Grevenmacher to Remich: Day 131

A day of walking through vineyards on the slopes of the Moselle River.

Despite the many knobbly bits underneath my tent groundsheet which forced me to lie in a particular position, I enjoyed a good night's sleep. On the occasions that I briefly woke I could hear rain hitting the flysheet of my tent, however by 6:30 am the only falling drops of water were drips from the trees overhead. Mist engulfed me as I packed up, somewhat disgusted by the orange slugs that were climbing up my tent. I carefully picked my way back to the trail, through trees both standing and cut down for some reason, trying to avoid low branches, tall plants and saplings which could make me very wet.

To begin with my route was high up on the valley side but at first there was limited visibility through the mist filling the valley below. The trail was mainly along single track roads, empty of traffic, through the vineyards that lined the valley slopes. One of the most noticeable features today were the extent of the vineyards, covering slopes on both sides of the river with lines of vines. Occasionally small signs would say who the vines belonged to, the grapes used or which wine they would produce. Periodically the route dropped down into a settlement. I kept hoping one of these would have a café or bar that would serve me coffee but I instead there were "caves" and wineries. Looked like they were setting up for something, maybe for the grape harvest which starts about now, or for tasting last year's wine, or both. There were crates around for collecting grapes which  looked ripe for picking to me or maybe even spoiling. Either way I had to wait for my coffee until I reached Ehnen where I manage to get a coffee at the Swan hotel and a free pain au chocolat left over from breakfast. 

Grapes ready for picking.

One of the extensive vineyards.

Vineyards both sides of the valley. 

Vineyards around the river and also a lock and weir on the Moselle. 

I saw a kestrel today hovering above the vineyards, and a heron which flew up to a tree. Yesterday I also saw herons, at least I thought that is what they were, there were two of them in a field, not their typical habitat. I have also seen a bird of prey making circles high in the sky and a few days ago two deer crossed my path. So although it is not a country full of wildlife there is some.

Reaching Remich, my destination for the night, I indulged in a McDonald's for lunch. Normally I would prefer to eat the food of the area, but it was difficult to find. My campsite on the German side of the river was fortunately not full!