Trixie Traveler in Alsace-Black Forest: Day 3: Marmoutier, Molsheim, Marienheim, Alsatian "Wine Road"

What a wonderful gorgeous day of bike riding! Weather was perfect. We leave Saverne and are quickly out in the countryside. We ride through cornfields, pasture lands with cows and horses on rolling hills and then do some climbing out of Marmoutier. We begin to see grapevines and pass through charming, prosperous looking residential areas with pretty homes most of which have lovely flowers in their yards and many a vegetable garden. The terrain becomes hillier with grapevines planted on steep hillsides.

Eventually, we get onto a beautiful bike path along the Alsatian wine route and go mostly downhill. This is the nicest bike path I have ever been on. It is smooth with shade provided by a canopy of trees. There are few cross streets to slow down for making for a relaxing ride. We stop at a new, modern patisserie/restaurant that has a huge selection of delectable pastries. I have a plum tarte which is delicious. We stop for lunch in Molsheim, another picturesque village with many half-timbered buildings. Gwendal joins us for lunch. We enjoy the opportunity to visit with him. He is such a nice person who leads an interesting, adventuresome life.

Our ride today is only 55 km and we have just 20 km to go after lunch. We enjoy some beautiful views as we climb higher. We arrive in Obernai around 3:30. Obernai is a beautiful town with picturesque streets and buildings. We meet at 4:45 to go to a wine tasting at a local winery. The Alsace region is best known for its white wines. The owner, Robert, is a charming man who spends a lot of time with us explaining his traditional method of making wines. Nothing is wasted and everything is done by hand in the old way. His family has been making wine since the 1600s. The process has been handed down from generation to generation while being modernized with new knowledge and methods. An insect destroyed most of the vines in the Alsace region in the 1970s so the oldest vines are just 55 years old. Many vintners don't want to keep the older vines because they don't produce as much so aren't as economically viable as having younger vines but they produce especially good wines and he continues to make them. They do cost more. He sells just to private clients. He doesn't have any connection with any exporters. His two daughters are going to school preparing to take over the winery. We taste four of the wines including a "cremont" which is like champagne. I am glad there are still people like him who have such a passion about what they do and take great pride in doing things in a handcrafted way even though it takes more time, and do it with such care and love.

The mix of German and French cultures here has been readily evident since our arrival in Strassbourg. One isn't sure whether one is in Germany or in France. Restaurants are a combination of French and German and people speak both French and German. There is also an Alsatian language which has been dying out but which, recently, there has been renewed interest in reviving. I thought the signs were in German and French but Philipp told us that the second language is not French but German. Philipp also tells us that the Alsace region is a little like Catalonia in that the people here are independent and want to have a say in what happens. There is not, however, a strong independence move,pimento like in Catalonia. The history of Alsace is interesting but I won't go into that here.

It is days like this that renew my motivation to keep up with cycling. It's been a lovely day.

Beautiful bike path along the Alsatian Wine Route