Moselle and Rhine river cruise boasts stunning views and alluring history

We were warned. “It’s too hot to walk up to the castle,” the cruise director had said. Just the kind of challenge me and my husband can’t refuse. So here we are, puffing and panting our way up a road melting in the afternoon sun to the Burg Landshut, a castle that in its day protected the German town of Bernkastel below.

45 minutes and a lot of sweat later we give ourselves a metaphorical pat on the back. It might have been a stiff climb but the views over the Moselle river are superb, and as ruined castles go, this one is pretty good. We wander through the remains of the battlements, then follow a footpath down through the vines into the town.

The Moselle is one of my favourite waterways, surrounded by rolling hills carpeted with vineyards as far as the eye can see, but it’s a bit of an unsung hero in the world of river cruising, overshadowed by its big brother, the Rhine.

Naturally we have to try the wine but undo any good it might have done in Traben-Trarbach with a yummy bratwurst (German sausage) and beer in the sun.

So kudos to Riviera Travel for this cruise. It starts and ends in Cologne, includes a must-do transit through the castle-strewn Rhine Gorge and calls into Koblenz and Rudesheim, but more importantly we’re delving deep into the Moselle on calls into the German towns of Cochem, Bernkastel, Trier and Traben-Trarbach.

What a treat! The scenery is magnificent - those vines, here and there a picturesque village with a chocolate-box-like church and ruined castle on high - while the places we visit are so delightful with their narrow streets and half-timbered houses that I stop every few steps to snap another picture.

Group benefits of sailing with Riviera 

Sailing with Riviera is a real treat too. We’re cruising on Emily Bronte, a stylish river ship with polished wood floors, brass handrails, elegant furnishings and an all-British guest list. Our cabin is spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows that open at the touch of a button, and menus are specially crafted to appeal to British tastes. Beef Wellington, chicken soup, posh fish and chips, curries. Going hungry is not an option.

All in all, it’s rather perfect. And even better for group organisers, who get one free place for every eight people booked on seven-night European river cruises in 2023 and 2024 and 10% of the overall booking fee refunded after travel.

Great atmosphere in beautiful Cochem

Cochem is buzzing when we arrive. And no wonder. It is a beautiful place with a panoramic waterfront overlooked by the imposing Reichsburg Castle. Riviera has a guided tour of the town (there are free excursions in each port), but we’re off in search of a chairlift (look for signs that say Sesselbahn) that goes up to a lookout high above the Moselle. There is a rocky path under it but smart people (us!) take the easy way up and walk down.

In Bernkastel, we learn of the health-giving properties of grapes grown here. In the 1300s, a seriously ill prince-bishop in Trier was prescribed Bernkastler wine and instantly cured. He dubbed the vineyard that had grown the wine Doktor in thanks and the name persists to this day. Naturally we have to try the wine but undo any good it might have done in Traben-Trarbach with a yummy bratwurst (German sausage) and beer in the sun.

The Moselle is one of my favourite waterways, surrounded by rolling hills carpeted with vineyards as far as the eye can see, but it’s a bit of an unsung hero in the world of river cruising, overshadowed by its big brother, the Rhine.

In Trier, we meet guide Karl at the Porta Nigra (‘black gate’), the entrance to the city, the oldest in Germany, founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC. The gate – the city’s main claim to fame - was built in 170AD in sandstone; the black in the name is from the charcoal the Romans burned for heat.

Karl takes us around town, pointing out tall towers erected by wealthy citizens to outdo each other - the medieval equivalent of driving a Porsche - and the imposing Catholic cathedral, the largest in Christendom, built by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.

If time allows, there are ruined amphitheatres and bathhouses to explore, and Constantine’s massive no-expense-spared throne room, now a Protestant church, is worth a peek. Then is also the house, now a museum, where Karl Marx was born in 1818. Thousands of visitors come from China each year to see it, Karl tells us, no doubt spending well in the hotels, restaurants and cafés as they pass through. And Marx reckoned capitalism doesn’t work!