MV101 - Intro to the Mosel Valley

We started out today with some Pirate Bowling! This place has a 3
lane alley that is completely decked out in pirate décor. The kids
have been wanting to visit, and we had some time to kill while our
clothes were washing at the laundromat.
By the way- this week is the first time we've had to pay for laundry
on this trip because most of the time we've had a washer. (But never a
dryer.) To wash a load costs 3 euro, and it also costs 3 euro to dry.
6 euro!!!! That's like $10 to do a load of laundry. Are you kidding
me?
Anyway, bowling was fun, we used the bumpers and even Carter
participated with the help of his Daddy!
After both bowling and laundry were complete, we drove over to check
out the Mosel Valley. The Mosel river is a windy tributary of the
Rhine river. They say most Americans imagine the Rhine valley (busy
and industrial) the way the Mosel valley truly is (sleepy and
quaint). Both valleys are comprised of several hilltop castles and
villages. The original intention of this drive was to scope out the
Mosel river cruise schedules (which we plan on enjoying early next
week), but we also had time to visit the Berg Eltz castle (pic). What
was SO cool about this place was that the Eltz family still owns the
castle, (33 generations now), and they still live there part of the
year! Are you kidding me? Both the interior and exterior were
gorgeous with original furniture throughout and a natural river acting
as a moat on three sides of the castle. The other amazing fact is that
this castle was never in any way damaged from enemy attack. It dates
back to the 14th century!
After touring we had a few hours of sunlight left, so we took the long
way home following the Mosel river upstream by car. We passed through
multiple tiny villages each with dozens of cliffside vinyards. So cute!

Auf Weisersehen!