We completed the 700-kilometre La Voie Bleue Velo route between Lyon and Luxembourg, arriving in Schengen, where the European Union ratified visa-free travel in 1985. As a direct consequence, Australians can travel freely across Europe for 3 months and our time is running out.

Amid a heatwave, we cross the bridge at Remich into Nennig on the German side of the Mosel River to ride the last leg of our European cycling tour. 500 kilometres along the Mosel Radweg (cycle route)

In building humidity we follow the snake-like course of the lower Mosel as it twists and turns downstream towards Koblenz, cutting a swathe across the valley floor, of shale red sandstone and mud. From the river’s steep sloping banks to the jagged granite and quartz escarpment above, Reisling and Mosel grape vines cling precariously to life covering every square inch of arable land. It’s as if Mother Nature knitted a vivid green patchwork quilt of geometric design and then laid it down gently across the terraced countryside. Our eyes are drawn towards a series of fairytale castles, each one as beautiful as the last, while at the edge of quaint towns, a ruined monastery or crumbling fortification has us pondering an unknown past.

From early morning fog, through blistering heat and violent torrential downpours, we were able to experience the many moods of the Mosel. It’s hard to read the weather in an unfamiliar country. Caught out among the vines, in a booming thunderstorm, we risked being exposed to fork lightning as the sleet and rain stung us like bees. We took refuge in a bus shelter, brewed up a coffee and waited an hour or more for the tempest to pass. Feeling warm and dry sharing the time with the odd passing cyclist, a Frenchwoman, a Dutchman and two Americans. who stopped briefly shared their cycling adventure then stoicly pushed off once again into the weather.

Its now peak summer and while our journey is drawing to its conclusion, for many travellers its only just begun. Camping grounds, villages and towns are swarming with tourists of all kinds enjoying their summer holidays. Wine tasting and sailing festivals are in full swing. The Mosel is jammed full of large cruise ships, working barges and small pleasure craft plying their trade. At Bernkastel-Kues in the old medieval square surrounded by 400-year-old half-timber houses straight out of a Brothers Grimm storybook, I eat a scrumptious Zwetschgenkuchen, plum cake, and thank my lucky stars.

At Koblenz, camping directly opposite Deutsche Eck, or in English the German Corner, where the Mosel meets the Rhine river. We now have less than 200 kilometres of riding left along an old and yet familiar path until we complete our cycling odyssey in Frankfurt.