Saarschleife Saarland, Cloef and on the Trail of the Romans

The Saarland has a lot of highlights to offer, once you've discovered them. The Saarschleife Saarland is certainly the best-known landmark of the most beautiful federal state in the world. What else there is to discover,

I'll show you in this post. We set out for a sightseeing day in Saarland and had an exciting and adventurous day in the middle of Saarland's nature.

Saarschleife by boat

We start in a very touristy Mettlach, the hometown of Villeroy & Boch, which some of you might have in your kitchen. The ship starts here Maria Croon on a 1.5-hour tour through the Saarschleife, the landmark of Saarland. After paying an admission fee of 10 EUR per person and then disembarking, we reach the Mettlach lock within a few minutes, where our ship is lifted 11 m to continue on the upper Saar. The water level of the Saar is regulated here, and there is also a small power plant there.

After gaining altitude and losing about 25 minutes, we continue through impressive forests and rock formations. In the foreground, the mighty observation tower is being built at Canopy walkway which was recently inaugurated at the Cloef in Orscholz. While it doesn't quite fit the beautiful and romantic image created by the course of the Saar here, it will surely serve its purpose as a tourist attraction. But more on that later.

We'll drive a few hundred meters further through the Saarschleifli, I mean of course through the Saarschleife, and turn back punctually after about 45 minutes to start the return journey.

Eleven meters further down again, we dock after a good 90 minutes. The coffee on the ship tastes excellent, by the way, which surprises us. We also visit the Villeroy & Boch Outlet Center, buy two cups, and continue our journey towards Perl.

Roman Villa Borg

Also located in the Saarschleifenland is the Archaeological Park Roman Villa Borg, after more than 25 years of excavations, it was reconstructed and rebuilt. Our first stop was the Roman tavern, as we were starving after sailing. I can recommend the schnitzel here, as well as the salad. Inexpensive and good. But wait, this is actually about culture.

The Gatehouse

This is where you enter the complex, and this is also where you pay a 5 EUR entrance fee per person, which is definitely worth it. In addition, there is a museum shop in the gatehouse where you can offer some support to the organization.

The Manor House

Everything here somehow reminds me of Latin class back in school. (Quod erat optandum maxime, iudices, et quod unum ad invidiam vestri ordinis infamiamque iudiciorum sedandam….. etc.). Do you know it Lorem Ipsum Generator for homepage filler text? That's roughly how it was back then. In any case… the manor house, it's located exactly in the center and the walls on the lower floor stand precisely on the walls that were excavated. So the floor plan is original. The rooms here are used by the Merzig-Wadern district as a museum and, among other things, tools from the Iron and Bronze Ages are exhibited there.

The Villa Bath

So to speak, the swimming pool of antiquity. Here you'll find a cold bath, a hot bath, and a chill-out hall... back then, probably called a rest room.

The remaining rooms of the villa were adapted to today's needs. Thus, there are various media and seminar rooms that can be rented. We did not do this and continued on our way to the Cloef in Orscholz.

Cloef in Orscholz

With Cloef, the viewpoint at the Saar Loop is designated. Here you can find, among other things, the Atrium, which houses a restaurant and the entrance to the treetop path. We first treated ourselves to a good ice cream before we bought a ticket to the treetop path for 10 EUR per person. Initially, the entrance fee seemed a bit high, but it was worth it. You have the option to walk to the Cloef viewpoint for free or take the wooden path to the new observation tower, which was only inaugurated in 2016.

Here you walk for a total of 1.25 km and up to 23 m above the forest floor through the treetops of the Hochwald forest and enjoy a breathtaking view. The barrier-free path leads to the observation tower, which towers 41 m above the Cloef. The view of the Saarschleife from here is brilliant, and you should definitely take some photos (see gallery). The path is open all year round… however, you should leave the area during thunderstorms *g*

Oh, I see... Unfortunately, dogs have to stay outside here.

After we subsequently refueled in Remich, Luxembourg, we concluded our eventful Saarland Sightseeing Day and the Saar Loop Saarland Tour in Nennig with a glass of beer.

Conclusion: The Saarland is a top holiday destination for good reason. It certainly wasn't our last trip here.