Zell on the Mosel River

It was a beautiful October day and time to explore the Mosel River region. We had never been to Zell before... well known for wonderful wines with a black cat label. What a quaint town. I enjoyed onion cake and fresh grape juice, a favorite Fall treat in this region that I have become addicted to.

The highlight of the day was finding this synagogue off one of the back streets of Zell. We found a German Jewish man inside who spoke no English, but who was glad to show us English literature about history of the place. There was a Torah behind glass. The Jews in the area had been taken away during WWII, but a Christian bought and kept the place for the Jews to someday use it as a synagogue again.

We drove home from Zell and stopped at an overlook with a hiking path. We hiked to the Marienberg former Monastery along the rim of the river. On the way we saw this cemetery for German soldiers from WWII. I estimated the hike would be about 2 km. From signs we later saw, it ended up being 4.5 km there AND back. It took us longer than we expected, but it was a beautiful walk to remember.

That evening Bob and I met another couple at a restaurant also on the Mosel... but a completely different section near Piesport. It was the perfect end to a lovely day on the Mosel River.

Briedel grapes on the Mosel River

I lead a photography club and we took an excursion to grape fields near Briedel on the Mosel River. Most grapes were already picked, but it was still beautiful with the Fall colors.

There were a few grapes left.

We learned a lot about growing grapes. Here's how the grape vines are prepared and tied for the winter.

We took a ferry across the river.

Some grapes are grown in slate.

On the way home, a couple of us stopped at this overlook. This was when I decided I need to bring my family back to this place to hike.

Burg Ramstein

On a beautiful October day we decided to explore a castle ruin about 20 km from our home, Burg Ramstein near Kordel, Germany. We discovered there were many hiking trails around the area. The fall colors were gorgeous.

This is an area rich with Roman history. We explored a Copper Mine that was started by the Romans over 2000 years ago, and excavated up until recently.

On our way back to the car, we took a different path along a stream, filled with bridges and mini-waterfalls.

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Burg Ramstein actually ended up being a letdown. It was a simple ruin, and there wasn't much to it anymore. You had to use your imagination to picture how it must have looked about 1300 AD atop the hill. The hiking trails were definitely the best part of our excursion.