Route description for Between the Rhine and the Moselle

With around 202,000 inhabitants, Kassel is the center of northern Hesse and the third largest city in Hesse after Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden. Badly destroyed in World War II (1943), the city now has several sights in the city center (St. Martin's Church, Natural History Museum in the Ottoneum, Fridericianum). The orangery in the Karlsaue with the Karlsaue state park and Wilhelmshöhe Palace with the orangery, as well as the imposing Hercules and grandiose water features (from Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., however, currently do not yet speak of the medieval tradition of the Hessian landgraves) because of the corona pandemic).

With around 760,000 inhabitants, Frankfurt am Main is the largest city in Hesse and the center of the Frankfurt metropolitan area with 2.3 million inhabitants. The banking metropolis - once a dreamy half-timbered town - was almost completely destroyed in Allied bombing raids in World War II. It is thanks to the will of Frankfurt and clever political decisions that at least the old town with the cathedral, the Römerberg (including the seat of the town hall), the opera and the Paulskirche were completely rebuilt. Today, it offers an attractive contrast to the skyline of the high-rise banks, which is why the banking district is also fondly called Mainhattan by the Frankfurters. Tip: Before taking the city tour, be sure to take a city tour with one of the Hop On, Hop Off buses from the Paulskirche! Then a shopping spree in the Zeil with the shopping center "My Zeil".

Trier, as a Roman foundation (Augusta Treverorum) and around 2,000 years old, is demonstrably the oldest city in Germany. Numerous Roman buildings such as the famous Porta Nigra, the Constantine basilica and the ruins of the imperial and barbarian baths tell of this in today's Rhineland-Palatinate city (approx. 111,000 inhabitants). The Chinese have put a memorial to the great thinker and philosopher Karl Marx in the old town and the city commemorates his work with a remarkable exhibition in the Karl Marx House. In addition, the city has a romantic and lovely old town with the cathedral and the Liebfrauenkirche, the main market, the St. Georgsbrunnen, the Palais Walderdorff. Located just outside the city, Monaise Castle is worth a visit.

Luxembourg is only about 45 minutes by train (the trains run every hour) from Trier and is therefore definitely worth a flying visit. With 120,000 inhabitants, the city is the administrative center of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (630,000 inhabitants). Alongside Brussels and Strasbourg, the city is the seat and meeting place of numerous European institutions. It is a 15-minute walk from the Luxembourg main station to the center of the lively upper town with the Grand Ducal castle, the Church of Our Lady (Notre Dame), the town hall and the Place d'Armes, popular with residents and tourists, and the Gëlle Fra ("Golden woman", National monument in honor of the Luxembourgers who died in both World Wars and the Korean War).

We were able to explore both wine towns, Bernkastel-Kues-Kues (11 km from Erben) and Traben-Trarbach (15 km) by bike on the very well-developed and signposted Moselle cycle path, which leads directly past the parking space in Erden on the Moselle. It is not for nothing that Bernkastel-Kues-Kues is called the pearl of the Moselle, as the town of just 7,000 inhabitants in the valley of the Central Moselle has a large number of pretty half-timbered buildings (including the so-called pointed house). The city's most famous son, the medieval philosopher and universal scholar Nikolaus von Kues (his scholarly name was Cusanus), is omnipresent in the city (including birthplace, Catholic academy). As part of a small city tour (start at the harbor, duration: approx. 45 minutes, € 9 / adult) with a Bimmelguste, we were able to explore both districts of the twin city and the surrounding area. The city of Bernkastel-Kues has only been a dual city since 1905 (merger of the city of Bernkastel with the small wine-growing village of Kues). In addition to numerous half-timbered houses, the Protestant church in Kues, the Cusanus birth house and the town hall are particularly worth seeing. The Cusanus Abbey (originally a hospital) founded by Nikolaus von Kues in 1451 is still preserved and can also be visited (at least partially).

The small town on the Central Moselle, which has only 6,000 inhabitants, is known for the bridge tavern on the Moselle Bridge built in 1898, which connects the districts of Traben and Trarbach. In 1904 the formerly independent towns merged to form the city of Traben-Trarbach. Particularly worth seeing are the former post office and the Lorettahaus in the Traben district and of course the bridge gate with the bridge tavern. A special curiosity is the Buddha Museum, unique in Germany, in a former winery. The city's most famous son, the architect Bruno Möhring (one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Germany) has left his mark everywhere in the city (including the bridge gate, Buddha Museum, Hotel Bellevue). Traben-Trarbach is also famous for its famous vineyards, which deliver excellent white wines.

The 54 km long circular tour led us from the Bingen motorhome park to Ingelheim and there into the ruins of the Palatinate of the German kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, which had been built and then continuously expanded. The Kaiserpfalz itself with its surviving remains (Heidelsheimer Tor, Aula) is a unique area monument and simply a must for those interested in history. From there we went through the vineyards to Budenheim and from there to the Rheinhafen in Ingelsheim's Frei Weinheim district. The ferry took us to the other bank of the Rhine and then we drove to Rüdesheim on the well-developed Rhine cycle path R3. The first thing to do in the wine town of Rüdesheim was a walk through the magical city center and the only three meters wide Drosselgasse. There is a lovingly equipped wine bar next to the other. On a subsequent 45 minute drive with a Bimmelguste through Rüdesheim and the surrounding vineyards, we were able to enjoy the panorama over the Rhine and the Bingen opposite. Then we took the cable car up to the Niederwald monument, inaugurated in 1883 by Emperor Wilhelm II. The approximately 38 m high Niederwald monument with the 12.5 m high Germania is to commemorate the victory in the Franco-Prussian War and the (re) establishment of the German Empire. The Niederwalddenkmal has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley since 2002. From Rüsselsheim we then took the ferry from Rüdesheim to the opposite Bingen.

The district town of the Central Hesse district of Limburg-Weilburg with its approx. 36,000 inhabitants is located on the Lahn and can be easily reached on foot from the parking space (approx. 10 minutes on foot). In the half-timbered town with a well-preserved or lovingly restored building substance, the Limburg Cathedral with its diocesan museum (headline "Protzbau" by the then bishop) and the numerous, sometimes strange-looking half-timbered houses are particularly worth seeing. Limburg with the well-developed and signposted Lahn Cycle Path is the station of the "Cycle Path of German Unity" leading from Koblenz to Vacha. The corresponding information and service point on the bike path, which leads directly past the parking space, is also exemplary.

We used the actually not planned stopover (planned stopovers in Fulda and Göttingen) for a visit to Eisenach and the Wartburg. We had visited both sights in the past, but these visits were already some years ago. We were all the more astonished at how the district town with its 42,000 inhabitants has developed in the years since our last visit. The lovingly renovated old town with the Georgenkirche, the former city palace (now tourist information), the town hall and the Luther and Bach houses are well worth a visit. From the Wartburg to be reached via the Wartburgallee (only something for e-bike riders or well-trained cyclists) you have a wonderful view over Eisenach and the fraternity monument. And of course not to be forgotten: the Wartburg, the epitome of German romanticism and the German pursuit of national unity. The castle, rebuilt in a romantic style in 1837 from a castle ruin (only the Pallas was still preserved), is now an international tourist magnet and offers interesting things for young and old (singing room, Luther room, Pirckheim study room, bedroom originally furnished by the then prince of Saxony-Weimar -Eisenach).

The traditional city of 22,000 inhabitants is centrally located on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains and is known for its wide range of tourism. Located below the Great Castle Hill, the city invites you to stroll through the extensive promenade with the well-worth seeing fountain of youth and a walk through the spa gardens. You can explore the Harzburg ruins on the Great Castle Hill by cable car. The plastic of the donkey rider in the spa gardens is a reminder of the numerous, especially female tourists who explored the castle hill with a mule or donkey. A visit to the "Little Wonderland" opposite the Sole-Therme is worthwhile for the little ones.