All language subtitles for Worlds Most Scenic River Journeys Series 1 Part 2 The Moselle River 1080p

Escape with us
on a magicaljourney

down a river shaped
by an extraordinary heritage.

We'll travel through a dramatic
landscape of astonishing bends

and tranquil waters.

No other noise but just your paddle

and maybe the birds.

Discovering a river of trade
and romance.

When you are on the river,
you are not connected to the banks.

You feel free.

We'll explore underground worlds,

engineering marvels

and enchanted castles.

It's like a fairy tale.

We'll meet and travel with the people
who live and work along this river...

The wine business has been in
the family for 15 generations now.

...all the way to the mighty Rhine,
where our journey spectacularly ends.

This is one of the most scenic
river journeys in the world -

Germany's Moselle River.

Autumn on the Moselle...

...and the vines have been harvested.

We're in Trier,
100 miles west of Frankfurt.

The city claims to be
the oldest in Germany,

with a proud Roman history.

The incredible 30 metre high
Porta Nigra was built in 18OAD

from 7,000 stone blocks.

It's one of six gates
which encircled the city.

Trier also marks the starting point

of the most beautiful section
of the Moselle

as it travels 120 miles
across southwest Germany

to the city of Koblenz.

While we could catch a tourist boat
from Trier,

we're starting our adventure
downriver,

just as Roman traders would have done
2,000 years ago...

HORN SOUNDS

...although we have
a slightly bigger boat.

The 110m-long MS Sophie Dremen is
making

just one of the more than 10,000
cargo trips

made on the river each year.

Today our barge is heading
for Cologne

loaded with containers full of grain.

I think the River Moselle,
it's like an old lady

because it's very elegant,

not so much trouble, easy-going.

Tony Hartwig,
originally from eastern Germany,

has been working on river boats
for more than 20 years.

At the end of school, I need a job!

And in the east of Germany
in this time,

it was very hard to find a job
for young people.

So I said to myself,
OK, I'm leaving home.

The first year was very hard
because I was 16

and far away from home.

But after one year,
for me it was sure to stay on board.

From Trier, we'll call in
at Neumagen-Dhron,

heart of the Moselle wine industry,

before travelling on to the medieval
town of Bernkastel- Kues,

through the lock at Zeltingen
towards the high Moselle Bridge.

Then the river carries us

to the forgotten cellars
of Traben-Trarbach,

past Prinzenkopf Tower to the
steep vineyards at The Calmont,

before we journey on to Cochem Castle

and finally to the city of Koblenz,

where the Moselle meets the Rhine
and our journey ends.

The Moselle is famed for its wine,

unspoilt villages
and remarkable meandering loops.

Eroded over millions of years,

these great bends are not
the easiest thing to navigate around

when you've got a barge
as long as a football pitch.

OK, now I go in starboard curve,
yeah?

So I now I want to tell them
ten degrees to starboard.

Twelve miles after leaving Trier,
Tony has to navigate

the first of over a dozen
sharp curves

between here and Koblenz.

The ship moves always to the port

because the power of the river
push me there.

With boats coming
in the other direction

there is no room for error.

Tony needs to anticipate the current

and judge exactly the right line
as he moves through the bend.

And now I have to move
more to starboard side

to control this to zero again.

And he's done it.

Only a dozen more to go.

But the most beautiful thing is
to have this free feeling.

You see - you have the world
in front of you.

Our barge is heading on
towards the Rhine

but we're jumping off at
the small village of Neumagen-Dhron

in the heart of Moselle wine country.

Today, the Moselle is one of 13
German wine-growing regions,

producing 65 to 100 million litres
a year.

It's famed for what many consider

to be the finest Riesling wines
in the world.

The roots of the Moselle's
viniculture can be traced back

nearly 2,000 years

thanks to a remarkable discovery
made here in 1878.

It's a sculpture
of a 3rd century Roman wine ship.

A copy now adorns
the centre of the village.

The statue provided the inspiration
for a group of local wine lovers

to take on an incredible project.

The 18-metre-long Neumagen Star,

faithfully brought back to life
using local larch and oak,

is the only working Roman wine ship
of its kind in the world.

And we're hitching a ride downriver

with a group
of multinational Moselle enthusiasts.

When you're on the river,
you are not connected to the banks.

You feel free.

It's the best place on earth.
Beautiful scenery, wonderful people

and the wine's not bad.

All your stress
and all your sorrows,

they drop down from you.

Julius Caesar conquered
the Moselle valley around 55BC

and Roman soldiers were garrisoned
here.

They brought with them a belief
that wine was a necessity

and should be drunk
throughout the day.

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As more Roman garrisons were
established here in the 2nd century,

demand for wine increased.

Originally it was shipped from Rome.

Someone had the bright idea,
looked around, saw the hills

and thought, "We don't need to do
that. We could grow our own wine."

Hence the German wine industry.

The deep valley provided shelter
from cold winds,

while the river reflected sunlight,

keeping temperatures far warmer
than the surrounding hills.

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Whatever its shortcomings,
it was certainly popular at the time

and ships like the Neumagen Star
would have transported Moselle wine

as far as Roman Britain.

Our ship still carries wine today

but not much of it reaches
its destination.

It's an important part
of the local economy,

so we have to support it.

So you're only drinking to support
the economy? Absolutely, yes.

I'd prefer not to but I'm a patriot!

As we continue our journey,

we'll be exploring a critical piece
of engineering on the river.

This is always magnificent to watch
and it never gets boring.

I love my job.
It's the best job in the world.

We're travelling 120 miles down
Germany's majestic Moselle River.

Having been on board a cargo barge
and a Roman wine ship,

we're now switching
to a very different kind of boat

to continue our journey downstream.

The luxury cruise ship MS Casanova is
two days into her eight-day trip

which started near the French border
and ends in Stuttgart.

We're hitching a ride to the medieval
wonder of Bernkastel- Kues,

then on to Zeltingen lock

before we reach
the magnificent High Moselle Bridge.

100m long, with 48 cabins,
three decks

and a leisurely cruising speed
of 12mph,

the Casanova hosts
a genteel crowd of 96 passengers...

...who have plenty of time
to take in the sights

or just their cards.

HE SPEAKS GERMAN

Cristophe and Jan are in charge of
keeping everything flowing smoothly

and rowdiness to a minimum.

My job is a lovely job.

Just keep travelling,
enjoying the countryside.

It's nice because we are travelling
all the time

and you are every day
in a different place.

Every bend is different,
every village is different -

very small, very tiny.

Yeah, it's like a second home for me
here.

The Moselle is one of
the most romantic rivers of Europe

because of its small villages.

It's the environment,
it's the vineyards, it's the people,

it's the way of living.

What is really different
on the Moselle is the colours.

This is my opinion. This is wonder -
they are the colours.

You have the most beautiful colours
on the Moselle.

And now we have October,
for example.

You see all the colours -
brown, yellow, red.

It's beautiful.

For my sake, it's
the most beautiful river in Europe.

Around the next corner,
40 miles from Trier,

are the remains
of the 13th-century Landshut Castle.

They stand guard above
the medieval gem of Bernkastel-Kues.

The town's wealth dates back
to the Middle Ages

when, for the first time,
Riesling grapes were planted

in the vineyards around it.

The medieval market square is
so pretty

it would make Christmas cards blush.

One of the most eye-catching
buildings is Spitzhauschen

or "the pointed house".

No more than two metres wide
at its base,

it was built in 1416

at a time when tax was charged
on the amount of land built on,

not the size of the house above it.

This stretch of the Moselle is
one of the most atmospheric

and we're going to meet
a renowned artist who lives nearby.

Her unique glasswork captures
the very spirit of the river.

The Moselle is like a lady,
like a woman.

And she is also, perhaps,
a princess.

At the same time
she is really capricious

and this is what I call
the Moselle feeling.

Mana Binz has exhibited
across Europe

and has wealthy buyers
from as far away as Korea

who covet her work.

Every material have his own elements

and glass had his own beauty.

Mana's creations build

on a long tradition of glass-making
on the Moselle,

a tradition which historically relied
on the coal industry in the region

to provide the high temperatures
needed for glasswork.

Mana's latest piece is
an ode to the Moselle.

I have here the river.

And I think it would be nice
to put a flower here in it

with kind of cobalt blue.

Mana uses several layers of glass

and a paint made from ground up
stained glass windows.

The finished piece has
a unique aquatic texture,

with trapped bubbles of air
and vibrant colours.

My imagination is here much better.

This is my guide,
my idea behind every day here

at this Moselle.

It connect me, really,
with the whole world.

Back on the Casanova and four miles
downriver from Bernkastel- Kues,

we come to Zeltingen lock.

It's one of ten locks
between Trier and Koblenz

that regulate the depth of the river

and it's crucial
to keeping the Moselle working.

At 210 metres long
with a double chamber,

Zeltingen is the busiest lock
on the river.

We're hopping off to find out
a bit more.

For more than ten years, Gerrit Klemm
has been working on the Moselle

for Germany's waterways agency.

I studied civil engineering

and it was the specialisation
that I wanted to do

and I finally I got a job where
I can put these skills to work.

Gerrit is responsible for keeping
the river navigable for larger boats.

Without the locks and the barrages,

we wouldn't have any commercial
shipping on the Moselle

and the livelihood of many people
along the river depends on the locks

and that they're working and this is
what we're here for to do.

The Moselle drops 72 metres
between Trier and Koblenz.

Without any artificial controls

the water would be less
than one metre deep,

far too shallow for larger vessels.

But the locks ensure the water always
has a depth of at least three metres,

meaning even the most heavily laden
ships can safely navigate the river.

Ten million tonnes of cargo

and thousands of cruise trips
now rely on the locks.

But something happens once a year
that all boat captains dread.

Where we only have
single-chamber locks

we have a maintenance period
of ten days a year

where we have to shut down the locks

to make sure that the locks are
working perfectly.

So we have to maintain it
and where there's only one chamber,

we can't have any traffic
in that period.

The plan is to gradually convert all
the locks to have double chambers,

like Zeltingen,

so even if maintenance is going on
in one chamber,

the Moselle can remain open
for business.

Each lock manages
a difference in water level

of between six to nine metres.

That's the height
of two double-decker buses.

In preparation for the next customer,

the lower gates of the lock
are closed.

The lower gates weigh 30 tonnes each

and they are adjusted
to a tenth of a millimetre

in order to close tight

so that no water comes out
when it shouldn't.

Boats heading downstream navigate
themselves into the channel.

With just 25cm of space on each side

it's the maritime equivalent
of threading a needle.

Once safely in, the upper gate is
raised behind them.

We're looking at
a small hydraulic cylinder

that shifts a 45-tonne gate
with millimetre precision.

Then more than 15,000 cubic metres
of water are drained

in just six minutes.

Sensors confirm when the water is
the same level

and the lower gates open
automatically,

allowing boats on their merry way.

This is always magnificent to watch
and it never gets boring.

I love my job.
It's the best job in the world.

As we leave the lock,

the Moselle valley stretches out
before us.

A few miles around the next corner

an even more astonishing
engineering wonder slides into view.

With a span of more than a mile
and a height of more than 160 metres,

the High Moselle Bridge is
the second tallest in Germany.

It was built to connect Frankfurt
and Germany's industrial Rhineland

with the Benelux countries
to the north.

The beam bridge, a culmination
of 60 years of talking

and eight years of building,

was finally completed in 2019

at a cost of £158 million.

Almost everyone is impressed
by the architecture of this bridge

and mighty it is.

The impression is that, "Wow!"

Sebastian Quint lives in the area

and took a keen interest
in the bridge's construction.

I was here, following this project
from the very beginning.

Some might say he was
even slightly obsessed with it.

I saw every step
when they pushed it.

I even came here sometimes at night

to see them pushing the bridge
from one side to the other.

It was the country's
biggest engineering project.

The superstructure was
moved across in sections

in a process which took four years
to complete.

Engineers strived to make the bridge
as elegant as possible.

When it was finalised,
there was a big party on the bridge

and there were up to 15,000 people
come to see it to be opened.

In order to minimise its profile,

the finished bridge is supported
by just ten towering pillars,

spaced up to 200 metres apart.

Stability is achieved with foundations
bored 50 metres into the rock...

...and their thin design only possible
thanks to 35,000 tonnes of steel

hidden within them.

The bridge is light,
the design is clear,

so I think it's a nice architecture.

Ahead of us await new marvels.

A secret world hidden beneath a town.

I'm every time astonished.

Maybe there's a lighting system -
"Oh, it's still existing! Great!"

And the steepest vineyards
in Europe.

It is quite challenging.

We're back on board our river cruise

travelling through southwest Germany
on the stunning Moselle River.

We're nearly halfway through
our 120 mile trip from Trier

to where the Moselle flows
into the Rhine.

We're heading to the town
of Traben-Trarbach.

Then we'll continue downriver,

pausing to look out
at Prinzenkopf hill

before we pass through
the Moselle's great loops

to reach Europe's steepest vineyards
at The Calmont.

Ahead, the river takes us
through broad valleys

and patchworks of quilted vineyards.

And it's here
that we find Traben-Trarbach,

a charming Moselle town made up
of pretty streets and noble spires.

But Traben-Trarbach has a secret.

Because beneath this town there is
another concealed world.

A honeycomb
of abandoned wine cellars,

remnants of a time

when Traben-Trarbach was one of
the global centres of wine trading.

Luckily for us,
our guide is Achim Ochs,

and no-one knows these cellars
better.

Under this town we have maybe around
20, 25km of cellars

and every cellar has
a special history,

a special architecture

and we show it to our guests
on guided tours.

It was during the 19th century

Traben-Trarbach's importance
as a wine trading centre

grew dramatically.

Its position on the Moselle gave
the town access

to lucrative but distant
wine markets,

such as the Netherlands and Britain.

And by the end of the century,

there were more than 100
wine trading companies here.

Traben-Trarbach was the
second-biggest wine trading city in Europe.

The biggest city was Bordeaux.

We traded in the year 1903
60 million litres of wine

from Traben-Trarbach.

The demand for storage led
to a subterranean building boom.

More than 200 cellars were built.

Those closest to the river, with the
shortest distance to roll barrels,

could charge the highest rents.

Cellars could stretch
hundreds of metres under the city

and go down several floors.

This cellar was built in the 18905

and once held
up to 400 barrels of wine,

that's 400,000 litres,

all kept at an ideal temperature
of between ten to 15 degrees...

quite handy for those times
it was cold enough

for a quick game of five-a-side
on the river.

I'm every time again astonished

about special corners.

Maybe there's a lighting system -
"Oh, it's still existing! Great!"

It is an adventure.
I like these cellars.

There's stories of history.

I like it very much.
It's the history of my hometown.

Mosel wine, probably shipped
from here, was on board the Titanic.

But changing wine tastes,
World War One and the 1920s' crash

brought an end
to Traben-Trarbach's export boom.

Today the town has
just two trading companies

but its brief moment in the spotlight
has left an unusual heritage

and the intriguing possibility

that there are many more lost cellars
still to discover.

There's a cellar entrance. There is
a cellar entrance down there.

We find it everywhere.

Maybe we are standing on a cellar
which I don't know.

Back on the river

and the Moselle passes through some
of its most spectacular sections.

To really appreciate its majesty,
you need to get up above it.

At more than 200 metres high,

the Prinzenkopf Hill dominates
this part of the river.

The first time I came to the Mosel
was in 2001.

My now husband courted me back then

but the Mosel courted me as well.

American Carrie Schwickhardt lives
in the nearby village of Punderich.

I just always knew I will always
come to the Mosel my entire life,

no matter what,
and now I've made it my home.

One of Carrie's favourite spots is
the Prinzenkopf Tower.

I really enjoy coming up
on top of the mountain

because you just can clear your head
completely

and it's a place to recharge

and just admire how beautiful it is.

This is at least the fourth tower
to stand on this spot.

The first was built
in the late 19th century.

This latest steel iteration was
opened in 2009.

The view from the Prinzenkopf is
absolutely stunning.

From here you can see how the river
sets off on a great eight-mile arc...

...before coming back
to within a few hundred metres

of where it started.

This dramatic landscape was formed
in the same way as the Grand Canyon.

As the land started rising up
half a million years ago,

the river cut down into it,
keeping its existing shape

and making the meanders appear
all the more impressive.

It made me weep
at how beautiful it was.

It's the absolute best view
on the Moselle that I've seen.

Given its commanding position,

it's perhaps not surprising
that this hill has seen bloodshed

in times of war.

At the foot of the tower is a place
with a special significance

for Carrie.

It's a World War Two graveyard
for German soldiers

who fell during the war.

The cemetery holds the graves
of 96 German soldiers

and 14 civilians.

A few of the graves are
actually marked "unknown soldier".

The Moselle River became
a key strategic objective

in the last months of World War Two.

Many of those buried here were killed
by American forces

who launched an attack on this hill
in March 1945.

I always get a chill walking through
this graveyard

because some of the ages, when you
see how young some of the people were.

I do feel a reverence here

and I am very aware of the fact
of what happened right here.

Leaving behind the Prinzenkopf Hill,

we continue our journey downstream.

Three miles north
we come to the village of Bremm

and another epic bend.

The BOO-metre high slopes which look
down on this spectacular curve

were formed 400 million years ago.

With an angle of nearly 70 degrees
in places,

these are the steepest vineyards
in Europe.

And with everything having to be done
by hand,

they're also
some of the most labour intensive.

But rather than being shunned
by wine-makers,

the slopes, known as The Calmont,

are some of the most sought after
on the Moselle.

This time of the year
we start trimming the grapes.

We take most away.

As you can see, we leave only two
for next year.

That's more than enough to get that
quality what we are looking for.

Michael Oster and his sister,
Isabelle, are two intrepid vintners

who cultivate vines here.

They come from a very long tradition
of wine-makers.

The wine business has been in
the family for 15 generations now,

so I'm the 15th generation.

The family owns vineyards
in other parts of the valley

but nothing compares
to working The Calmont.

During the harvest,
if you carry down the grapes,

let's say 40 kilos each,

you have to do it
between 40 to 60 times a day.

So it is quite challenging,
I can tell you.

It is... It is a lot of work.

ENGINE STARTS UP

To make things a little easier,

Michael has invested in what appears
to be a lawn mower

attached to a rail,

a sort of primitive,
precarious roller coaster...

although, quite a slow one.

200 metres long and journeying
to a height of over 250 metres,

it's used to transport equipment,
grapes

and the occasional dog.

Despite the challenges of working
here, the rewards can be great.

The plants here
at these steep vineyards,

they are at the perfect angle
to the sun,

which means more sunlight comes
directly to the grapes,

which gives them more possibility
to absorb the sun,

reduce the acidity,

build up more flavours,

and that's something you don't have
in the flat vineyards.

That's why we do it.

It's not just the extra sunshine
that makes these vineyards special.

It's the soil.

We have a pure slate soil.

That means it's really rocky.

Only a few vines can survive.
That's why we mainly grow Riesling.

This soil gives a special taste
to the wine.

It gives the wine
a lot of minerality,

a little bit of saltiness

and also a really fine structure
in the taste.

It's Michael's job
to harness that potential.

There's no sense
in producing good grapes

if you're not able to produce
something good out of these grapes.

So that's where the wine-makers can
come in place as well

and they transform
the amazing quality of the grapes -

they transform it into great wine.

Ahead of us lies
an early morning canoe trip...

No other noise but just your paddle.

...a magical castle...

It's like a fairy tale.

...and a dramatic end to our journey

as the Moselle meets the Rhine.

At 80 miles into our adventure
along Germany's Moselle River,

we're nearing the end of our trip.

Past the vineyards of The Calmont,

the river continues
its stately progress,

carving a winding route between
the Eifel and the Hunsruck hills.

Our river journey continues on
a more traditional form of transport.

You are very connected
with the water surface.

You don't feel this in a big boat.

In the canoe we feel the currents,
we feel the move, we feel the wind.

Udo Marx was born on the Moselle

and for the last 15 years
he's been running guided canoe tours.

For Udo, travelling by canoe is
the only way

to truly experience the river.

The nicest thing is
to be on the water

and move in a very silent way

through the water.

This is fantastic, you know?

You might hear no other noise

but just your paddle

and maybe the birds.

Before the locks were built
in the 19505,

increasing the depth of the river,

only smaller boats could move
along the Moselle.

It was the only possibility
to travel this river

because there was no street
that connected the villages.

And so when the British
began journeying around Europe

in the early 19th century

canoes helped them
to explore the river.

The British, on this Grand Tour,
what they called,

they found the Moselle.

It was not easy
travelling the River Moselle

and so they hired some guides
in a canoe.

One of those pioneering visitors was

the famous British painter,
William Turner.

Over the course of two trips here

he made dozens of sketches
and paintings.

They became the Moselle's
first tourist brochure,

showcasing this part of the world
to the British public.

People saw them in London
in the gallery

and they said,
"Oh, wow, we have to go there.

"It looks very nice there."

And so it was a little bit like
the starting point of tourism

200 years ago.

And for Udo,
there's still no better way

to appreciate
the charms of the river

than by canoe.

It's like a little holiday.

You are only a few metres away
from the shoreline

but you're just
a little bit out of the world.

A few miles further downriver we're
hopping ashore at the town of Cochem.

Like many other towns on the river,
it has a castle.

What makes Cochem Castle unusual is
that it's not a ruin.

You can understand why
they built this castle here

on this place.

Greet Cox, originally from Belgium,

has been working as a tour guide here

for 40 years.

I like it because you have such
a beautiful view along the river

both sides.

They always say
it's like a fairy tale.

"Sleeping Beauty is living here,"
I'm always telling.

"She will come around the corner."

The castle's origins can be traced
back to the 11th century

when it formed part
of a formidable wall

guarding the town.

It collected tolls from passing ships
on the river.

In the centuries that followed
it became an imperial castle,

home to a succession
of kings and queens.

But it was
almost completely destroyed in 1689

when Louis XIV's troops blew it up.

The building lay in ruins
for nearly 200 years

until a wealthy Berlin industrialist
called Louis Ravene bought it

for a pittance in 1868.

He invested a fortune
reimagining the ruins

as a romantic gothic fantasy.

All the castles along the Moselle
are still ruins.

Cochem, they had luck.

They found a rich man
who rebuilt the ruin.

Louis Ravene died in 1879,

a decade before his dream was
finally completed

but his vision lives on
as the castle we see today.

This view - ah!

It's beautiful.

Each day I'm wondering,
after 40 years,

I am so lucky to work where
other people are having holidays.

This is my favourite place.

We leave behind Cochem Castle,
continuing northeast on the river

toward Koblenz.

And we're ending ourjourney
in style.

I spend about two or three times
a week on the River Moselle.

I like to be separated
from everything

and be included
into the surrounding area.

ENGINES GET LOUDER

Like many around here,
Timo Loesch, a local musician,

owns his own boat.

I need that space,
I need that space for me.

That, er...

It's like a holiday, you know?
Small holidays.

When I'm driving alone
on the Moselle,

I have the best ideas
for writing songs.

In the last few bends of the river,

the landscape gradually transitions
from vineyards to houses

as we enter the city of Koblenz.

Caesar's troops established
a garrison here in 55BC

and when the Romans founded
a town here 50 years later,

they named it Confluentes.

Deutsches Eck or the German Corner is
the iconic spot

where the gentle waters
of the Moselle are swallowed up

by the mighty Rhine,

all watched over by Kaiser Wilhelm I.

The exact moment when we leave
the Moselle is marked

by a change
in the colour of the water.

It's a fitting place
for us to end our journey.

When I get to the end
from the Moselle,

it's a very special feeling

because I love this place a lot,

so I can't imagine
to live somewhere else.

We've followed the tranquil waters
of the Moselle River

all the way from Trier
to its dramatic end

here at the Rhine.

We've hitched rides on cargo barges,

Roman wine ships...

...and canoes,

met the locals
who call this river home

and learnt the Moselle is
a river of contrasts,

mystical and romantic,

yet modern and hard-working.

It's been an amazing scenic journey.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media