VISIT to HERMESKEIL HUNSRÜCK ROTARY CLUB 13th to 15th October 2008
I
n the very early hours of Monday morning fifteen
fellows and partners tack- led the chaos of Stansted airport to make our way to Hahn in the Hunsrück (―jokingly‖ described as Frankfurt by Ryanair). Geoff and Ray with wives had opted for the Sunday non red eye flight. Raj and Prathiba were to join us after a previous day‘s flight to Nurenberg and then over- land. The in- trepid Gerry was to meet up in Germany after his very original decision to travel by two wheels.
T
he flight was short and we left Hahn in a
cavalcade of four cars down through the country- side to the Mosel valley. It is no exaggeration to say that the whole party was quite gobsmacked by the breath- taking beauti- ful leaf colours of the woods and trees lining our route. We reckoned the specta- cle to be a very close equal to the famed golds and reds of New England!
A
fter a brief stop in Beilstein,
with its iconic castle ruin and charming village square, and
reviving memories of our earlier trip to this area, we went on to Cochem with its more modern but striking Schloss. A famed spot for visi- tors the town however seems capable of absorb- ing them all without losing its charm. Some difficulty in parking but we then en- joyed a well earned brunch in the open air close to the river. Onward then first along the winding
river road and then up and over the hills to the auto- bahn and down across the river back into the Hunsrück
and through its country roads down again into the valley of the tiny tributary river Ruwer and our destination Mertesdorf and the super Hotel Weis. Amidst the vineyards the family Weis have created this welcom- ing destination.
E
njoying a relaxed sip
on the balcony, we saw suddenly a flash of red be-
low. Whow! The on-time (not ―late‖) Gerry whizzing past to the finish line! What however of our President Raj?
A
s if on cue, a Raj -like voice car-
ried across from the adjoining balcony. Miracles continue! Our party was com- plete! By some minor
error our President was forced, rather than flying, to take the overland route with his precious Mer- cedes and there we were all together, just in good time.
A
t 6.30 pm on the dot our very good friend
Hans from the Hermeskeil Club appeared with a bus and after our heartfelt ex- change of welcomes we were whisked off to Olewig, the wine sub- urb of Trier. There we were effu- sively wel-
comed by many members of the Hermeskeil Club
T
here followed a very warm convivial eve-
ning led by Sebastian (rotoracter), the son of the family Oberbillig, long es- tablished owners of a re- puted wine business. He demonstrated the pride and science of his profes- sion by introducing us to tasting a long list of fine ( mostly white but some red}wines. A shame that our Ryanair hand luggage did not permit our taking back liquid memories of this evening! Some warm goodbyes till the next morning.
15
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