As Magda's school year is winding down and we had a nice sunny but cool day yesterday, we decided to head out for a hike. We decided on the Apolloweg near Valwig. Valwig is a wine village on the Moselle just a couple of kilometers up river from Magda's old stamping ground, Cochem. The Apolloweg is a relatively short loop trail, about 7.5 km. You can make an 11 km hike by cutting off the loop after about 5.5 km and taking a side trail to Cochem and walking back to Valwig on the bike trail along the Moselle. Which is what we did.
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| Apollo Butterfly |
The Apolloweg attracts many people this time of year due primarily to the butterflies that can be found along the way. We saw several on this trip including Painted Ladies (Europe's version of the Monarch), a Brimstone (so we think, a neon yellow butterfly), as well as assorted whites and yellows. We also saw a couple of butterflies that are the main reason that the Apolloweg has its name, Apollo butterfly. The Apollo inhabits steeps banks of the Moselle above Valwig and can be seen this time of year. It is a fairly large butterfly, mostly white with some black highlights and four red dots. It has rather restrictive dietary requirements and so can only inhabits only certain areas in central Europe. One guide book called it one of the most beautiful butterflies in Europe and noted that in some areas it has become so rare that collecting is now prohibited.
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| Last Station of the Cross |
Of course this is not the only reason to hike here. It is a very pretty trail over the Moselle with wonderful overlooks and several interesting sights along the way. It begins, as almost all Moselle hikes do, with a climb. This time for about 2 km. Along the way, you pass the stations of the cross. This is a series of stone reliefs along the trail depicting the Passion of Jesus. You find this often on a trail leading out of a village along the Moselle. I guess that the churches in the villages want to remind you that you aren't the only one who has
suffered, as you are trudging your way up the hill. The interesting thing about this stations of the cross is that the last station is a small chapel that sits atop an earlier Romano Celtic shrine to Apollo. The shrine was used by the Celts to determine the beginning of summer based on where on the horizon the sun appeared to rise.
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| Collected Steinpilz |
Not long after reaching the top of the climb. we noticed a large beige mushroom. On closer inspection it was in fact a Steinpilz (boletus), one of the favorite edible mushrooms that are found here. This one was a little past its prime, but certainly a reason to keep an eye out for more. A few steps later, we found some younger ones. We filled my backpack with about 2 kg of them. It can be Steinpilze, wild raspberries, abandoned fruit trees, walnuts or a recently harvested potato field that can be gleaned, the opportunity to fill a backpack with some sort of edible prize is one of those nice surprises that you can have on a hike in Germany, even if it does mean carrying around a much heavier pack
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| Chior of St. Maria and Maria Magdalena |
Not long afterwards we passed through Valvigerberg where the church of St. Maria and Maria Magdalena. In the 14th and 15th century, this church attracted pilgrims due initially to a picture that was suppose to produce miracles and later due to a papal letter that forgave the sins of anyone making a pilgrimage there. At its height, the church was welcoming 2000 visitors a day.
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| Hiking through the vineyards |
After Valwigerberg, the trail passes initially through woods and then through the vineyards on the way to Cochem. In this case, I do mean literally through the vineyards. We had grape vines on both sides of the trail as we walked along. The vines cultivated in the traditional Moselle style, attached to stakes 1 meter apart. It's not often that you have trails that close to the vines.
We stopped for a drink in Cochem at a hotel directly across from the 19th century castle that looms over the city. Then covered the last 3 km back to the car in Valwig by walking along the river. Once back in Koblenz, the mushrooms were cleaned. Some were used for dinner, the rest were frozen. The ones used for dinner were sauteed with onion and bacon, then added to a
Béchamel cream sauce. The sauce was served over pasta. A heavy pack can have its rewards.
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| Burg Cochem |
