Bicycling the Moselle

Follow the meandering Moselle River past small villages, steep vineyards, sun-kissed slopes and lovely vistas. . . . The landscapes along the river and (the) picturesque (village of) Beilstein invite you to unwind and soak up the natural beauty of the region.

Who could resist that? Ted and I signed up for the bike ride. It was a happy surprise to learn that we’d be riding e-bikes, because we’ve been wanting to try them. It was a three-hour bike ride and it was fun and beautiful all the way.

As our group gathered, we were all looking at the local castle when one guy blurted out, “Now that’s a serious castle!”
The two group leaders fit each of us with an appropriately-sized bike and helmet. We’re ready to go.
We stopped in one of the villages along the bike trail to take a break and have a snack. The leader warned us not to order a glass of wine or a beer because it’s illegal in Germany to consume alcohol while bicycling.
We had time to walk around the town a little bit. Here’s a pretty alley Ted and I found.
You can tell that Europeans walk instead of driving everywhere. There are steps here to climb to the buildings on the higher street.
After the break, it was time to put our helmets back on and hit the trail again.

This was one of the most enjoyable days of our vacation. We weren’t sure we’d like e-bikes because we like to bike for the exercise and we didn’t want the bike to do all the work. Now we know that if you don’t pedal, the e-bike doesn’t move; it simply assists you when you go uphill, and you have the option to select how much assistance you want. We still had plenty of exercise during the three-hour ride. Seventy percent of bicycle sales in Germany are e-bikes. After this adventure, Ted and I knew what we want to do when we get home: shop for e-bikes. They were so much fun!

In the evening, we went to the lounge on the ship and joined the crowd to play “Majority Rules.” In this game, the leader asks questions and each team submits an answer. The most frequent response is the winner and all those who gave that response get a point. The team with the most points wins. Ted and I were a team of two for awhile and didn’t care if we won or not, so we submitted silly answers. (That changed when several latecomers joined our group and were more serious about their answers.) When the question was “Who is the sexiest woman in the world?” Ted and I wrote “Queen Elizabeth II.” Best actress? We said Miss Piggy. Most visited city? How about Pigeon Forge, TN, home of Dollywood? Surprisingly, President Trump and Jesus tied as the most famous person in the world. The game was fun and put everyone in a happy mood for the dancing that followed.