Walking in Alsace and the mud

Disappointingly, after the six hour walk on Sunday, Pat's feet were not up to a very long walk, and she was restricted to wearing sandals. We set out to walk to Bernardville, armed with another lunch from André. However, first we had to find some Muscat wine! At the start of the asparagus season, we had discovered that our cellar had only one bottle of Alsace Muscat - the perfect wine to complement asparagus. Our usual vigneron, Jean-Pierre Rietsch had also run out so we needed an alternative source. Fortunately we had enjoyed the carafe of Muscat we had drunk with our asparagus menu on the first night and set off to find the maker Jean Wach (pronounced as Bach but with a V not a B). We didn't have far to go and 6 bottles were soon stowed in the boot of the car.

While we were in Andlau, we took photos of the picturesque houses.








Bernardville can be reached by a track which goes over a steep hill from Andlau, through a wood, then out into the vines. The initial track is well worn and has obviously been used for centuries.







The track is a part of one of the many routes to Santiago de Compostela.



The vines are not yet flowering, but soon will be.





Bernardville is small and purely residential, so finding somewhere to eat our lunch was difficult, but we spotted a picnic spot next to the graveyard and ate our lunch while we were waiting for a taxi to come to pick us up (saving Pat's feet for later).

The steep wine field next to us had also been used to grow a sort of barley, you can see the light coloured straw between the vines - it made a pretty pattern but according to Jean-Pierre it is planted primarily to stop soil erosion.




After a rest at our hotel, we set out for a wine tasting with Jean-Pierre in Mittelbergheim. The clouds were threatening, but we just managed to get indoors before the heavens opened and heavy rain and hail continued for about an hour. We enjoyed a range of wines including a Sylvaner and a Muscat that have yet to be bottled and we hope to order some of these when they are ready.

We had decided to eat in Mittlebergheim at the Gilg hotel. We have been there many times before and were welcomed by the owner.





The small hotel which is in the centre of the village was built in 1614 and is unspoilt. We noticed that the menu had changed and were very pleased with the meal and the changes to the dishes (less fat).

The rain had stopped when set off to walk back to Andlau. The first sign of problems was when we met the firemen pumping out someone's cellar. Then we found our road was blocked by a lake of water and mud. Where the vines had been replanted, the soil was loose and after the rain, the road was full of mud. Pat managed to lose a shoe in the mud (temporarily) and so it was a soggy walk home. When we reached the hotel at 10:10 pm the door was locked! We didn't have the code and the phone was only going to answer machine ... What to do?

Fortunately, there was one light on in a bedroom and after some effort, we managed to attract attention and were let in by a kind guest. The storm then returned and we went to sleep to the sound of a river of water running down the roof outside our window- very relaxing apart from the occasional loud peal of thunder.

The next morning we left the hotel, armed with yet another André lunch, stopping first at Mittlebergheim to load the boot with wine and then heading for home. There was pretty much continuous rain for our 8 hour drive so we stopped only to change drivers. The rain had stopped when we got home so we could unload in the dry, before setting out to our local Resto to eat.

The blog resumes on June 1 when we take a village organised day trip to Arles.





Pat and John on tour