Kayserberg to Bergheim

Saturday 30th September 2023

What a difference a day makes with people. Went to breakfast and the Lady of the House ended up our best friend engaging us in conversation about yesterday and our plans for today. Well at least it lasted till we were due to leave , when 3 times she questioned our mini bar usage- a whole 2 bottles of beer- and even sent the cleaning lady in to do another audit.

Today was a taxi transfer from Kaysersbrrg to our stating point in Riquewihr, about 15 minutes away.

Dropped off outside the gates to the City and guess what another fairytale town which was already bustling with tourists. Again the patisseries , ice cream stores, wine tasting dens and bar /restaurants were flanking the cobblestone road. Many of the buildings had floral displays hanging from the window sills , all with vibrant colour displays. Of course there was the fountain or five.

As we worked our way up through town we came across a patisserie with an enormous array of macaroons and decided to fill up the treats jar for the day with a 100g assortment.

A not so alert watch dog stood guard over the shops fare and this mutt was a precursor to what turned out to be a day about animals, as well as castles.

Jane is forever on the lookout for Christmas decorations and midway through town she found a shop with a reasonably small facade which evolved into IKEA once she got inside. Me the bull in the China shop was consigned to bag minding out the front.

After an eternity she returned with a booty which will test our packing skills and the care factor of airport baggage handlers.

Whilst waiting I read the directions and was not surprised that our next stretch was uphill on a road for a kilometre. Unlike the Italians the French love to build their villages at the bottom of the hill.

I waited by a town fountain whose water was previously used as a quality control device for the size of wine casks.

The next 300 hundred metres up the hill, behind a local walking his dog. set us a conundrum we are yet to solve. Fido had a bag of marbles tied at the very top of his tail which with every step rattled and banged on his bum and own marble bag.

Would welcome advice from any Dr Harry on what it’s for. Could not get too close so one might need to zoom in on the photo . I will never look at dogs the same again.

At the top of the hill we caught our first glimpse of the 3 castles we had an option to visit, it was still a decision to consider having seen 3 ruins before.

A bit of huffing and puffing along roads that wound through the vineyards we soon arrived at Humawir.

Another small pretty town but not as popular with the tourists, best demonstrated by minimal shops and no open bars or restaurants. The church , with a cemetery inside a rampart, was beautiful and enjoyed a great view north up the valley.

Out of town and on our Dr Doolittle visit to the nature park where they are enjoying great success increasing the stork population, which had almost vanished back in the 80’s. Numbers are now closer to 1500.

They migrate to Africa annually and this year left 3 weeks early due to the dry weather – even the birds are acknowledging climate change.

The sanctuary is also trying to increase otter numbers. Not too much evidence of that other than one who was very adept at backward somersaults of a rock – he had all the kids wide eyed and giggling.

The rest of the park was very kids orientated so we headed for the next animsl or more correct insect sanctuary, where there was 100’s of beautiful butterflies flitting all around the plants in a heat controlled room – emphasising the heat – it was like a Christmas Day in Darwin.

They were difficult to catch in all their splendour so I left that to Jane to capture and she gratefully shared her photos.

Then it was off to Ribeauville, with its kilometre Main Street which we walked both ways to make sure we took it all in. Bigger and as bright as the other towns we had visited it obviously attracted more tourists, especially on a weekend.

Having been on the road for 5 days and gradually working our way through the clean clothes eagle-eyed Jane remembered reading about a laundry in this town. We soon found it, but unfortunately it was an open air one which had not worked for centuries.

There were some quaint shops including the smallest book store I had ever seen, along with an assortment of fountains. In one was a display of the local products of the field.

We stopped in the middle of town next to an intetesting musician statue in a bar to feast on a charcuterie board , beer and a wine.

The diversity of tourists is amazing French, German, Alscience , Yanks, English, Irish, Japanese and a sprinkling of Aussies.

Whilst there were a few walkers we were outnumbered 10 to 1 by the cyclists and bike riders decked out in Lycra and leathers. Most of the cyclists had electric versions and unlike us made easy work of the uphills.

Attire on the others ranged from high end fashion to tee shirts and thongs. One guy must have been a shopkeepers nightmare – he was probably 32 short from the bum down and 48 short from the belly button. It’s not a critique just an observation from someone who has endured fat jokes all his life.

We still had 4-5 Kms to go before reaching Bergheim , our resting place. But two interesting things caught our eye heading out – an automated bear blowing bubbles and a wine tasting room with a very appropriate name.

The next part of the journey traversed the hillsides through the vines and if the annual crop is lower than expected I think I know the culprits – they will remain unnamed. It was interesting that most of the absolute roadside vines were devoid of grapes which migh indicate we were not the first to taste the crop.

The 20th century Haut Koenigsbourg castle, which has apparently been magnificently restored , was constantly in our eye on the way. Still undecided whether we visit tomorrow when we are about 5 Kms away, up some very steep trails or catch a shuttle when we move to Colmar.

We finally got a downhill run into town and walked past the famous 13th century lime tree under which sat 8 old souls and a couple of younger advisors solving the problems of the world .

Then it was through the grand main gate of the town which has an almost complete ancient rampart around its perimeter. For the observant, Jane was hatless all day long after leaving her hat in the taxi- an unintended gift.

Our hotel was magnificent, an old converted winery and we had a lovely first floor suite including lounge kitchen and bedroom. The mine host was the antithesis of the previous day , explaining everything you wanted to know, including the fact they had a laundry service and a pool and spa.

By the time we settled in and changed it was time for another great dinner and a little tipple.