Cochem has a castle that is younger than it looks. The Reichsburg, perched on a hill above the town, was built in the eleventh century, destroyed by French troops in 1689, and left a ruin for nearly two hundred years, until a Berlin businessman bought it and rebuilt it in neo-Gothic style in the 1870s. The result is a storybook castle, with turrets and pointed roofs, and a view over the Moselle that is among the finest in the valley.
The town lies in a bend of the river, with narrow lanes, half-timbered houses and a market square, and it is one of the most visited places on the Moselle. It has about five thousand people, with fuel, food and hotels, and a wine culture that dominates the place. The steep vineyards that climb the slate slopes produce Riesling, with a crisp, mineral flavour, and the wine taverns in the old town pour it by the glass. A mustard mill in the town offers tastings, and a chairlift climbs to a viewpoint over the valley.
The Moselle Wine Route, the Moselweinstraße, follows the river for more than two hundred kilometres between Trier and Koblenz, and the stretch around Cochem is among the best. The road is narrow and winding, with long bends beside the water, small villages with church towers, and vineyards so steep that harvesters work on ropes. Traffic can be heavy in the high season, with tourist coaches and cyclists, so ride in the early morning or late evening.
Nearby, a railway tunnel, the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel, was built in the nineteenth century to cut across a loop in the river, and at over four kilometres is among the longest in Germany. Autumn is the harvest season, with colour in the vines and new wine in every cellar, and the valley is at its best. Mist often fills the valley in the early morning, and the afternoon light on the slate is warm.