The German region of Baden stretches from north to south for a couple hundred kilometers along the Rhine. The southernmost part of it, down by the Swiss borderlands at Basel, is known as Markgraeflerland. This area has some of the warmest and sunniest weather in Germany – great conditions both for growing grapes and bicycling!

So it was on a warm, sunny, Spring day, that I found myself enjoying the bike trails which cover miles of vineyards in this quiet corner of the Rhine river valley. And being a German holiday, the perfect weather lured more people than usual onto the well-marked and well-maintained trails. But no matter, a festive atmosphere prevailed along with the sunshine for the whole day! And I do mean festive: being a German holiday in the Spring, many wine taverns were open, some even with live music.

The trail I rode along was a long one, over 70 kilometers in total. As it was shaped like two figure-8s sharing a large middle section, and as usual, not having much time, I biked the middle circuit (35 kilometers), which covers the area from roughly Staufen to Badenweiler.

 

Where to begin? Literally. Both these towns are my absolute favorites in this area. But, being a German holiday, and these towns being two popular day trip destinations for regional inhabitants, parking would be more difficult to come by. So I started just outside Heitersheim.

 

Heitersheim is at the very edge of the plain and the ridges which roll down from the (sometimes) tremendous heights of the Black Forest mountain range. Vineyards cover these rolling ridges, which began on the southwestern edge of town. As the trail climbed up the ridges, spectacular views of some of the tallest German peaks in the Black Forest came into view to the south and east. And distant snow-capped peaks of the Vosges mountains in Alsace to the west were visible as well! As the trail proceeded down the ridges it crossed or followed along swift-moving streams tumbling from springs hidden in the heights of the Black Forest.

 

One of the highest heights to conquer along this trail is the one leading to Badenweiler. As its name implies, this is a spa town, and has been since Roman times. The Romans tapped into the thermal springs here, and built a bath around it. Today, you can still visit the Roman bath complex, and enjoy the thermal waters, albeit not in the same complex anymore! These, and the castle that provides outstanding vistas as far westward as the Belfort Gap, cluster around an attractive square that marks the official start point of this trail.

 

From Badenweiler, I followed the trail north past the small village of Laufen, where a lively vintner festival (Winzerfest) was in full swing. This is where the ridges were steepest, so the cheery music helped take my mind off the incline heading out of the village.

 

After following along a long stretch of vineyards interrupted only by the town of Ballrechten, the trail reached Staufen, entering into the core of the old town. As I had predicted, it was more crowded than I had ever seen it, with lots of people just enjoying the weather in outdoor café seating. An equally large crowd surrounded the open-air wine bar. I had to dismount to make my way through the strollers crowding the pedestrian zone, but anyone on this trail would want to do so to photograph this extremely photogenic old town center. On the outside of town, I captured a unique perspective of the castle, the featured photo above, which dominates this area. Yet another photo of this iconic landmark to help bring this delightful town back to memory for me. (The bottle of wine I bought from the local wine cellar by the wine bar will serve as another reminder in the not-to-distant future!)

 

Northwest of Staufen, this trail continued north, but I headed south to return to my start point. Another vintner festival, more music, and loads of people sunbathing on the wide expanse of grass surrounding an old Roman villa in Heitersheim. On blankets set with food baskets and bottles of wine, the picnickers were taking in the expansive view of the Black Forest, and basking the first full flush of Spring sunshine and greenery. A glorious day in the great outdoors to celebrate, anything, really.