Route des vins d'Alsace

Sunday 2 June

Well as you can see, we are still in Alsace. Today the sun shone. I even have a red nose to prove it. Also, my butt is NOT sore - after 200 kms I worked out what the problem was - the seat was too far forward on my bike.

We had a great day today. I think we rode 60-70 kms and because it was the 60th anniversary of the Route des vins (a delightful piece of good luck rather than good management), we had the roads without cars between Chatenois and almost to Ribeauville.

There were heaps of people out walking and riding - a bit like a Bike Victoria outing (and similar in that you had to watch every step of the way for novices and idiots) but, apart from that, it was a fun day.

We left close to 8.30 a.m. and rode to Mittelbergheim - like so many of the villages we were to pass through today, surrounded by vineyards; there were lots of tiny, cobble-stoned streets lined with ancient houses in tones of tan, mauve and terracotta. The camera was busy today and I think we have well and truly out-Alsaced Alsace.

We rode on the bike trail between vineyards to the next little village of Andlau nestled in the lower slopes of the mountains arising around it.

A few more kms and another village: this time Dambach-la-Ville with its magnificent 14th century gates through which we rode to enter through the remparts: many of the lovely half-timbered houses within the city walls date from before 1500.

Then onto Scherwiller with its pretty canal and where many locals were parking their cars and unloading bikes in anticipation of the route barree ahead at Chatenois. We had a very nice coffee here before joining the crowds and festivities.

Zipping in between roller-bladers, walkers and riders of all descriptions and ages, we passed Kintzheim and Orschwiller; climbed up to St-Hippolyte; stopped at Rorschwihr for a lovely crepe with sucre plus an apple juice (jus de pomme).

Bergheim was very pretty with its colourful houses and we enjoyed a delicious choux pastry filled with cream and fresh strawberries with a small glass of a pink cremant - yum!

The route after this was back to normal - back into traffic. We bypassed Ribeauville and headed for Riquewihr which was touristy as expected - cafes and restaurants overflowing, shops loaded with nick-nacks. 

This is the home of the Dopff wine-making family, in particular the sparkling Cremant. We pushed our heavy bikes up the cobblestoned main street to the remparts of the town and then free-wheeled away towards Colmar. We were rather pleased we had enjoyed the little hamlets earlier in the day and partaken of the treats along the way.

We rode on further to Ingersheim from where we surprised ourselves by finding the bike route into Colmar, a journey we had been dreading as Colmar is a big town.

It turned out to be a "piece of cake" and we were able to spend the rest of the afternoon taking it in turns to alternatively mind the bikes at a nearby cafe and visit the really interesting Unterlinden Museum with its 15th and 16th century artworks - in particular, the masterpieces of the Issenheim Altar. 

The old town of Colmar is very photogenic, particularly the "Petite Venise" area where the pretty houses line the river.

We managed to find the station and catch a train to Sélestat where our comfortable B&B for the night was booked. 

There were lifts at the station at Sélestat (big enough for the bikes) - made going down from the platform and back up the other side more civilized.

My Friend's GPS on his phone worked well for a change and we found the B&B without too much difficulty ...

After a hot shower and a cuppa (yay, there is a kettle here; I don't have to unpack the water immersion heating apparatus), we went for a walk along a section of the remparts that still remains, had a drink at a a bar and watched the world go by (including the queues for cigarettes at the Tabac opposite - they smoke like chimneys over here. I wonder what their lung cancer rates are?), walked to the Gothic church Eglise St-Georges and found a cute creperie nearby which was very busy and where we had a nice dinner - outside!!! It's hard to believe the improvement in the weather.

Hard to believe we'll be on the Neckar River tomorrow!