The Wine Route in Alsace: Strasbourg to Mittelburgheim
We started the day today stopping for coffee and croissants on the way out of Strasbourg close to the cathedral. It was only a few kilometres before we were on the canal bike path which connects Strasbourg to Colmar. For people biking this is the quickest and most direct route to Colmar. The first section is a long straight run along the canal then veering west into Colmar. We took this route heading south for the first 7 km and then hung a right heading west for the town of Obernai located at the base of the Volges. There was a section just off the canal where the route was a bit convoluted so we managed to put on an extra couple kms. The bikeline map we picked up in Strasbourg was not quite detailed enough for this portion.
Once we rode through this section I fired up the Sygic GPS to give it its first real test. I am still learning its nuances. Up until this point in our trip the rivers and canals have been our main navigational aid. Despite some voice commands which contradicted the visual display Sygic got us to our final destination on the bike paths available. I selected the walking mode which pretty much puts us on the bike paths. It does eat up the iphone battery, however the backup battery pack ($50 London Drugs) which holds about about 2 iphone charges is more than adequate for a days ride. So I think I made the right decision not to go with a stand alone bike GPS which can range from $300 to $800.
I actually have two Navigational aids. One is the GPS, an app (sygic) on the iphone and the other is a GTW. GPS of course stands for Global Positioning System. It provides a visual display on the iphone and also gives voice commands. The second navigation aid I use is called GTW and stands for Go This Way. The GTW device only gives voice commands. This aid typically rides behind me and also attempts to give me verbal commands often contrary to the more reliable GPS. It sometimes becomes very difficult for the Chief Navigator (which the GTW sometimes refers to me as) to decide which command to follow. The GTW is often very temperamental when the CN ignores her command. When the GTW acts up in this way I find it tends to help if I feed and water it periodically. I must admit the GTW does come in handy from time to time when the GPS is turned off and I happen to miss a sign while enjoying the country side views. The GPS on the other hand is much more calm and predicable.
The route took us through several small towns and farmland where the predominant crop is corn. Other than the 7 kilometres alone the canal the route was approx 50/50 separate paved bike path and D designated secondary roads. We reached the charming town of Obernai where we had lunch. Although it was tempting to spend the night there it was still early in the day and one of the ponies was restless and wanted to carry on to the wine route. So we carried on to the town of Mittelbergheim where we checked into a small hotel with probably the nicest room to date. We locked up the ponies and went for a walk stopping at a small winery a 1/2 block from the hotel . This is where we met Nester the rooster ... a real beauty. Photo to follow. Sampling some very nice riesling we purchased a pre dinner bottle and carried on to a walking tour of a vineyard overlooking the village and surrounding area.
We got back to the hotel room and were quickly greeted with a knock on the door. We were confronted by a worried proprietor and two upset German tourists, one of them quite aggressive. Seems the Classen's had checked into Klaus's room! It took a bit to sort this out and the GTW used her 'dealing with an irate parent' teaching skills to calm Klaus down. The conversation started by Klaus demanding to see our reservation. We told them we booked the room at 2:00 that afternoon at the neighbouring town tourist office. Apparently they had booked the room 2.5 months ago and had the paperwork to prove it. Klaus kept demanding we show him our papers. Since there were language issues and his tone was so aggressive this was a bit odd sounding to us. Fortunately the poor young girl caught in the middle was able to explain, and while they had no more rooms in the hotel for us, they arranged a lovely studio next door. So we promptly said we would move next door - understanding there had been a mixup. But a very upset and aggressive couple. We are now peacefully having breakfast (a seven jammer) in the same room with not much conversation or eye contact. They were probably cooling their jets waiting for awhile as we were blissfully hiking through the vineyard.
Pictures to follow...our lovely studio had very weak wifi...
This one is for Brett, Kiersten and Mark. An outdoor climbing wall by the bike path.
Our almost hotel room. It really was lovely. Too bad we forgot to take a picture of the replacement, which was equally comfortable but more down to earth. We were happy though because room number two came fully equipped with wine glasses and a corkscrew.
First, a stop at a winery for a bottle of Riesling. We met Nestor, who we thought might want to be chien of the day. Keith told him he had to bark, and at that moment the neighbour's dog stepped in and valiantly barked to try and help out. Nester just looked very handsome and aloof.
It was a stunning walk. Then we went back to some drama, drank our wine in our new room, and had a lovely dinner in the original hotel. I ordered their traditional charcroute and didn't know what I was getting myself into. I was full before I finished the appetizer, and Keith ate half of it. Then came enough meat for four people, followed by dessert. Yikes! The food here is still very German influenced and the portions are huge.
