The question often comes up: "Rhine or Mosel?" Whether the question regards wine or travel, the answer is the same: "It's a matter of taste."

For travelers, there are certainly differences. The Mosel is much narrower and curvier than the Rhine, meandering nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) to cover the 100-kilometer (62-mile) distance between Trier and Koblenz. It's slower and calmer than the Rhine. Its micro-climate is almost Mediterranean with cold-weather days often 8-10 degrees warmer than in towns off the river. There's almost a softer feel to it, as if viewing the landscape through thin gauze. It's probably no coincidence that the German language uses the masculine "der" for the Rhine and the feminine "die" for the Mosel.

Main roads have been diverted. Even the trains cut through hills rather than parallel the entire river, dropping the decibels a few notches. The towns and villages - Cochem aside - are commonly uncrowded, even more so with the closure of nearby French and American military bases. Between Trier and Koblenz, there's scarcely any industry to be found except for winemaking and, in the number two spot, tourism. That ranking is important for visitors, since it often means a more "authentic" experience than in more tourism-dependent areas.

Villages feel like villages, where everyone knows everyone. In the hamlet of Longuich, Mayor Josef Schmitt officiated at a street festival - and appeared a short time later at an outdoor café - wearing a green apron and taking lunch orders. There's no pretense."We don't think of ourselves as a tourist attraction," said one vintner in Bremm, a charming village about mid-way between Trier and Koblenz. "We just do what we do, in some ways no differently today than 200 years ago. People don't sightsee here; they visit."Most of "what they do" relates to winemaking, and vineyards indeed stretch as far as the eye can see - or at least until the next curve in the river.

Many of the region's guests come to visit specific vintners year after year - to re-stock their Rieslings and swap family stories. And many cozy guesthouses are run by vintners to augment their incomes (and hedge against bad years). Which isn't to say the region lacks a tourism infrastructure; there are charming inns and elegant hotels, and chefs take full advantage of local produce - and abundant wine. Across the board, travelers will find prices - whether for lodging or meals - generally lower than along the Rhine and more touristy areas.

Our friendly vintner notwithstanding, visitors have ample sights to see beyond the vineyards, including Roman ruins, stunning castles and half-timber towns.

In Longuich and across the river in Mehring, travelers can visit two Roman villas, rebuilt in part but with much of their ancient old foundations intact. In Neumagen-Dhron, there's a replica of a giant stone carving of a Roman wine ship (the original, discovered in the village, is in the Municipal Museum in Trier).

At the other end of the architectural spectrum, Traben-Trarbach has the unique appeal of having a complete district with Jugendstil (art nouveau) as the primary architectural style. Much of the town burned to the ground in a series of fires during the late 19th century. After a design competition to rebuild the popular Hotel Bellevue, Jugendstil was all the rage. Bernkastel-Kues is perhaps the postcard-perfect Mosel town, complete with castle ruins, half-timber houses, medieval marketplace and architectural styles spanning nearly two millennia.

There's another compelling reason to visit this delightful town: the Vinothek, where 9 EUR ($10) open the door to an unlimited sampling of 130 wines from the Mosel region. Sampler bottles stand in front of the 130 racks, with descriptive cards giving prices and backgrounds on the vintner. There are spit buckets and water pitchers for serious samplers.

Affiliated with the Vinotek is the adjacent Wine Museum, with old tools and equipment that show how the industry has changed over the centuries. One thing that hasn't changed is how vines are tended and grapes are picked. It's as manual today as ever.

 

 This and the following pages of the article appeared in its original form in Gemütlichkeit Travel Newsletter.