84 outandaboutlive.co.ukSeptember 2019
TRAVEL Germany
WE STAYEDAT
Campingplatz Loreleyblick,An der
Loreley 49-50, 56329 St Goaram Rhein
)^0049 67 41206^6
camping-loreleyblick.deAll year
£Two adults, pitch and electric:From
€20.50 (£18.81)
Campingplatz an der Friedensbrücke,
Falltorstrasse 4, 69151 Neckargemünd,
Germany
)^0049 62 23217^8
campingplatz-am-neckar.de
1 April – 15 October
£Two adults, pitch and electric:From €25
(£22.94). Electric €0.60 kWh (55p)Campingplatz Saarlouis,Gabi Brech,
Marschall-Ney-Weg2, 66740 Saarlouis
)0049 68 313691
campingplatz-saarlouis.de
15 March – 15 October
£Two adults, pitch and electric:From
€30 (£27.53)
Campingplatz Mosel Islands,Am Laach,
56253 Treis-Karden
) 0049 26 722613
mosel-islands.de
1 April – 27October
£Two adults, pitch and electric:From
€20 (£18.35) withACSIOur aim was to visit the enormous
Völklingen Ironworks about 10 miles up
the Saar, which closed in the 1980s and has
been turned into an exhibition, museum
and gallery that became the first industrial
heritage World Heritage Site.
It’s a fascinating place, with much left as
it was when it closed. The smells of metal,
dirt, grime and grease are still there.
For the climb to the top of the furnaces
you need good knees as scaling and
descending the steep steel steps tests them
out. You’ll also need to don one of the hard
hats provided.
Within and alongside the huge industrial
halls are art galleries and exhibitions.
When we visited there was one of Banksy’s
artworks displayed in the ‘bunkering pits’.
In the turbine halls was an exhibition
celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
Our final ‘port of call’ was Treis-Karden
on the Mosel. This is two towns joined bya
hyphen and a bridge over the Mosel.
Campingplatz Mosel Islands sits where
it says it does and we crossed its bridge to
the mainland regularly, once to venture
east to Moselkern and passing riverside
vineyards, which climb the hillside and
were heavy with grapes. Along a quiet side-
valley behind Moselkern we cycled to the
old mill, Ringelsteiner Mühle (now a hotel/
restaurant).
From there it’s a two-mile streamside
path up to the very grand castle, Burg Eltz.
However, we tied up our bikes and followed
a more circuitous route to Burg Eltz, one of
the many detours from the clearly marked
Moselsteig long-distance trail that follows
the course of the Mosel.
An hour later, we turned a corner and
there it was: Burg Eltz, on a rocky outcrop
in the middle of a narrow valley. Suddenly
there were lots of people and excited
children as the shorter walk up from the old
mill converged with our path at the narrow,
stone, cobbled bridge crossing the gorge to
the castle gates.
You pay to visit the rooms and exhibits,
but the weather was so good and the
outside was what we’d wanted to see, so we
didn’t explore further.
That evening Lizzy collected ripe walnuts
and returned with a bag, planning to bake
walnut cake on our return to the UK.
Our trip had been afant astic one. It had
also been a pilgrimage tohonour a lost
uncle and to allwho lo st their lives in that
horrific conflict.ABOVE LEFTHirschhorn
village across the Neckar
ABOVE RIGHTWine festival
paradeat Oberwesel