The leaves are still just barely clinging to the trees so Padma and I took a Sunday drive to get a last chance to see some autumn splendour. We drove an hour to the south of our home in Oberwinter to the village of Alken on the Moselle River. We parked along the river and hiked up through some remarkably steep Riesling vineyards to Thurant Castle where we got panoramic views both upstream and downstream. Clouds dulled the autumn palette but for one brief moment the sun did try to make an appearance and illuminate the golden leaves of the vineyards and trees.

The Moselle twists and turns for 545 kilometres from the Vosges in France to its mouth on the Rhine at Koblenz. And with every twist and every turn there is another picturesque village and another vineyard just barely clinging to the steep slopes.

If Padma and I were to explore one charming village along the Moselle every weekend we’d have to remain in Germany for decades to come.