Biking, Germany

Riding Along the Rhine

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Overcast, foggy and cool: a typical, late September day in Germany; but perfect for bike riding. Determined to bike along the Mittelrhein Wine Region this year, I could only hope for the happy coincidence of a break in the rain, and some free time. At least the rain held off, in spite of the leaden clouds overhead.

While I couldn’t pick the weather, I could pick the route. Having once taken a day cruise through the world heritage site of the Upper Middle Rhine, I decided to bike through the area for a closer look. It was a perfect choice as the Rhine Cycle Route stays on the left bank of the Rhine throughout this entire stretch. I narrowed it down even further. By starting at the edge of Boppard, near the vineyards, and ending in Bingen, I managed pass through or see two wine regions: the Mittelrhein, and the Rheingau on the opposite bank; and visit the best-known wine villages and river towns along the Upper Middle Rhine.

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Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Mittelrhein

What I Learned:

Many areas of the Upper Middle Rhine do not produce wine: the geography just isn’t suitable or practicable, even for growing other crops, so steep are the slopes rising from the river’s edge; and that makes the vineyards along this section of the Rhine even more special and beloved.

Riesling dominates overwhelmingly here: over 70% of the plantings in this area are of Riesling vines. Its closest numerical competition comes from the approximately 9% of Spaetburgunder plantings. So these two varietals, one white, the other red, equal approximately 80% of all cultivated vines in this area. Muller-Thurgau, Kerner, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris make up about 11% of all remaining cultivated white varietals. Dornfelder and Portugieser make up the remaining red varietals.

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Biking, Germany, Nutshell

Rhine Cycle Route – Upper Middle Rhine: Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: Rheinradweg (German)/Rhine Cycle Route, also known as Eurovelo 15

Trail Type: Long distance cycling trail; This segment is completely paved, well maintained, and much of it follows a dedicated trail for bicycles. The specific route marking is not always easy to see, but bike signs to the next town/destination are abundant. (Otherwise, just go with (or against) the flow, literally.)

Length:

Total: over 1200 km/circa 760 miles

Segment: circa 45 km/ 30 miles

Convenient to: Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Marking:

Rhine Cycle Trail and town distance markings
Rhine Cycle Trail and town distance markings

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Biking, Germany

The Main Bike Trail: The Main and Wine

The resolve to bike along the Main River began with an earlier visit to the Veitshoechheim Palace and seeing the wide, asphalted bike path on the opposite shore in Margetshoechheim. The Main has always served as a commercial trading artery; barges, ferries, and even cruise ships nowadays, ply the waterway in an unending parade of river life. The Mainradweg trail offers bicyclists a fabulous opportunity to see all this activity, as well as some of Franconia’s most iconic vineyards and wine towns, on a leisurely ride along its gentle banks. It is easy to see why the 375-mile trail, which follows the river from east of Bayreuth to the Rhine at Wiesbaden, consistently wins awards in many categories: The route is well-marked, well-maintained, well-organized with bike-tourism services, and marvelously laid out – passing through idyllic countryside and picturesque villages and towns. It is extremely popular with German tourists, many of whom, judging from the overloaded panniers, complete several stages over a period of days.

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Europe

Gastronomic Hiking, Alsatian-Style

Another day and another hike in France, but this one was an extraordinary outing, providing a multitude of sensory memories to savor!

Gastronomic hiking has become very popular in Alsace – and why not? Eating is one of the country’s favorite social activities: The food is excellent, the wines divine, and the company generally convivial. Alsace this season offered well over a dozen. The one I participated in, set around the attractive town of Barr, offered all three: a 7-kilometer (4 mile) hike that included flavorful Alsatian food, a variety of well-balanced local wines, and plenty of joie de vivre among the participants.

 

Barr, Alsace
Barr, Alsace

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Europe, Gallery

Gallery September 2014

Gallery
Doerrenbach: Archway
Castle Landeck
Gleisweiler
Mittelhaardt: Old Oratory
Vineyards of the Suedliche Weinstrasse
Neuleiningen
Late Autumn on the Deutsche Weinstrasse
Castle at Neuleiningen
Trail Marking on the Deutsche Weinstrasse
Burrweiler Church in the Vineyards
Leinsweiler Monument to Max Slevogt
Across the Vineyards to Weyher
Autumn on the Suedliche Weinstrasse
Cock of the Walk: Copper Art
Germany, Hiking

Hiking the German Wine Route: The Mittelhaardt

The Mittelhaardt is a lively district in September and early October, because this is when Neustadt an der Weinstrasse  holds its famous Weinfest, preceded by the Wurstmarkt, in Bad Duerkheim. These are two of the most popular wine festivals in the Mittelhaardt. These two small but fun towns, about 11 miles apart, are joined by the German Wine Route Hiking Trail, as it makes its way through the Mittelhaardt wine district of the Pfalz.

After finishing the southern half of the same trail, leading through the Suedliche Weinstrasse wine district to Neustadt, I later continued north through the town and into the nearby vineyards.

 

Haardt Villas
Haardt Villas

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Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Pfalz Mittelhaardt Wine District

What I Learned:

The northern part of the Pfalz wine region is known as Mittelhaardt, beginning around Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, and continuing to around Worms, in Zellertal.

Reds grown here include the Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir), and Dornfelder, among others. But Riesling grapes predominate, as more than half the grapes grown in this region are of this varietal. Other white varietals of German fame include Mueller-Thurgau, Kerner, and Gewurztraminer. One varietal cultivated here, not often heard of in the non-German world, is known as the Scheurebe. In 1916, German viticulturalist, Georg Scheu, created this grape in his institute’s laboratory in Alzey, not far from the northern edges of the Mittelhaardt. This varietal is often destined to produce the sweet wines.

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Hiking and Biking European Wine Country