Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [447]
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Sleeping & Eating
In Bernkastel, places to eat can be found along the waterfront and on the Alstadt’s squares and narrow, pedestrians-only streets. In Kues there are several restaurants near the bridge.
Campingplatz Kueser Werth ( 8200; www.camping-kueser-werth.de; Am Hafen 2, Kues; site/person/car €3/5/2.50; Apr-Oct) About 2km upriver from the bridge, next to the yacht harbour.
DJH hostel ( 2395; www.jugendherberge.de; Jugendherbergsstrasse 1, Bernkastel; dm €16.90; ) Fairly basic by today’s standards. Scenically but inconveniently located above town next to Burg Landshut.
Hotel-Restaurant-Weinhaus St Maximilian ( 965 00; www.hotel-sankt-maximilian.de, in German; Saarallee 12, Kues; s €45, d €70-90; ) Run by a family of winemakers, this place has 17 quiet rooms, many with balconies, that look out on the courtyard of the restaurant, where you can dine on German, vegie and moselländische dishes (mains €8 to €15.50).
Hotel Moselblümchen ( 2335; www.hotel-moselbluemchen.de; Schwanenstrasse 10, Bernkastel; s €39-65, d €66-110; ) A traditional, family-run hotel on a narrow old-town alley behind the tourist office. It has 20 tasteful rooms and a small sauna, and can arrange bike rental. The restaurant’s German and local specialities include sauerkraut and homemade wurst.
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Getting There & Around
The bus station is at Forumsplatz, on the Kues side 100m west of St-Nikolaus-Hospital.
From May to October, boats run by Kolb ( 4719; www.kolb-mosel.de, in German) link Bernkastel with Traben-Trarbach (one-way/return €11/17, two hours, five daily). You can take along a bicycle for €2, making it easy to ride the 24km back.
The Mosel-Maare-Radweg (www.maare-moselradweg.de, in German) links Bernkastel-Kues with Daun (in the Eifel). From April to October, you can take the RegioRadler bus 300 up and ride the 55km back to Bernkastel-Kues.
Hire bikes at Fun Bike Team ( 940 24; www.funbiketeam.de, in German; Schanzstrasse 22, Bernkastel; 7-speed/tandem per day €11/20; 9am-6.30pm Mon-Wed & Fri, to 7pm Thu, 9am-2pm & 6-6.30pm Sat), 500m upriver from the bridge.
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TRABEN-TRARBACH
06541 / pop 6000
It’s hard to imagine today that this peaceful twin town, 24km downriver from Bernkastel-Kues (but just 7km by foot over the hill), was once in the crosshairs of warring factions during the late-17th-century War of the Palatine Succession (Nine Years War). Two ruined fortresses are all that survive from those tumultuous times, which were followed by a long period of prosperity as the town became a centre of winemaking and trade.
Traben lost its medieval look to three major fires but was well compensated with beautiful Jugendstil (art nouveau) villas – and lots of wisteria. It united with Trarbach in 1904.
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Orientation & Information
Traben, on the Moselle’s left bank, is where you’ll find the tourist office, the end-of-the-line train shelter (linked to Bullay; Click here), the adjacent bus station and the commercial centre. Trarbach is across the bridge on the right bank.
The tourist office ( 839 80; www.traben-trarbach.de; Am Bahnhof 5, Traben; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri May-Aug, to 6pm Sep & Oct, to 4pm Nov-Apr, 11am-3pm Sat May-Oct), in the Alter Bahnhof (old train station) 100m west (along Bahnhofstrasse) from the train shelter, sells walking and cycling maps, and has two internet terminals (€1 per hour). Open daily until 10pm, the lobby offers excellent English-language brochures (including a map-guide) and an interactive information screen. There are several ATMs in the immediate vicinity.
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Sights & Activities
The ruined medieval Grevenburg, which, unlike its Cochem cousin, survived the 19th century without being ‘restored’, sits high in the craggy hills above Trarbach and is reached from the