Mosel and Saar River route

While cycling from Alken to Merzig, you will go back in time as you visit the Roman villas and public baths along the two rivers, the Saar and the Mosel. In Trier you can visit the Porta Nigra. This ancient gateway is one of the best-known monuments from the Roman era. On day six we take a trip to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in the village of Wasserbillig.

As you cycle through one of Germany’s major wine-growing areas, it is possible to taste a lot of different wines and see where they grow and how they are made. You can get acquainted with the excellent but uncomplicated wines from the Saar and the so-called ‘Spitzenweinen’ along the Mosel like the ‘Zeller Schwarze Katz’. The main ingredient for those wines is the Riesling, a white grape variety that dates back to the 15th century and is crowned the ‘Queen of grapes’.

Highlights

• Soaking in the ambience of the meandering Mosel river
• Admiring the vineyards of Calmont that line steep, picturesque hills
• Cycling an old railway path through sleepy volcanoes and crater lakes
• Taking an evening stroll through a town center with waterfalls and a castle
• Relaxing with a local Riesling wine after a day’s cycling