HALFENHOF HOLIDAYS

May 27-30, 2011

We had a great sleep after our long day yesterday and all of the great food at the bbq. We were able to arrange our room for 4 nights. So, Saturday morning we rode back to the market for food supplies. As usual, I bought too much. We also arranged for a couple of bottles of Halfenhof wine.
Saturday afternoon Ernst took us on a tour. First we went up the hillside across the river, into his vineyards. There we could sit on a nice bench and look out across the river at the beautiful and peaceful views.

Wien-und Gastehaus
Halfenhof
E. und G. Baumler
Uferalle 14a
54470 Bernkastel
Stadtteil Wehlen
Telefon u. Fax 06531/6229
www.halfenhof.com halfenbof@gmx.de

Ernst told us how the government has been refurbishing the land. He seems to have some doubts about the benefits of this. When the old vines are removed and the slate is culled out of the soil, new posts and vines must be planted. This is quite expensive for the landowner, but apparently this program is not optional. Therefore some of the land lays idle. There also seems to be some reallocation of land, also not optional.
Ernst and his brother Guido both work jobs, but also have the wine growing and wine making business on the side. Their wine is delicious. They own several plots of vines, but they are not contiguous. The vines are planted right up the wall of the river canyon on very steep terrain. It must be a demanding job to maintain the plants, pick the fruit fertilize and prune,
As we toured the vineyards Ernst rattled off historical facts about the region, from Roman settlements to WWII. His family has lived in the house for at least 4 centuries. Ernst hopes to get more proof of earlier residency when he retires and he has the time to research the old land records in Trier.
We continued on our tour, crossing the river and going up the other side of the canyon where Ernst has some land for fruit trees. We climbed up a tall structure and from there we had fabulous views of the surrounding countryside.
Returning to the Halfenhof, Ernst then took us on a tour of the winemaking equipment and storage area, right under the house, He was very thirsty after all of this talking and poured us all some wine, which he guzzled down like water.
Sunday Don and I rode or bikes into the tourist part of Bernkastel. The business part of town is on the left bank and there is a very nice tourist area on the right bank. This part of the village has lots of hotels and zimmers, many restaurants and gift shops, We strolled through the town admiring the old half-timbered houses and enjoying the yummy aromas from the many restaurants.

From there we went up the hill to check out the castle for which Bernkastel is named. The first half of the route is on busy highway, so we pushed our bikes up the cobbled hiking path until we got past the highway, then we rode the rest of the way. The commanding castle sits high up on a hilltop with views of the river, which makes a big u-turn right at the foot of the hill. This was a very good defensive position back in the day.
Most of the guests left Sunday night, but starting on Wednesday there is a big wine festival all along the Mosel and everything gets very booked up from Wednesday through Saturday. I am worried about lodging for us.

Monday was quiet at the Halfenhof and we rode into the Tourist Information in Bernkastel to begin checking for lodging down the river., Of course, as usual, they know nothing about the zimmers beyond the county line, 8 kilometers downriver, so we will have to check at a Tourist Information center tomorrow.

Don had the idea that he wanted to ride the bike bus up the hill and then ride our bikes down again, so we got all organized, worked out the pickup time just up the hill from our Gastehaus, and waited there patiently. When the bus finally came the driver said “nothing doing. He does not pick up bikes at this stop.” and away he drove. So, we had lunch by the riverside and then rode into the next town down the river for information. No luck, the information guy had to go to Bernkastel to fill in, so we have no arrangement for the rest of the week.

The weather has been beautiful and blue and warm for the last few days.