I had a very rough night. Now, I had a head cold and some coughing. Good thing I brought Mucinex and Flonase along!
My husband K got up at 6:30 and went for some exercise. I was up at 8:17, when he got back. At 8:50, we went to the dining room to meet our daughter J for breakfast.
J had an omelet. She picked up a jar of fruit for me to supplement what was on the table. I had Poached Pear in Beaujolais Wine-Buckwheat Crepes-Glazed Sour Cherries. For the first time, it was just so-so. K had waffles, which he enjoyed.
I went back to the cabin at 9:15, because I was not feeling well. My hips hurt, too. I rested, played games on my iPad, and talked to Reinhardt, our cabin steward. He is originally from South Africa. We were cruising the Mosel and it was quite peaceful.
We actually parked for a while, because we were early for our next port. We could see St. Agatha Catholic church in Wehlen, a kind of suburb village. Looked pretty.
We went to lunch about 12:15. We sat in our usual area, because we've come to like the waitress. He name is Nina and she is from Serbia. The young woman who takes our drink orders is Belgian.
The appetizer selections were on the table as usual. There was was smoke salmon-honey mustard, which K liked, a chicken corn salad, stuffed egg, and bell pepper tartar. K ordered the White Bean Soup with root vegetables and croutons. J and I didn't want a soup or salad. All three of us ordered the Sandwich of the Day, which was the thinned club I've ever seen. The bread was supposedly grilled toasted bread, but sure didn't look like it. The sandwich had turkey ham, tomato and egg. There were potato wedges and the smallest salad possible. It was okay. For dessert, K and I had banana ice cream with almonds, and chocolate chip biscuit. I'd chosen that, when Nina said that the Crown Cake that J had chosen had hazelnut brittle in it. It also had a biscuit, marmalade, and confit cherries.
We finished at 1:25 and went to our cabins to get ready for our excursion. While there, I stepped out to take of photo of Bernkastel-Kues. Bernkastel, to the right in the photo, joined with the wine-making village Kues on the left in 1905. Gorgeous day. So much better than yesterday.
At 1:50, we were off the boat to wait for the easy version of the Bernkastel Walking Tour & Wine Tasting. I looked up and could see Burg Landshut, which some folks were no doubt hiking up to.
The guide told us that Bernkastel, the prettier of the two towns, had 800 people and Kues had 5000. Archaeologists found evidence in Kues of human habitation dating to 3000 BC. Bernkastel was first mentioned in writing in the 11th century. St. Michael Catholic Church, which we did not visit, is the last church in Mosel region that is in the 14th century style. The tower of the church was originally free-standing and stood as a defensive tower. When the city grew larger, it was integrated into the city wall and then into the church. She told us this, but again, we didn't get to see it.
We started out in front of a building with one of those great German words for a name: Verbandsgemeindeverwaltung Bernkastel-Kues, which basically boils down to being the municipal administration building. The town flag waved proudly in front of it and they had really funky lights in front.
It was an uphill walk from the river bank. We got a look at the outside of the building where we'd be doing the wine tasting later- Weingut Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler. Rather imposing looking. We also passed the only streetlight in town, as well as a large statue in a niche up on a building.
In addition to that administration building, there is also a Rathaus, where the mayor has their office. There is a restaurant on the lower floor, but it is not a Keller. So, it is not a Ratskeller. It is a three-story building which originally had an open hall dating to 1608. It seems to have been renovated 1903/04.
This oddly shaped house dates to 1608, when you only got taxed on what touched the ground. So, you made the upper stories wider. She also showed us the second one, which contains a 1400's Weinstube, which seems dangerous, based on the tilt.
The Marktplatz (market square) was not large, but it was busy. Many of the buildings had beautiful paint jobs and way up under the eaves at the front, they had the year they were built. For instance, the Bäckerei building dated to 1648.
On our way to the next square, we passed a marvelous old-school mailbox.
The next square, Karlsbadplatz, had the simply named Karlsbader Brunnen, as Brunnen is fountain. It was rather modern.
She showed us a corner of a building that showed the high water marks from the flooding of the Mosel. The highest ever was 1784, due to an ice drift. Still, a lot of water has come in here.
The town oozed charm. The now-closed butcher shop (Metzgerei) had a cool metal sign up amongst the faux grape vines. This green container is what is used to haul the grapes on a man's back down the mountainside.
This wonderful door with a hand for a doorknocker, had the year written on it in chalk along with C + M + B. This is a Catholic tradition in Germany on the Feast of the Three Kings. The letters stand for the kings- Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. It's a blessing. This place has not erased the one from 2017.
This historic restaurant (historisches Restaurant) has a mural that says : The prince was sick! Despite the doctors' efforts, his last hour was about to strike. A little barrel was brought to him. He drank and drank at the Doctor Wine. New Life!
The town really just oozed Old World charm. The buildings were of various old styles and there were several references to "bear", because Bern is an old form of the word for "bear".
There were some sobering reminders of the not so distant past. We came across these Stolpersteine- Stumble Stones, or metaphorically, Stumbling Blocks. wikipedia has this:
The Stolpersteine project, initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, aims to commemorate individuals at exactly the last place of residency – or, sometimes, work – which was freely chosen by the person before they fell victim to Nazi terror, forced euthanasia, eugenics, deportation to a concentration or extermination camp, or escaped persecution by emigration or suicide. As of June 2023, 100,000 Stolpersteine have been laid, making the Stolpersteine project the world's largest decentralized memorial.
As to the origin of the name, wikipedia has this:
The name of the Stolpersteine project invokes multiple allusions. In Nazi Germany, an antisemitic saying, when accidentally stumbling over a protruding stone, was: "A Jew must be buried here".[5][6] In a metaphorical sense, the German term Stolperstein can mean "potential problem".[7] The term "to stumble across something", in German and English, can also mean "to find out (by chance)".[8] Thus, the term provocatively invokes an antisemitic remark of the past, but at the same time intends to provoke thoughts about a serious issue. Stolpersteine are not placed prominently, but are rather discovered by chance, only recognizable when passing by at close distance. In contrast to central memorial places, which according to Demnig can be easily avoided or bypassed, Stolpersteine represent a much deeper intrusion of memory into everyday life.
Stolpersteine are placed right into the pavement. When Jewish cemeteries were destroyed throughout Nazi Germany, the gravestones were often repurposed as sidewalk paving stones. The desecration of the memory of the dead was implicitly intended, as people had to walk on the gravestones and tread on the inscriptions. The Stolpersteine provocatively hint at this act of desecration, as they lack any kind of defense against new acts of shame. While the art project thus intends to keep alive the memory, implying that improper acts could easily happen again, the intentional lack of defense against potential desecration also created criticism and concern. Some German cities like Munich still do not accept the setting of Stolpersteine, and look for alternative ways of commemoration instead.These were at the last residence of this couple in Bernkastel. They went into hiding in Köln (Cologne) and died in a bombardment.
We had to hustle to Weingut Dr. Pauly Bergweiler for our tasting session at 3:15. We passed an old-fashioned wine cellar and had a bit of time for photos in the keg room.
Then it was into the tasting room. At each seat, we found a paper with the wines we'd be tasting, as well as some info about it. It also had where you could get them in the States and Canada. I, of course, took notes all over my paper.
They have 25 hectares with 150,000 plants. New vineyards need American roots that are resistant to bugs and German plants are grafted on to prevent disease. The plants can live 100 years. The vineyard breaks even at 40 years. The roots can go down 6' and there is no irrigation and no herbicides are used. Harvest is always done by hand in Bernkastel-Kues. Harvest used to be in October, but with global warming, it is now the end of September. For Eiswein, you need a temperature of 18° with a maximum of 20 °. Women cut off the grape bunches and the men walk down the mountain with a big container on their back, like the green thing above. They bend forward to dump them out. Women at the bottom pull out the bad ones.
J decided to join in the tasting, even though she does not drink alcohol. The first taste was of a 2021 Grauburgunder Trocken, which was a chardonnay, and not sweet enough for me. Next was a 2016 Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Trocken Grosses Gewächs, which was still too dry. The 2021 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Feinherb was called "medium dry" and was definitely sweeter. Then we hit a really, really nice wine, the 2017 Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Auslese. The last one was a light, red wine, but still red, so I skipped it. It was a 2020 Graacher Domprobst Spätburgunder Rotwein Trocken.
We were finished at 4:15 and stood in a long line to use the restroom there. Then, it was off to shop a bit and treat ourselves to ice cream. I got a tasty combo of chocolate and strawberry.
On our way back to the boat at 5:08 on this gorgeous late afternoon, we got some nice views of the bridge connecting Bernkastel and Kues here, the ferry dock, and a bridge further along on the Mosel.
We were back onboard at 5:15 and I got some rest to battle my cold.
We went to dinner at 6:30. For an appetizer, K and I each ordered the Freshly Cut White Asparagus from the regional fields, Hollandaise sauce, Parma ham, sprouts, and herb oil. Delicious! J went for the refreshing Strawberry-Lime Smoothie. K also ordered the Cauliflower Cream Soup, almond flakes and curry croutons.
Because the only other choice was fish, and K didn't feel like fish, we all wound up with the same entree-Slow-Roasted Corn Fed Chicken Breast, natural jus, garden vegetables, and truffle potato mousseline. For some reason, the entrees took a really long time to come out, as did the 2nd Coke Zero I ordered. But, it was good.
We weren't out until 8:15. I decided I needed to call it a night, but K and J went to the concert by guest musicians called "La Strada". They enjoyed it.
My phone said I did 3,749 steps for 1.3 miles. Felt like more.
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