Perhaps not the most breath-taking stretch of the Moselle, but fascinating, varied, and where three languages and cultures flow into one another. The eastern bank of " d'Musel " is for many miles Luxembourgish. The western bank - only dozens of metres away at times - is German all the way to the confluence with the Rhine. This stretch of the river, between Schengen and Konz ( where the Saar or Sarre joins the Mosel ) was challenging in that there were bridges at regular intervals that l knew l should cross. That way l had sketches from both sides, and looking both upstream and downstream ( always a double-page drawing ) to do, my sketchbook started to fill more quickly ! Crossing between Perl (D) and Schengen (L), between Remich (L) and Nennig (D), between Grevenmacher (L) and Wellen (D) , then finally on towards Konz, l have lost count of how many times in one trip l changed countries !
Some example sketches :
It seems this part of the river pleased JMW Turner on his first trip in 1824, exactly 200 years ago, but he was in something of a hurry to reach his planned destination, Coblence and the majesty of the Rhine. On that trip exactly 200 years ago, after spending a couple of days in Luxembourg Ville, he moved quickly by boat as far as the confluence with the Rhine. But he would return and make drawings and watercolours on his next visit. For me it would be the opposite; later this year or next, a leisurely cruise from Schengen to Trier is in order !
The country of Luxembourg behind me, it isn't far to the confluence of the river Sarre with the Mosel, at the Konz Saarmündung.
Hypnotic how the waters of the two waters criss-cross...
From a nearby bridge on the Mosel, you can almost see something beyond the hills of the wonderful roman city of Trier ( Trêves in french ) a little further north, my next destination...
To follow : Trier/ Trêves
W.
August 2024
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