Bernkastel - Kuess, our grand finale Part 2

'A castle on the hill,

a town by the beach,

and vines climbing the sunny wall.

This is my Mosel - my beloved land.

In front of the town, a little house

with a shining sign,

where the wine flows golden for the drinker.

This is my home,

the most charming sight...'

We are on our second day in Bernkastel Kuess. Today, we have planned our excursion to the city. We will admire the Mosel River from a bridge that leads to the Bernkastel city center, a walk of about 8 kilometers or less or more. Beautiful steamers cross the water, and the sun creates a play of light and shadow with the clouds.

Here we feel the summer, the influx of visitors to this pretty little town. Numerous half-timbered houses are revealed in the distance, freshly cleaned, or rather, downright spruced up. As a visitor, you can really look forward to it from here. The view is impressively beautiful.

Old buildings shine with their most beautiful signs hanging on chains, each store with a different one. I am not surprised: Tübingen and Stein am Rhein, Meersburg and Konstanz, Colmar, all enchanting towns with enchanting medieval town centers. I find all these impressions here again, but typically complemented with countless wine bars and advertisements for all kinds of grape juices and products made from wonderfully juicy grapes.

Among all the wine offerings and the many guests drinking on the terraces, we are tempted to visit a candy store, even though I don't eat candy. However, the interior of the store is very enticing and naturally provides us with a small souvenir. A richly filled candy jar with a variety of interestingly flavored 'sugar rocks'.

We want to enjoy the beautiful view of the city center and the Mosel from above. And we want to round off the trip with a visit to Burg Landshut. Our journey through the city center takes us to a shuttle bus that takes visitors to the castle and picks them up again. The children's feet are tired. However, we don't like this kind of access to the castle, as we are pushed and the bus fills up within seconds, so even with a ticket, we would have had to stand and would have been time-limited. So we better admire the spectacle from the outside and continue on foot. The weather is on our side, warm, sunny, with a light breeze. On our way to the castle ascent, we are tempted by a bakery here and there, a pizzeria, and an ice cream parlor.

Everyone is somehow satisfied with everything, after all, the children's mood must be kept high for the castle ascent. From below, it seems like a long way up to the castle. We don't really feel like walking it.

So we continue to admire and marvel here and there, oh how beautiful it is to be in this world. And of course, a city stroll is not always interesting for children, but at the campsite, we will once again encounter the less comfortable life. And here, we are invited to lovely restaurants, even if we can't visit every one of them, it is really delightful to enjoy.

The ascent gently and then steeply leads out to the castle. And behold, we are quickly up there. From there, we have a breathtakingly beautiful and impressive view of the Mosel River. It leaves us speechless, thoughtful, and delighted.

Filled with this view, the children decide to take a rest on the playground, and we decide to have a glass of white wine. The small restaurant located three-quarters of the way up invites us to take a break and offers an excellent selection of wines, just like in the bustling city below.

We find our campsite, the city center, and the shuttle bus that we let pass. By the way, we don't regret it for a moment and would rather spend the saved bus fare on a tasty white wine.

We enjoy and contemplate life. It is a truly enchanting place on earth. Our trip with the rooftop tent in 2019 was a highlight and should definitely be repeated...

We enjoy and contemplate life. It is a truly enchanting place on earth. Our trip with the rooftop tent in 2019 was a highlight and should definitely be repeated...

And above it all,

from the sky, a piece

of radiant sun,

a smiling glance.

This is my Mosel,

my earthly happiness.

(Internet, 19.12.19, excerpt from Volksliederarchiv, text: Ludwig Schneider-. music: D. Krause - in Allgemeines Deutsches Kommersbuch (1914)

Text ideas and photographs by Anja Poeschke, 2019.