In November 2013, we went on an adventure on to Western Germany. With our neighbors, The Smith's and their 2 dogs, we took our 2 dogs and headed off to Trier, Germany. Our plan was to start at one part of the Moselle river, and drive up it, stopping off at Burg Eltz and then heading off to Koblenz, where the Moselle and Rhine River meet.
Our adventure started in Trier. We stayed at Hotel Römerbrücke booked through booking.com for 77 euros a night, which included pets, free breakfast, parking and WiFi. The best part about this hotel, besides the restaurant, was that it was literally on the Moselle River! The staff was great and honestly I can't say enough nice things about this place. The only thing that sucked was that with walking distance it was pretty far from town.
After getting settled in, we decided to head into town to check things out. The reason we chose to go to Trier was because of it's History. It was founded by the Romans and could very well be the oldest town in Germany!
We checked out the popular sites of Trier. Since it was November, the sun was going down around 5pm. So we didn't get much sunlight.
The most famous point in Trier is the Porta Nigra. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened color of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta. I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty impressive. The Porta serves as a gate to the city. At one point there were 4 Porta's, but now there is only one.
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| Our neighbors The Smiths |
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| Everything's always under construction! |
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| The Sidles', Trier 2013 |
After checking out the Porta, we decided to head back to the hotel. Only we got caught in a rain storm! We had taken Seamus and Rylie with us and they were soaked by the time we got back to the hotel. We had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. I love when the hotels we stay at have restaurants. The food is always fantastic.
The next morning we got up early and headed up the Moselle River. The highway is quicker to get from Trier to Koblenz, but we wanted to take the scenic route. November is a great time to travel too. The leaves have changed color but the snow hasn't hit yet. Well early November, by Thanksgiving the snow/ice mess will have started.
Took the pups for a quick walk along the Moselle River.
The Moselle River is absolutely beautiful. It has so many castles along the river. You don't even have to leave your car to see them!
But there was once specific castle we wanted to see, Burg Eltz. Drew calls it German Hogwarts. For some reason it looks like Hogwarts to him! From the side it does. Since I'm a huge Harry Potter fan I knew we HAD to go and see it. Only thing, in November, it's closed. Actually castles are only open from May - October. Pretty lame if you ask me. We did get some amazing pics from the outside. I guess that's all that matters.
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| Doesn't it look like Hogwarts? |
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| Sidles' @ Burg Eltz, Nov. 2013 |
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| The Puppy Crew |
After leaving Burg Eltz, we continued on our journey to Koblenz. I'm not even going to bother mentioning our hotel, because it definitely wasn't what it said it was going to be. I would only suggest that you pay the extra and stay somewhere close to the "main sights".
Our day in Koblenz wasn't as great as we would've hoped. We got rained on a lot, and everything was closed. The weather kind of left a bad taste in my mouth with Koblenz. At the time it was the only trip we had ever been on when we had horrible weather. 2 Years later, I've learned that it's honestly just Europe. Weather is unpredictable and dress in layers. You'll always need them!
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| You can see where the 2 Rivers meet! |
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| In the Rhine! |
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| Beagle Bum! |
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| The Sidles' @ Koblenz, November 2013 |
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| Drew in the overfilled Rhine |
The best part of our day in Koblenz, besides the awesome company was being able to see where the Rhine River and Moselle River meet, the Rhine river at the time was overfilled, and I got to stand in it, but we got some great views from the tower.
Minus the weather it was a great trip. Since then we haven't found another travel couple, but no big deal, Drew and I like to travel on our own anyways.
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