Alsace Wine Route Day Two Ribeauville to Dambach-la-Ville

Our days typically begin by a stop at a pastry shop for a croissant, macaroons, cake or a tart.

 

As we left the patisserie and stopped to check our route, we saw this sleepy cat resting near this statue. 

Our route took us through this lovely park.

Nearby many of the little villages, you can spot medieval castles up high in the Vosges Mountains.

Omar (the Uber driver) pointed out that during the four years he has lived in the Alsace region, trees are being felled to expand the vineyards. See the photo below. This has created a shift in weather patterns with more wind along the Alsace plain.

The walled city of Bergheim dates back to Roman times and is important historically because it was a sanctuary city, where anyone who was being pursued for debt or unpremeditated crimes could avoid capture. Notice the cheeky little guy happily mooning those pursuing him.

Notice the fortifications and moat, sometimes used now as a space for gardens and for parking cars.

This war memorial is dedicated not to heroes who died for their country but to the “victims of war.” Alsace was part of Germany during WWI. And in WWII, many Alsatians were also forced to fight for the Nazis, who sent them to the Eastern Front.

Bergheim’s church comes with a stork’s nest on top. The stork is a symbol of Alsace and is featured in Alsatian folklore. If a stork is flying above your house, then a baby is on the way. According to Alsatian legend, if a baby has been born, that means that a stork has flown to the underground lake where the souls of the dead have been reincarnated as babies. The stork has fished out a newborn, wrapped it in a sheet, and carried it back to your house. Storks also bring happiness and good luck to your home.

Brightly colored flower baskets are everywhere - even along the exterior wall of the cemetery.

Besides vineyards, we hike along trails passing corn and wheat fields. 

This is the current size of the grapes on the vine. Most of the work going on now is trimming the lower growth near the ground and training the vines along the trellises. 

While we were walking, this warm and friendly Frenchman engaged us in conversation. He spoke some English and we understood some French.  He encouraged us to walk a slightly different route which took us through villages and was much more interesting. His name is Hubert Laugner and he has operated the Allimant vineyard for 25 years. He loves his life as a vintner and is content to tend to his vines while his son Nicolas traveled to expand their sales market. Within the next year his wines will be available along the east coast. 

We also discovered from Monsieur Laugner that the route through the villages he recommended is part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. Sure enough, we began seeing the shell symbol!