I forgot to share about my epic bicycle failure last week. It was a nice hot summer day and I left for a bike ride around 10 am with the goal of being back by 2 pm before the sun peaks here. The afternoon is usually the warmest part of the day. I was ready to go with an apple, a few packets of GU, 2 bottles of cold water, my phone and flat tire repair necessities. I set off North and road towards Weil der Stadt (feel free to Google that location if you are really interested), and then West towards Calw. The ride was absolutely perfect on roads with decent shoulders where I was not scared for my life, through farm fields, small towns, and the foothills of Southwestern Germany. Absolutely Perfect! Then I ran out of water, realized that I was in the middle of nowhere where nobody spoke any English, couldn't find a bakery or restaurant to fill up, and got a flat tire. After cursing I confidently changed the tube on the side of the road (outside the very small town of Sulz, Northwest of Herrenberg), and cursed again when I realized that I could not pump up the tube all the way with my hand pump because I have no upper body strength (especially after being in Germany for five months without a gym or handweights other than filled bottles of water). I stupidly laid the wheel on its side and gave one last pump with all my strength...and broke the valve stem right off.
After cursing yet again and having a minor temper tantrum in the privacy of the middle of nowhere, I thought out my options....I could sit there and pout, go to the car repair shop down the road and ask for help (in German), Google the number for a cab and eat the cost to take me and my bike to the train station in Herrenberg (and try to give the driver directions in German, HA), or call Ryan and hope that he has nothing better to do than pick me up. He left work, biked back to our apartment, and drove 35 minutes to come and get me. So now I have some learning and shopping to do for tubes, new tires, and a CO2 inflator.
Also, I tried beers recommended by the employee at La Cave a Bulles in Paris the other night. The Page 24 A La Rhubarbe was decent. Not quite as tart as I was hoping for, but an interesting flavor. The beer is made with rhubarb juice and was more mildly tangy. Check out this blog for a better description.And the Amiral Benson from La Brasserie du Mont Saleve was great. An awesome beer with a full mouth feel labeled as an American IPA. This is the beer accompanied by the matching glass, a popular wine glass style in France.
On Sunday, I was back in France. We left early in the morning to drive East past Strasbourg, France to Marlenheim, where the Route des Vins, or Wine Road begins. Strasbourg and the Wine Road are located in the Alsace region of France, known for their white wines and cuisine. The name "Alsace" means "foreign domain" in Old High German. Today the people speak French, although it is a French-German dialect known as Alsatian, and German. We made our way South on the wine road through the vineyards, towns, and foothills, stopping to take pictures until we arrived in Obernai. We parked just outside of town to stop at a winery/cellar that was open. Since it was Sunday, I was not sure what would be open so I was very excited to find one.
We entered the Vin D' Alsace Robert Blanck shop in the front of the building right after a French speaking couple and the employee there did not speak any English or German. After a few moments of confusion she offered that we join the other couple for a cellar tour and tasting. We followed them downstairs and through the cellar doors to listen to a tour in French. Although we were not able to understand much, the French cellar experience was awesome. The barrels are massive, about 12 feet tall, giant oval Oak barrels. They are numbered at the top by ornately decorated wooden leaves and have wooden carvings of images or words. The oldest barrel was from the early 1700's and the family name and decor was in cement at the back of the cellar from the late 1600's. We did not take any pictures because we were not sure how to ask if it was ok and we did not want to look even more like silly tourists, but here is an image of the barrels from the internet.After a quick tasting of 4 wines, including late harvest Gewurztraminer (sweet like ice wine), we purchased three bottles that were around 7 Euro each. This is just about double the cost of cheap wine at Aldi but inexpensive compared to wine from vineyards in California, and the tour and tasting were free. She gave us information on the wines in a pamphlet in German, since we speak enough of that to get by.
*Side note - The Riesling in Alsace is always dry, not sweet.
Then we walked into the town of Obernai and Ryan was nervous because we passed closed restaurants and shops and walked along deserted streets. We were hungry and nervous that we would not find something open. And then we turned the corner and the streets opened up to a very busy city center with tons of restaurants with patios pouring out into the streets, people laughing and children playing, and tourist shops with trinkets for sale. We had no problem finding a restaurant but we did notice that prices are higher there than in Germany. We both had ethnic dishes and I found an Alsace cookbook, so be prepared for French night this week.
After an awesome lunch, small and quick compared to the typical French 3 hour lunch, and first dessert of black forest cake, we drove the short distance to Strasbourg. After parking we:
- stopped at the bike event going on to watch people do tricks on bikes and listen to live music
- walked around the historic La Petite-France of canals and medieval buildings. In the Middle Ages, these were tanning houses and slaughter houses.
- watched the water level change for canoes and a tour boat in a lock
- climbed the 300 or so stairs to the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral, definitely an interesting gothic cathedral.
- sat on a bench by the river
- enjoyed our second dessert, French glace or ice cream from a local shop. I had strawberry mint flavor that tasted like real mint leaves, not fake mint extract. It was delicious!
I would definitely visit this area of France again and maybe continue down the wine road to Colmar if given the opportunity.
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