Saverne to Obernai

June 27, 2024

Into the Alsatian wine region

We opted for a late breakfast at 9:30 which was a positive change of pace because for once it wasn't a buffet. We had three choices but opted for the “healthy choice” which turned out to be a well-presented small plate of salmon, avocado, greens, cheese, bread (of course), a poached egg and tomato water. I loved the last one - it's like tomato juice but has no pulp - and I drank a whole bunch of it in anticipation of a hot day.

Before setting off on our planned cycle route we rode up a few km to Chateau du Haut-Barr just to get our heart rates going. Komoot wanted us to come up this route but we declined and took the paved road instead 😎

This trail drops off precipitously around the corner.

This is a ruined castle constructed in the 1100s on a sandstone rock that is now a tourist attraction. There are 4 ruined chateaus in the same vicinity each dating from roughly the same time period. Stringing them together is a popular hiking route. There were great views as you can see.

A nice looking restaurant is now part of the site.

Another of the ruins plus the view back down to the valley.

All this makes us feel the Saverne region would be an appealing place to spend a week - on or off the bike.

Afterwards we headed south for 44 km to Obernai and there was a significant amount of the ride that was on a cycle trail. It suddenly felt very recreational, as we passed a campground and there were many cyclists doing day rides. We also started seeing way more vineyards rather than crop production of wheat, corn, beans, etc.

Suddenly the land was covered in vineyards.

Riesling grapes starting to appear on the vines.

In Molsheim we stopped for lunch. As usual we struggled with the typical French closures at 2pm and wound up eating at a sit down bakery. We met 4 Americans from Nevada, who had ridden their rental bikes from Strasbourg - a common excursion.

Molsheim was charming, which we subsequently learned was typical of the Alsatian towns in this region. I’ll be saying that a lot. Sorry for the repetition: I need to come up with some synonyms for “charming” and “lovely” for the rest of these charming and lovely towns in the Alsace!

We had a nice downhill swing into Obernai at about 3 pm to the Hotel Due Diligence. It was a relief to walk into the lobby and feel the ac going as it was a very hot day. We had booked a “medium”room (which cost a little more than the “ cozy” room) and honestly the medium room was so small that I can’t imagine the size of the cozy room. Nonetheless, the room was modern and pleasant and the coolness was a relief.

The hotel had reported in advance how important it was to book dinner reservations so I had picked a place that took a reservation online, not exactly the most food-forward way to pick a restaurant, but in France it’s hard to get a bad meal so we don’t worry about it too much. Despite being self-described foodies, we can’t spend endless energy finding cool restaurants, nor can we eat large amazing meals every night. In any event, the restaurant I had selected called Les Chignole, turned out to be a hole-in-the-wall French steak place (not our usual pick). We walked in early - if you eat at 7 pm you will be the first people in the restaurant and sit in an empty restaurant for an hour. Sometimes that works out really well because we tend to be a little more clueless than the average European diner and may need a little more attention, sadly enough.

It turned out to be a really fun night. There were two people working - Lara at the front of the house and a chef in the tiny kitchen. The menu was tiny and all meat -mostly steak - and the only vegetarian menu item was one starter. Lara had just been on a holiday and had spoken a lot of English there so she was pretty brushed up on her English.

We chose a couple of unusual starters; sardines which had been diced and mixed with oil and herbs, and “gougeres” which were a puff pastry stuffed with bits of chorizo and cheese. We split a steak and green salad along with a side of ratatouille. At home that steak would have lasted 4 meals but we felt virtuous splitting it for one meal! The fun part was learning that this was a family restaurant. The mother of our charming waitress, Lara, sauntered in (a typically gorgeous French woman) with Dolly, a very cute dog, and of course we dug Dolly. Then, Lara’s “man” came in - Joe - and it was just a fun scene. Getting the pic below was very engaging. A good evening.

Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 2,054 km (1,276 miles)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesCharming ='s quaint, lovely, delightful, typical, atmospheric, and so on. It does get hard to come up with new descriptors when every town is even better than the ones that came before.
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3 months ago