We now embark on the second-to-last leg of our journey, as usual departing in the morning. This time around that doesn't take a long time.
In fact, we arrive at the station kinda early due to me having planned in an extra-generous buffer just in case the level-crossing gates were down again. As such, we have some time to explore the station and - how could it have been any different - find out that there's a pedestrian's underpass to the other side of the tracks that we could have used to bypass the level crossing all this time. Oh well...
Anyways, the good news is that we arrived well ahead of time and thus just have to wait for our train at the station. However, the bad news is that so have two disciples of the Öchött'Kjött, God of Vile Vapours and Lung Diseases, who corner us from two sides with their burning plague sticks. Seriously, what is the point of forbidding smoking at the stations if violators are not promptly incinerated, and fined?
Eventually, our train arrives. This time around it's a Regionalbahn, which happens to be more or less of the same type as the S-Bahn of Munich.
Our destination today is the city of Trier ("Trirem"), which is located in the next state over, Rheinland-Pfalz ("Rhineland-Palatinate"), and our route there should be kinda roundabout on account of the Eifel ("Egg Fur"), a mountain range lying squat between where we are now and our destination. Incidentally, the Eifel is also where my Grandmother Mieke spent her childhood during and in the aftermath of World War II. Anyway, our route to Trier should take us through Aachen ("Aarks"), Köln ("Cologne") and Koblenz ("Confluence"), and most of the ride should be up the valleys of first the Rhine and then the Mosel. We should also be crossing over from the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen to Rheinland-Pfalz ("Rhine Land Palatinate").
It's a relatively short ride, with Aachen being actually within distance of a long hike. However, since our final destination for today is still a good way beyond that, I figure the train would be a better way to go. As it is, our route should lead along...
Beside the Border
Ride Duration: 0:28hApproximate Distance: 25km
Average Speed: 54km/h
For the first part, our route should take us along the Wurm, which incidentally originates at the Europaplatz ("Europe Square") in Aachen. It also leads us along the border of the Netherlands for a good bit, and we pass places such as Merkstein ("Remember Stone") and Kohlscheid ("Kale Divide") along the way.
The train is also reasonably empty. Only about one in six seat is occupied, which is comforting since the Corona-numbers are on the rise again, and first travel restrictions are being put into place. So I figure it's a good thing that this is going to be the last stop of our journey, and we'll be back home before long.
This ride should take us mostly to somewhat hilly land littered with fields and forests, the latter of which start showing more and more signs of approaching autumn. Part of what we see is the Netherlands too, though without a visible border it's hard to tell where one country ends and the next begins. I figure that's kinda nice, having borders as invisible as this one.
Before long, we arrive in the central station of Aachen, a station noteworthy for not being noteworthy. But then again, we should not really get to see much of it, what with our connecting train already standing on the other track of the platform.
As such, we easily make our connection, can take our pick of seats in the next train, and just have to await the departure of the train which should takes us from the Wurm valley over...
Into the Rhine Valley
Ride Duration: 0:53hApproximate Distance: 70km
Average Speed: 79km/h
Evading the Eifel, this next leg takes us east, as well as bit to the north, back into the heart of Nordrhein Westfalen. Along that distance, we pass by the towns of Eschweiler ("Ash Hamlet"), Düren ("Wilt") and Sindorf ("Sense Village").
We also pass within only a few kilometres of the open-pit coal mines of Inden ("In the") and Hambach ("Nom Stream"), the latter of which is Germany's biggest open-pit coal mine, eating away at the land, forests, and even 1000-year-old towns like Manheim ("Man Home") are being destroyed, all for the sake of dirty energy that has to be heavily subsidized by the state lest it not be profitable. On the other hand, people are complaining about having windmills near their homes. Is it just me, or is there something going horribly, horribly wrong here?
Anyway, this train is a bit fuller than the last one, maybe 33% occupied, which is still reasonably comfortable.
The actual ride to Köln is straightforward and fast - on account of us being aboard a Regional Express this time around. We zoom right by a number of the smaller stops, and although we don't get to see the huge open-pit mines on account of them being both the other way and mostly hidden by trees, we instead occasionally catch a glimpse of the first hills of the Eifel in the southern distance.
In Köln, we only have 12 minutes to change. However, since the train is amazingly on time again, that should be enough for us to get to our target platform and still marvel at the lightweight, sun-filled station hall of the Köln central station.
That completes the second of four ride segments today, and yet we're not even halfway to Trier, since the two longest segments lay yet ahead of us. This next part should send us...
Up the River
Ride Duration: 1:38hApproximate Distance: 93km
Average Speed: 57km/h
This next leg is going to take us upstream along the Rhine, and into the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. The border is incidentally right around where the terrain starts to get considerably more hilly. Up until that point, the train line runs more or less straight through the plains surrounding Köln and Bonn, but as soon as we are in Rheinland-Pfalz, it starts hugging the river more often than not, with the Rhein on one side and hills on the other. Interesting towns we come across include Roisdorf ("Weir Village"), Remagen ("Deer Stomach") and Weißenthurm ("White Tower").
The train to Koblenz is another slow Regionalbahn. Also, it is reasonably empty again, and only about 25% of the seats are occupied.
Despite this just being a Regionalbahn, however, the train actually travels quite quickly, albeit with many stops along the way. So, we zoom first past fields and forest, and then roughly halfway along the ride - some distance after we pass the former capital of Bonn - we simultaneously cross over into both Rheinland-Pfalz and the hills. near the end, just before arriving in Koblenz, we cross over the mighty Mosel ("Grouse"), which we should more or less follow all the way to today's target Trier during the next segment.
I mean, technically we have also been following the waters of the Mosel all the way from Köln already, since it kinda sorta merges with the even mightier Rhein in Koblenz - a river so mighty that two states bear its name in Germany. I shouldn't get to capture it on video on account of the railroad running understandably always on the same side of this several hundred metre wide river, but I should at least find some opportunities to get up from my westwards-facing seat and shoot pictures out of the eastward windows facing the Rhein.
Anyway, we arrive at the Koblenz central station shortly after noon, and though it may not look like much at first glance, this station still wins the award for most interesting station of the day.
For one, it has a sorta funky system for numbering platforms...
...but there's also the impressive Fort Großfürst Konstantin ("Grand Prince Constantine Fort") towering, like, right above the station. Build in 1828, it was constructed as part of the Prussian Koblenz Fortress, which at 14km circumference used to be one of the most significant fortresses in Europe at the time of its construction, but was mostly demolished after the first World War.
And on top of that all, the panorama of the nearby hills is kinda kickass too.
Before long, our final train for today arrives - a kinda colorful double-deck Regionalexpress headed not only for Trier, but actually all the way to Luxembourg beyond that.
As we get on that train, we have yet to realize that this last leg should be the most amazing one yet, possibly of this entire journey, for it should take us into the...
Vineyard Valley
Ride Duration: 1:24hApproximate Distance: 111km
Average Speed: 79km/h
This terminal trip to Trier takes the two of us almost all the way through Rheinland-Pfalz on a southwest bearing. At the beginning, the tracks follow every twist and turn of the Mosel, but around Cochem ("Kookimg") the railroad engineers apparently went "Fuck it! It'll be faster if we just tunnel through these damn mountains", and so they did. We also enter some sort of highlands in the area around Wittlich ("Reawy") before eventually returning to the Mosel again near Schweich ("Shoft").
However, all the amazing parts of this ride are invisible by the mere map alone, for the valley of the Mosel turns out to be a marvel in its own right: Miles and miles of vineyards follow the rugged slopes of the river valley, growing thousands of tons of grapes in neat rows, which are destined to eventually be processed into vine and murder millions of perfectly innocent brain cells (well, actually, make that "probably mostly relatively innocent brain cells"). Some of those vineyards also prominently feature the names of the vintage being grown in big Hollywood-style letters. And if it's not vineyards, then the hills themselves with their partially autumn-colored trees and shrubs are already a pretty amazing sight to behold. Also, unlike the Rhine which ended up being on the wrong side during the entire last ride, we actually cross the Mosel a number of times along the way (I guess bridges were on sale) and as such get to see both sides of this slightly smaller but still kinda big river.
We also pass beneath the Moseltalbrücke ("Grouse Valley Bridge"), which at 136m is the third-highest bridge in all of Germany.
And then, after the most amazing ride of this entire trip, we arrive at the central station of Trier...
...where within precisely 37 seconds of our arrival we walk past a place that puts thoughts into my head... and murderous intent into Robert's.
However, that is a topic to be resolved at a later data (aka: tomorrow). For now, we still need to make...
An Avelertal Approach
Distance: 2.0kmAscents: 40m
Duration: 0:30h
Our stay place today is again quite a bit away from the station, but since the weather is nice and it's still early in the afternoon, we decide to walk that distance, our target being the relatively nearby Avelertal ("Hailer's Valley").
That stray is actually pretty straightforward and uneventful, taking us first a good distance parallel to the railroad tracks until we can find an underpass...
...after which we find ourself going perpendicular to the hillside, but fortunately not up too much.
Subsequently, we pass through the district of Kürenz ("Electin"), where the Mafia boldly controls a certain business sector...
...and also encounter a bus headed for the very interestingly named town of Igel ("Hedgehog").
Eventually, we reach the Avelertal, which is also the first time we notice the perpetual uphill traffic jam gracing this road.
From there it's only a little while until we finally reach our stay place, which admittedly looks just a little bit like a work in process, but I suppose it will do for a few days.
So, hier we are, in Trier, the final stopover location on our Trip. From what we've seen on our ride here, the area is quite amazing, and I for my part can't wait to explore it. However, that exploration is a topic that shall form the substance of the next chapter of the Travelling Fox Blog.
