We took a train ride from Kaub on the Rhine River to Traben-Trarbach on the Moselle River. The Moselle is a tributary of the Rhine and they join at Koblenz. The Moselle is different wine growing area, more closely related to France. At Koblenz we changed onto a train going towards France, but at Bullay we got off and took a very small train, maybe called a railcar to the end of the line at Traben-Trarbach. I think this small train ran on a truck engine. The driver sat at the front of the train and started it with a key.
The hostel was pleasant enough, but like Kaub, catered mainly for large school groups. The main problem was that it was too far from the station and too long a walk (uphill) from the town, shops and facilities. The hostel had no self catering kitchen and the kitchen staff were reluctant to even give me hot water for tea – strange for a hostel type place.
We walked into the town centre and enjoyed all the grape vines growing all over the place, The wine shop sold bottles of wine as well as grape vines ! We walked along the river, enjoyed seeing some birdlife. The Moselle is still a busy waterway, but not as much as the Rhine.
Trabben-Trarbach was a prettier town than Kaub, but the YHA Hostel was a bit of a dampener.
So, not going to say much about the hostel other than the good/bad/ugly
- YHA Hostel Trabben-Trarbach
- Good
- Clean
- Pleasant
- Spacious
- Bad
- No kitchen facilities
- Not even a kettle
- Too far to walk uphill with luggage
- Ugly
- Too many undisciplined children
- Children where disrespectful to adult guests – knocking on doors and throwing things in window.
- Management did not tell the group leaders to assert any authority.
- Kitchen staff would not even give me hot water for tea !