Out and About in the Alsace

You will have to excuse me and my ignorance in this blog, we went out on the tandem and visited loads of little chocolate box villages. I will do my best to get the right photos with the correct town or village but if I get it wrong just enjoy the photos.

Dry today, thank the lord, The Boss has a 28 mile route planned taking in loads of pretty towns and villages, hopefully with lots of pretty doors, if you didn’t already know, I’m a sucker for a pretty door.

My bum is pretty much hurting within the first 10 miles, I don’t think my sit bones have fully recovered from Tuesday. The first stop is Riquewihr, only a mile from our campsite. Absolutely beautiful town with a steep cobbled main high street flanked on both sides by the aforementioned ‘chocolate box’ picture post card wooden framed buildings. We take lots of pictures, after patiently waiting for people to ‘get out of the bloody way of my picture’, did I shout that? No, luckily, it just crossed my mind.

We could have wandered around for longer but I was told there was more to see. Back on the Tandem and over the hill to Kientzheim and, more specifically, the Nécropole nationale de Sigolsheim, up a 12% 800ft climb from the village of the same name. Even with a battery, this is still hard work but we still passed a few serious cyclists with an embarrassed “pardon, électrique” to excuse our super powers. One said something back, but we haven’t had a chance to look up the translation for “Bastards”.

A stunning location for a beautiful last resting place. We sat and reflected on how deserving this location was and if only the names on the crosses knew they were remembered this way and in this special place.

We briefly stopped at the American ‘Memorial Hill 351’ monument for the 21st Corps in the same location just as a large jeep arrived with about five soldiers in uniform who jumped out and began to scoff some lunch. As we thundered the tandem back down the 12% hill with burning brakes we passed three more soldiers in full kit and rifles walking up, we assumed some sort of punishment.

From the previous high viewpoint I’d spotted a large town with ugly blocks of flats and industrial chimneys, just as I was thinking I was glad we weren’t going there he said “See those chimneys, that’s where we are heading next.

Despite it’s first impressions, Colmar was a City with a sprawling beautiful area at it core. First priority, as normal now, was toilets and food, so after spending 15 minutes locking up the tandem with three padlocks and multiple impenetrable steel cables we finally found a pub selling food we could actually afford with an outside terrace table. Risotto for me, Carbonara for him, they even preempted his normal refusal by smothering it with Parmesan, his favourite, not.

As usual in a large tourist City it was hard to move for large groups following guides holding a brightly coloured umbrella … mostly taking hundreds of photographs in each location trying to get their ‘best side’. Luckily, blessed with our good looks, or his impatience, we take one picture and go.

Back on the Tandem, well, back on it after 15 minutes removing all the cables and padlocks, out of town beside a railway line to Turckheim. While he negotiates padlocks I follow a sign to the toilet that obviously will be ‘out of order’ because I am busting. We find a bar so I can get some relief whilst filling my bladder to repeat the cycle. The Boss thinks he’s convinced the waitress thinks he is French with his linguistic skills, who knows what he has ordered, probably six ducks and a bottle of wine ‘to go’.

Turckheim is very quiet and bars are mostly closed until 5pm, once again, stunning buildings and architecture, but why oh why do they allow modern cars to park on these streets, they don’t respond to our ‘get out of the bloody way’ picture opportunities. I suppose if your entire town looks like this you have to park somewhere.

My rear is now feeling the effects of a 2nd day riding over 25 miles, The Boss informs me he will by-pass another 800ft 12% climb to see a castle we will see from the valley. However, the route back still entails traversing multiple valleys up and down until we reach Riquewihr again to take a couple more photos … actually Steve, shall we just get back to the caravan, I need a wee.