itteh bitteh pretteh citeh
After weeks of long hours and busy days, I finally arrived at my long-awaited vacation weekend in Germany. After the hustle of supporting two consecutive tradeshows, the peaceful pace of the Mosel Valley was the perfect getaway.
Stairs up to church
The photo above was taken from the ferry landing opposite Beilstein, at the outskirts of Ellenz. What you see in the photo is Beilstein in its entirety—a tiny hamlet positioned not just on the hillside but in it. Because the village is perched on the hillside, the buildings and streets are very vertical. I climbed more steps here in 3 days than I have in the last 3 years! All of the village “streets” are cobblestone and narrow, meandering around the buildings almost like a labyrinth.
Vines right up to the cliff
The vertical aspect of the town was unique, but even more surprising was how vertical the surrounding vineyards were. Just when I thought a hill was surely too steep for vines to grow (and be harvested!), the vines continued up the hillside. I was continually astonished by them!
The first evening during dinner, we noticed people loitering around a spot on the river bank. When we checked it out the next day, we discovered a swan nest, complete with nesting swan and 7 eggs! The swan wasn’t a bit bothered by the onlookers or the ferry that docked a mere ten feet away. She went about her business and calmly let passersby go about theirs.
Nesting swan at riverside
With the lovely Haus Lipmann for lodging and dinner, convenient location on the B49 highway, Beilstein made the perfect base camp for couple of days in the Mosel Valley.
View the slideshow below for a stroll through lovely, sleepy little Beilstein.
