Along the Mossig
Wolxheim: Cemetery and Old Chapel
Winter Vineyards
Paddling on the Bruche
Upper Sasbachwalden
Gaishoelle Water
Hills of Sasbachwalden
Gallery January 2018
All posts by admin
On the Trotele
Just before winter solstice, I found myself in Alsace, not far from Strasbourg, wondering why I would hike on such a gray day. The short answer is that Strasbourg has one of the most impressive Christmas Markets in France, and Molsheim, near some of Alsace’s grand cru vineyards, is not far from it. So after an evening visiting the market, I headed for the hills to the west the next morning.
Wine Notes: Bas Rhin, Alsace
What I Learned
The Alsatian wine region is famous throughout France, and the world. It is a great place to try excellent French wines, at very reasonable prices. Politically, Alsace is divided into two districts, or departments. The Haut Rhin is the southern-most. Above it is the Bash Rhin, stretching north to the border with Germany. The Rhine river marks the eastern border of both, and the Vosges mountains lie on the western side of each.
Trotele Circuit: Trail in a Nutshell
Trail Name: Circuit de Trotele (One of the “Circuits de Bacchus” local circuit trails)
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; varied surfaces, from paved to meadow grasses, well maintained, with the route itself specifically marked in most, but not all, places.
Length: Total: 13.8 kilometers/ 8.4 miles
Convenient to: Strasbourg, France
Marking: Hollow blue circle, in places; yellow lines elsewhere
Old Gods Wine Wanderings
“Der alde Gott lebt noch” (The old God still lives), at least in the area of Sasbachwalden. A sea of vines, set in as bucolic a landscape as one could wish for, hold the secret to a long and happy life here, centered around wine and hiking.
As the story goes, a young man, on meeting the beautiful young woman who would become his wife, cried out: The old god still lives! They married, settled in the area, and enjoyed a happy life together. On seeing this wonderful trail, in such an idyllic setting, one could cry out the same.
Wine Notes: Ortenau’s Alde Gott
What I Learned
Sasbachwalden is a small town in the Ortenau wine district of the Baden wine region of southwest Germany. It is bounded by the Black Forest heights to its east, and the river plain of the Rhine to the west. The town has approximately 266 hectares of vineyard, and along with active tourism, is a mainstay of the local economy.
Alde Gott is the name of a specific vineyard area in and around the towns of Sasbachwalden, Sasbach, Lauf and Achern. The soils are of granite and gneiss. The terrain itself is quite hilly, with several natural bowl-like formations. The steep-sided slopes ensure good drainage in this otherwise wet area. They can get up to 1500 millimeters of rain a year. To ensure maximum sun exposure, the vine-bearing slopes face primarily south and west.
Alde Gott: Trail in a Nutshell
Trail Name: Alde Gott Panoramaweg
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit on tarmac, grass or hardpacked surfaces; well maintained, and very well marked.
Length: 9.8 kilometers/ 6 miles
Convenient to: Karlsruhe or Baden-Baden, Germany
Marking: Red background, white lettering of the trail name, often on a white metal arrow.
Gallery December 2017
Steinertor, Krems
Kremstal Vineyards
Puddle of Yellow
Cours Stassart, Vacqueyras
Fall Colors, Vacqueyras
Old Center, Vacqueyras
The Vineyards of Krems
The Danube is one of the world’s most inspirational rivers- It has inspired music, Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz; and movies, to include a different color – The Red Danube; and many books, poems, and odes. It has also inspired a trail that covers two wine regions of Austria – The World Heritage Trail Wachau (Welterbesteig Wachau).
The beauty of this region inspired me to try the trail. To hike the entire 180 kilometers/110 miles, unfortunately required more time than I had, so I settled for covering the trail’s passage through the Kremstal wine region, in and around the town of Krems. This region is one of Austria’s smaller wine regions. It centers narrowly around the town of Krems on the Danube, and the small Krems river valley extending off the Danube. By hiking the first six kilometers of this trail, I would cover part of the Kremstal wine district.
Wine Notes: Kremstal
What I Learned:
Kremstal (Krems Valley), Krems, along with its associated village of Stein, and the area on the opposite side of the Danube, form a wine district known as Kremstal. This district lies on both sides of the Danube River and its tributary, the Krems River. Vineyards lie above the communities on high slopes overlooking the communities and the river. Loess soils predominate in this region.
Noted Ried (named vineyards) in Stein are: Steiner Pfaffenberg and Hund; with other esteemed vineyards being: Altenburg, Grillenparz, Pitschental, Danzern, Geroldberg and Schreck. In Krems, the Wachtberg and Koegl are both well-known Ried.