The day started as usual… breakfast at 0800. Nice selection of treats! But when we went outside to load our luggage, I was struck by two things we hadn’t encountered so far this trip…. 57° temperature, cloudy and a strong wind. Jackets rapidly came out of bags and even some undershirts by some. 
We started right at 1000 and took off. Soon though the clouds started to break up some and the wind slowed a bit and it became a very nice day for cycling.
And this stretch of the Mosel is absolutely gorgeous! Almost a gorge in some areas, the slopes are lined with vineyards nearly without stopping. And plenty of turns making this a very scenic ride. Today being Saturday, there were tons of people out on the trail. Runners, walkers and, of course, cyclists were everywhere. And a good 50% (if not more) of the cyclists were on E-bikes. All ages and all shapes could be seen along the way. This is a Sundial high up on the side of steep vineyards.
We rode along until we hit the small village of Wolf where we found a delightful stop along the river for coffee and strudel. It was the perfect place for a short stop. We also saw one of the day-trip boats sailing past.
Right across the river there is this big sign…. Many of the Vineyards have a name of the town or the Vintner on a wall up at the top. Today, I saw this one…..
“Kröver Nacktarsch” says literally “Kröver (a person from Kröv) Bare Ass”. I read this a couple of times and thought that was what it said but I wasn’t sure of my translation…. It just seemed weird. So I checked and I was right but it didn’t answer my question…. What does this mean?? One of the group was reading a guide book (thanks Rebecca!) and showed me the rest of the story…..
The ‘”Kröver Nacktarsch” vineyard and its wines have helped Kröv become known among wine-lovers around the world. No wonder, when one considers the stories concerning the curious name of the wine, which means “bare bottom.” According to one version, the name was invented in the 1920s by a couple of wags from the village, and quickly became popular in the region, in part because it was known that the 16th century knight Götz von Berlichingen allegedly liked the wine. (Another explanation of the story regarding Götz is here…. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Götz_von_Berlichingen)
Another legend is that monks from the monastery at Wolf planted grape vines on a bald hillock and were pleased to discover this “naked bottom” delivered a good and bountiful harvest.
Yet another story is even more graphic. It claims that the estate in Kröv gave the vinyard workers one
day on which they could harvest grapes for their own use. The workers labored especially hard that
day, which proved expensive for the local governor. So he ordered a pig to be slaughtered and served
to his workers in the morning of the day they were to harvest grapes for themselves. The greasy, fresh meat gave the workers horrible diarrhea, which slowed their work. But one man refused to let his discomfort stop him from collecting grapes. Instead, he took off his trousers and continued to work while he emptied his bowels. When the governor saw this, he allegedly said, “I’ve been outsmarted by someone with a bare bottom!”
We continued on our way next reaching the town of Traben-Trarbach. It’s a gorgeous town lining both sides of the river with beautiful old buildings and a castle up the hill overlooking the town. The Gang wanted to look the town over so I found a nice bench in the shade by the river and watched the bikes while they all strolled through town a bit. Meanwhile Motorboat races were taking place on the river.
Next town was our end town for the day, Enkirch. It’s a charming little town with a great hotel Mosel Weinhotel Steffensberg. Nice hotel, great staff, restaurant was superb!! We’ll come back here again someday!!
Tomorrow, we have about 30 miles to go to Cochem. There are a couple of Castles in the area we may go see if we have the time….. Cochem Castle and Burg Eltz.
So…. Until tomorrow!!