Our Germany Adventure, Day 4: A Visit with Dr. Thanisch and his Miracle Cure

After our 14-hour-long "day trip" to Köln yesterday, we felt another sleep-in day was the perfect choice. Much like our first full day, we didn't set an alarm and just slept until we naturally woke up.

At 9:45 am

Coffee.....we need coffee!

I'm glad there's a coffee pot in our room. Like, really glad.

With only one thing on our schedule today, another wine tasting at 2 pm, we were in no particular hurry to get going. Today was our last full day in the Bernkastel-Kues area. Tomorrow we'd be heading to Bastogne.

Bernkastel-Kues

photo by Cindy Newman

But that's tomorrow. 

We still have today.

As a reminder, any links in blue will open in a new window. You won't lose your place here. Clicking on a photo will display a larger version of it. 

Once more, we walked to Bäckerei Ostermann for breakfast. Coffee and a slice of apple streusel cheesecake: the breakfast of champions. At least it was my breakfast this morning. Cindy ordered a slice of banana bread to go and stuffed it into her daybag. Are y'all ready for another hike to Bernkastel-Kues? We're taking the same route as last time, along the Mosel.

photo by Cindy Newman

photo by Cindy Newman

photo by Cindy Newman

I'm not sure how we missed it the first time, but I happened to spot some T-shirts that I knew Cindy would love. "Hey Babe, come check these out!" I've mentioned before that Cindy and I tend to buy coffee cups and/or Christmas ornaments as souvenirs. A particularly good T-shirt is always a good candidate, too.

Pick one out, Babe

She did pick one out, just not either of the two shown here. That was the second wine-themed shirt she bought. On our last trip into B-K, I pointed out another wine-themed shirt to her. Now hubby is two for two. I'll take it! We found a bookstore and went inside, hoping to find an interesting calendar. We found several, but they were all too large for our suitcases. Of all the stuff in the bookstore, I never expected to see... airliner seats.

Airliner seats??

I looked for an airline logo or some other clue to identify not only the airline, but which aircraft they came from. No luck on either. Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? I'd love to find out their origin.

Our wine tasting was actually on the Kues side of the bridge, so we crossed back over. Cool! There's another Weinstube below the bridge. We have time. Come on, let's see what they have.

Bridge to Bernkastel

For those unfamiliar with the term, a Weinstube is basically a wine tavern. Here in the heart of the Mosel Valley, they are alllll over the place. I'm ready for a drink. How about you?

What looks good?

What do you think we ordered?

Note the blankets on the chairs

Several choices looked appealing, but one stood out above all the rest. May I have the envelope please? And the winner issss....

Eiswein!

Ahhhh.....cool and sweet. Just what I need before seeing "The Dr." What a gorgeous day to sit outside with my wonderful wife, sipping a tasty wine in the Mosel Valley and thinking how fortunate we are to do this. We better drink up. Our appointment with "The Dr." is just a few minutes away. 

The Doctor will see you now.

Perfect, no waiting. Then again, we did have an appointment. Just who is this doctor we're seeing? Dr. H. Thanisch of course. Instead of more cowbell for our "fever," we'll take a little more wine. This is a historic, family-run Riesling estate wine producer. I encourage you to follow that link and read more about this winery. Our tasting today would be "at least six different wines," according to the reservation we made. Turns out, we tasted seven!

Seven IS a lucky number!

Just like the previous tasting at Dr. Pauly Bergweiler a few days ago, our host started us with their driest wine and progressed to the sweetest. I'm no expert, and certainly no sommelier, but to me, it felt less like a tasting and more like a generous flight. The glasses looked as full as a "normal pour" at a restaurant, not just a splash in the glass. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter how full the glass was or wasn't. Both Cindy and I were quite happy with what we got. 

Those seven bottles above are what we tasted. They are arranged in order, from left to right. Naturally, I preferred the Ausleses, the two rightmost bottles (#6 & 7) in the photo. Yep, I think we have our two bottles to take home and stay within our duty-free allowance.

Our tasting flight

1. Bernkastel-Kues Riesling Alte Reben 2024

2. Bernkastler Badstube Riesling Kabinett feinherb 2024

3. Thanisch Riesling (fruchtsüß) 2025

4. Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett

5. Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Spätlese 2025

6. Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese 2023

7. Berncasteler Doctor Riesling Auslese Selection 2025

If you'll indulge me just a bit, I'd like to expand on the importance of Germany's "VDP" wine classification system, as it's very important to these wines here. Three of the four levels are present in these wines.

VDP.GUTSWEIN (Estate Wine): The "entry level" of the VDP classification system. These wines come from vineyards belonging to the winery and offer an introduction to its overall style and quality. Bottle #3

VDP.ORTSWEIN (Village Wine): A step up in geographical specificity. The grapes come from selected vineyards within a particular village or wine-growing community, reflecting that area's characteristics. Bottle #1

The rest of the bottles in our tasting all came from this last category:

VDP.GROSSE LAGE (Grand Cru Vineyard): The highest vineyard-site classification, reserved for Germany's most prestigious, precisely defined vineyard sites. These wines are intended to express the distinctive qualities of their individual vineyards.

Thanisch vineyards

scanned from tasting sheet

Our host had a similar photo and pointed out the specific vineyards that produced the different wines in our tasting. The photos just below were taken from the bridge going into Bernkastel. The steeple in the tasting sheet is the same steeple below. 

View to the right of the steeple

It's one thing to buy a bottle of wine and quite another to buy a bottle of wine and have a photo of the vineyards it came from. Both of the Ausleses that we bought came from the vineyards in these photos.

The tasting lasted about 90 minutes, and we were both ready to stretch our legs afterward. We walked back across the bridge into Bernkastel for a little more last-minute shopping. We bought some artisanal chocolate for the receptionist who helped us out yesterday with our transportation woes. She went wayyy out of her way to help us, and we wanted to show our appreciation with some fine chocolates. Our small breakfast this morning kept us going until now, but I was starting to get a little hungry. 

Before we even left home, I had a list of "must-try" foods, like the currywurst. Another dish I wanted to sample was an onion tart called Zwiebelkuchen. And it just so happens that this is a Fall dish, and specific to......here! Well, by "here" I mean the Mosel Valley. Zwiebelkuchen is traditionally served with Federweißer, a "young" white wine that's still fermenting. As we were shopping, I saw a sign for the Zwiebelkuchen and  Federweißer at the same place we enjoyed our refreshments the first day we were here. Ohhh, yes! A regional and seasonal food and wine pairing ready for us to experience. Let's do this!

What a wonderful aroma!

Delicious!

photo by Cindy Newman

Wow! Both the Zwiebelkuchen and the Federweißer were divine! I'm sooo glad we got to try this in its native land. The rich creaminess, supported by bacon and the caramelized onions, worked perfectly together. Cindy was so impressed with it that she wants to make it for Thanksgiving. Based on the description, I figured the Federweißer would taste yeasty. Mine didn't, at all. This description will probably make a sommelier have a stroke, but it reminded me of Mtn Dew, with a green apple aftertaste. My apologies to any sommeliers who now have an eye bleed after reading this, but my palate tasted Mtn Dew and green apples. What can I say, except "More, please." 

If you've been paying attention, this was our eighth "adult beverage" in the span of about three hours. While neither of us was staggering around, we did start feeling the effects of our day. Just like our first day here, we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel. We didn't have reservations anywhere, but it was close to 5 pm, and with the sun setting soon, neither of us wanted to try walking that river path in the dark. Definitely not the time for a twisted ankle or wrenched knee so early in our vacation.

Once back at the hotel, we dropped our backpacks and took a few minutes to freshen up before heading out to dinner. We knew there were a few places just a short walk away. Our afternoon snack was good, but we were ready for dinner.

Restaurant Lesura

photo by Cindy Newman

Beautiful sunset

photo by Cindy Newman

From wine to beer

Creamy tomato soup

Pickled veggies

Viennese schnitzel

Chocolate sundae

Yet another delicious meal. I was surprised by that first bite of my "salad." I didn't know all the veggies were pickled, but it tasted as good as it looks. Cindy and I split the sundae, and once we paid our bill, we returned to the hotel.

Schloss Lieser at night

Who knows when we'll be back in this area again? With that in mind, we dropped by the hotel bar for a nightcap. A final glass of local Auslese to end the day. Back in our room, we packed our bags for the trip to Bastogne, via Luxembourg. From Luxembourg, we'd take a bus to Bastogne. 

Minimum steps: 13849

6.16 miles

Coming up next, our trip to Bastogne, touring museums and Bois Jacques and returning to Luxembourg. 

The previous installments can be found by clicking their links:

1. Our Germany Adventure: 45 Years in the Making

2. Our Germany Adventure, Day 1: Arrival

3. Our Germany Adventure, Day 2: A Lieser'ly stroll along the Mosel

4. Our Germany Adventure, Day 3: A Kölsch in Köln served by a Köbes

Until next time....

carpe cerevisi

Our Germany Adventure, Day 3: A Kölsch in Köln served by a Köbes

After sleeping in yesterday morning, our alarm going off at 7 am was a rude awakening. Thoughts of our Globus tour in Italy sprang to mind as I reached for my phone to stop the alarm. I could hear Simonetta, our guide's voice, as I struggled out of bed. "This is a tour, not a vacation." Yeah, yeah, yeah....

As a reminder, any links in blue will open in a new window. You won't lose your place here. Clicking on a photo will display a larger version of it. 

Today would be a long day, since we were making a day trip to Köln (aka Cologne). Before we left home, we had already purchased tickets for the cathedral and the ICE train segment. Much like airline tickets, we found that the price for the ICE trains was cheaper when purchased ahead of time. Buying an ICE ticket on the actual travel day would be much more expensive. We already knew what day and what time we'd be going, so why not buy the tickets, right?

Kölner Dom

The front desk arranged for a taxi to pick us up and take us to the Wittlich train station. From there, we'd take a regional train to Koblenz, then an ICE train to Köln. We paid a little extra for reserved seats, since demand was expected to be high. We figured we'd be eating lunch and probably dinner in Köln, so we didn't bother with breakfast.

Wittlich train station

While the morning started out cool and foggy, it would gradually get warmer as the day progressed. These mornings were perfect for us! After such a long, hot summer, both of us were eager to soak up these cool days. 

Our train arrived on time and we settled in for the ride to Koblenz, typically about an hour. We traveled this route a few times, and I never got tired of the view. All the vineyards on some really steep hills, and it seemed like there was a castle on a hill in every town we passed. 

A ten-minute transfer to the ICE train in Koblenz, and we were off to Köln. By now, all the morning fog had burned off and the sun was shining. This ride was also about an hour long and soon enough we arrived in Köln and were ready to explore. We had only a few main objectives: tour the cathedral, experience a Kölsch in the traditional way, tour the chocolate museum and factory and squeeze in a little geocaching as time and location permitted.

The train terminal was huge! It was just a very short walk from the cathedral, which dominated the skyline. Get lost? No problem, just look up. You'll see the cathedral from just about anywhere.

Easy to spot anywhere

photo by Cindy Newman

Thirsty? We are! I'm also ready for some lunch. Our whole trip was powered by research. We looked for points of interest, wine tastings, restaurants, geocaches and all sorts of things. All of this went into a multi-tabbed spreadsheet that we prepare for every trip. Type-A Traveler? Yep!

Armed with all this knowledge, we knew that a popular Brauhuas was right around the corner. Let's go!

Gaffel Am Dom is a popular place for both tourists and locals. While we were there for lunch, we saw workers from the nearby cathedral, locals and tourists. Köln is the birthplace for Kölsch beer. We picked this restaurant because the beer is served in the traditional manner by a server called a Köbes. Kölsch is traditionally served in a 200 mL (6.8 oz) glass called a Stange. There's a specific rule to follow when drinking this beer: The Köbes will automatically refill your beer as soon as it's empty, until you place your coaster on top. This signals you've had enough. Until that coaster goes on top, though....

Notice the coaster?

The Köbes are known for being direct and having a dry sense of humor. Just like our server. The first thing he said when I ordered our beer was, "Do you know the rules?"

Prost!

I'm generally not a fan of curry. It's not the perceived heat. I like spicy foods. I just don't care for the flavor profile. I first heard of currywurst many years ago, and never paid any attention to it, because I figured it would be a long time before I got to Germany to try it, if the mood struck. Turns out, it was a long time. Decades even. 

Now that we were in Germany, and having had many people tell us, "You must really try the currywurst when you're there." "Oh, make sure you try the currywurst. It's a street food and really good!" With all these endorsements, how could I not? 

Another "culinary first"

OK, I have to admit: I loved it! That slightly viscous, spicy-sweet red sauce was delicious! A light dusting of curry on top complemented the sauce. Now I understand why so many people were urging us to try it. My only concern, though, is that after having authentic currywurst in Germany, it'll be like the authentic pasta arrabbiata I had in Italy. After that, the local variants just won't meet those standards. I'm very glad I tried it, though. We shared a cheese plate, too, which was nicely plated.

Nice presentation

True to form, our Köbes kept bringing refills until I placed my coaster on top of my glass. Three was the perfect number....for now. We'll have to see what happens later in the day.

With lunch done, we headed to the cathedral for our tour. Along the way, we found two more virtual geocaches. I can see why there were only virtual caches here, given how many people were always milling about.

Virtual cache

I won't divulge any spoilers here, but the virtual cache was very close by. Once we knocked out these two virtuals, we showed our tickets to the attendant at the cathedral's entrance and went inside.

We've toured the Vatican and while obviously it's different than this cathedral, the overall "look" and "feel" were similar. Even the Painted Churches of the Texas Hill Country had that feel, although on a much smaller scale. Giving it a little thought, though, and one could make the connection.

I used to carry an actual camera, a digital camera, when traveling. For the past several years, though, I've relied on my phone's camera. It takes much better photos than any dedicated camera I used to carry.  Some of y'all already know where I'm going with this. Between using our phones for the digital train tickets, Google Maps, Translate and now taking photos, we had to watch our battery usage carefully. We had no hard copies of our train pass, so it was essential to save enough battery power to use our phones to display the QR code when the DB Ticket Inspector showed up. For some reason, Cindy's phone didn't charge the previous night, so she started the day with only a partial charge.

With that in mind, I limited the number of photos I took in the cathedral. Below are several I thought were the best. Much like in Italy, the photos do absolutely no justice to the real thing.

Our next priority was to place our customized "love lock" on the Hohenzollern Bridge. I ordered a customized lock online and even made sure to keep it in my carry-on bag so it wouldn't get lost. As you'll see in the photos below, there are so many locks on this bridge already that it would be impossible to place ours on the bridge itself. I did a little research, and the most common figure is about 500,000 locks on the bridge. For my lab friends, that's "dang near 6 logs of locks."

photo by Cindy Newman

Placing our lock

The GPS coordinates

Naturally, we wanted to "cross the Rhine," so off we went along the pedestrian path and crossed the river. We crossed the Mosel from Kues to Bernkastel, so why not cross the Rhine as well?

Lots of locks!

Bridge selfie!

Hey, there's another virtual cache on this side. Cool, another German smiley. We'll take it. There wasn't a whole lot to see on this side of the bridge within a short walk, so we went back to the other side and made a detour on the way to the Lindt Chocolate Museum and Factory.

Several years ago, I read a fantastic non-fiction book by Adam Makos called Spearhead. It detailed a tank battle near the cathedral in March of 1945; an American tank and a German tank fought a duel that was captured by a combat cameraman. You can see a clip of it by clicking here. After doing some research, I narrowed down a location where some of the action took place. Of course I created a waypoint for it on our GPS and walked to the spot. 

History, right here!

From what I could find, the photo above is where the German tank fired on an American tank and disabled it. To actually stand on the very spot of history? Wow! We'll see more of this in later installments when we explored Bastogne and Point Alpha, near Fulda.

From here, we then made the lonnnng hike to the Lindt Chocolate Museum and Factory. I mentioned earlier that we had to conserve our phone's batteries, so unfortunately neither of us took any photos of the museum or factory. Thanks to YouTube, there are many videos that take you inside. In fact, I found one video that you can watch with a simple click here. And yes, they are generous with their samples. 

Our ICE train was scheduled to leave in just over an hour. We could make it, if we hustled, but this being a big city, Uber was available. I booked an Uber and we made it back to the train terminal with plenty of time to spare.

Only to discover our ICE train to Koblenz would be significantly delayed.

Crap!

The DB ticket office was helpful, though, and re-booked us on a regional train to Koblenz. This meant missing the original bus from Koblenz to Wittlich, though. Ugh! This is getting complicated, not to mention putting us back into Lieser much later than planned.

While I could text and access the internet on my phone, I couldn't make voice calls unless connected to Wi-Fi. I know! I'll just email the hotel and ask them to rebook our taxi.

They ended up having to rebook our taxi twice more, since the regional train was late and the re-booked bus was going to be a late as well. The last email from the hotel front desk said they advised the cab company of our situation and the cab would wait for us. HUGE shoutout to the front desk staff at Schloss Lieser! They truly helped us get back. 

Another subtle, yet helpful thing the rail system does, at least in the train stations we used, had a printed route on the floor guiding people from the train station to the bus station. That was pretty cool!

True to their word, a cab was waiting for us at the Wittlich train station. We finally made it back to the hotel at 10:30 pm, 14 hours after departing.

Long day!

Minimum steps: 10981

4.75 miles

Coming up next, our final full day in Lieser, and another wine tasting. 

The previous installments can be found by clicking their links:

1. Our Germany Adventure: 45 Years in the Making

2. Our Germany Adventure, Day 1: Arrival

3. Our Germany Adventure, Day 2: A Lieser'ly stroll along the Mosel

Until next time....

carpe cerevisi