 7 got off to a great start with what my hotel called a “French sekt breakfast”. I’ve no idea what was French about (not a croissant or a baguette in sight), but as soon as I sat down and poured myself a coffee, the owner arrived with a glass of his excellent sekt. I’m… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 7 – Leiwen to Neumagen-Dhron

This would be a big one as I would be doing stages 6 and 7 of the trail in one day. The two stages combined, according to the AllTrails app, represented a total of just over 26 km. Somehow, I ended up doing just over 30 due to a side trip in Mehring to buy… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 6 – Schweich to Leiwen

I have to admit that I had been dreading this day. When I had hiked the final stage of the Eifelsteig a year before, the final approach to Trier had been a nightmare. One of my feet was badly blistered, it was a 36-km day and there was one section, the descent to Biewer, that… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 5 – Trier to Schweich

The same strong, cold wind was still blowing when I woke (the tail end of Storm Boris that was wreaking havoc in Eastern Europe?), but the skies were clear and it was going to be another fine day. Apart from two fairly uninspiring sections – the first few kilometres out of Konz and a moment… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 4 – Konz to Trier

With breakfast served at 7:30, by 8 o’clock I was on my way, barrelling up the hill out of Wellen, fueled by the previous evening’s kniddelen. The initial section of trail was along a country road up to the ridge above Nittel. It was clearly going to be a wonderful day, but the cold wind… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 3 – Wellen to Konz

I set off from Schloss Thorn at 8:30 after a good breakfast and an excellent night’s sleep. It was a pleasant, gentle, uphill walk to return to the official trail where I had left it the day before. My weather app showed nothing but sunshine for the whole day, yet I began walking under a… Continue reading The Moselsteig – Day 2 – Schloss Thorn to Wellen