★ ... don't go to Berlin ★
09/01/2022
I must admit that I am far too rarely on the river Moselle. From Cologne it takes just two hours to where the Eifel finds its southern boundary.
In summer and autumn the landscape is beautiful. The vineyards rise steeply and in lush green over the river. Here and there a castle is romping on the ridge line. And down at the level of the Moselle, there are many small towns with funny names, in which countless wine restaurants and beer gardens (replace beer by wine) look forward to visitors.
It is wonderfully idyllic and in a certain way feels so like yesterday. Only little is brand new. Hotels, guesthouses and restaurants exude impermanence and the spirit of what is called the old Bonn Republic in many places. And Bonn is almost around the corner. It often seems like it's not going uphill here. The political center of the republic has long since shifted from cozy and sluggish Bonn to Berlin.
The Moselle is worth a visit. Less Bonn. Not Berlin.