Accompany our returning guest Frieder H. on his Moselle and Eifel trail hiking tour through the beautiful German countryside. He describes his hiking days, reports on his experiences and gives tips for all those who are also interested in this hiking tour. Read for yourself!
If you have chosen to hike the Moselle and Eifelsteig Trail from Perl to Trier, you should take the time to make a detour to Luxembourg at least one day before you start. It doesn't matter whether you just cross the Moselle to Schengen or take the bus from Perl to the capital city of Luxembourg.
For culture lovers and hikers interested in history, I recommend a circular walk through Luxembourg's upper and lower town starting at the tourist information centre. Equipped with the appropriate information material and maps, you can take a relaxed 10 kilometre circular walk.
The Hotel Hammes, a highly recommended accommodation, is the ideal starting point for the hike. Shortly after leaving the hotel, we come across the earth-brown Moselsteig Trail logo. We will see this logo again and again on the other stages and it shows us that we are on the right track. At the 3-Länder-Eck viewing point, we take our last look at the Moselle for the time being before hiking inland via the Hammelsberg. The hike as a whole is very relaxed, also thanks to the travel documents. We also find the use of the Eurobike & Eurohike On-Tour app very positive. Absolutely accurate. The app alerts us to any unintentional or intentional deviations from the original tour with a signal tone. Even though today is the longest tour of the day, it is by no means tiring as it is very varied through forests and along the edges of fields, through small villages but also along busy roads. The highlight of the day is the wine tasting, where you learn a lot about wine, wine varieties and vineyards. Of course, the evening is rounded off with a bottle of wine.
Today's route only takes us briefly past vineyards, continuing behind the Sauerwein's winery to a small cap and the sports field behind it, where we then disappear into the forest.
Once you arrive in Helfant, you should visit the cathedral and learn about its history. Up to this point, you have been walking through beautiful countryside, but you can no longer see anything of the Moselle after leaving Perl. This changes at around kilometre 8.5 of today's hike, when you can see the Moselle again for the first time. From now on, you can see the Moselle again and again. We soon reach the village of Rehlingen. Coming out of a wooded area, you can enjoy a panoramic view of Nittel.
The highlight of today's hike is the Nittel rock path. After leaving the village, you walk directly towards the rock face and along it, with the village of Nittel and the Moselle always in view. The view of the Moselle, the vineyards, Luxembourg opposite and the village of Nittel can also be enjoyed during the hike along the cliff path. After 4.5 kilometres, you can enjoy one last view of Nittel, the Moselle and Luxembourg at a rest area before climbing uphill and heading inland. Take a short break above Fellerich and enjoy the view of the valley. You then hike slowly along vineyards to the Albach. From a small hut, turn left down to the Albach stream and walk along it in the forest until you reach a bridge, which you cross before continuing uphill to the left. The trail ends at the Löschen Chapel, where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Moselle towards Trier. The descent to the railway station in Wasserliesch should be approached with caution, however, as there are some very steep sections. The train then takes you to Trier.
This day is actually pure relaxation and we make the most of it. We take today's 10 kilometres off and explore the city of Trier itself. So we walk towards the Moselle and stand right in front of the Roman bridge, which is said to stand on bridge foundations from Roman times, some of which are still in their original state. We walk towards the boat landing stage and take a 1-hour boat trip. We get expert explanations about Trier, its history and the sights of the city at the Porta Nigra, Trier Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady and the Karl Marx Museum.
On the last day of our hiking tour, we also hike the last stage of the Eifelsteig, which actually starts in Aachen, is around 313 kilometres long and ends in Trier.
We hike from our hotel along the Moselle and cross the Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge to hike uphill on the opposite bank towards the Weisshaus inn. As in previous days, the weather continues to favour us today. Partly sunny, partly cloudy, but no rain. So it's hiking-friendly. We walk along the marked path, always along the edge of the slope above the Moselle towards Biewer. We cross Biewer and shortly afterwards climb up a steep flight of steps at kilometre 5.4. This section is only about 100 metres long, but it is a tough one. We do not hike up to the Genoveva cave, but bypass this steep climb and return to the original path shortly afterwards. We decide to take our way down into the valley via Ramstein Castle. We walk behind the castle ruins down into the valley and along the Kyll towards Kordel. The railway takes us back to Trier from there.
It was an eventful 6 days of hiking through a wonderful landscape with many fascinating views and insights. The luggage service was once again excellent - but we weren't used to it any other way. The navigation app has been greatly improved and is now a real help. The travel documents are also great. It simply makes you want to do more with Eurohike hiking holidays.
