Day 25, July 4, 2026 – Lieser to Burg Eltz, 45 miles
Today’s ride featured miles of bicycling on bike paths parallel to the Moselle River.
The riding was very pleasant except for some long, steep hills that we climbed. But those hills also afforded some really nice views.
The most significant portion of the day is the hotel we are staying at tonight–the Steinberger Grand Hotel and Spa Petersberg. According to the info provided to us, “the Steinberger Grand Hotel and Spa Petersberg has one of the most remarkable guest lists of any hotel in the world, owing to its role as the official guesthouse of West Germany. Since 1954, the hotel has served as the German government’s guest house for state visits, meaning virtually every major world leader passed through its doors during Bonn’s years as the West German capital. From Queen Elizabeth II to the Clintons, Nelson Mandela to Charles DeGaulle! The name “Petersberg” has become an eponym in German diplomacy—it is the setting of the yearly Petersberg Climate Dialogue, and the Petersberg agreement of 1949 that helped reintegrate post war Germany into the Western community of nations was signed here.”
Now it is housing some intrepid cyclists who bicycled major historical portions of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and a bit of Germany. They are all very nice, active travelers. Included in that picture are our guides who were excellent.
Although not as ornate as the castle we stayed in yesterday, it is quite nice and apparently more famous.
Perched atop the Siebengebirge ridge overlooking Königswinter and the Rhine. Our grand hotel isn’t just a luxurious retreat—it served as the seat of the Allied High Commission after WWII and later became West Germany’s official guesthouse, often referred to as Germany’s “Camp David”.
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