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.
What I Learned
The Markgraeflerland district is along the southern-most section of the Rhine as it borders France, in the region of Baden, in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. It is the southern-most wine producing district in Germany. It begins in Weil am Rhein, just outside the Swiss city of Basel, and continues almost to Freiburg. The vineyards lie on the foothills between the river valley floor, and the Black Forest mountains to the east. About 3000 hectares, and 90 cooperatives, cellars and wine estates are dedicated to the production of this region’s wine, carried out the in the villages and small towns that dot this area.
Trail Name: Markgraefler Rebland Radtour
Trail Type: Middle distance; bicycle circuit almost exclusively paved, largely on dedicated bike trail or lane; well maintained and signed, albeit not specifically marked for this trail.
Length: total: 35 km
Convenient to: Freiburg
Marking: Green and white bike directional marking only. (No marking specific to this trail.)
Continue reading Markgraefler Vine-Country Bike Tour: Trail in a Nutshell
The Kaiserstuhl (Emperor’s Seat or Chair), rises in dramatic isolation from the flatlands of the valley of the Rhine. This vine-covered promontory allegedly got its name from the actions there of an early Holy Roman Emperor. Its majestic appearance alone is reason enough for the name, in my opinion.
The Kaiserstuhl promontory overlooks former imperial holdings north, south, east and west. It contains two wine districts in the German wine region of Baden, the Tuniberg and the eponymous Kaiserstuhl, and it abuts two others. Additionally, in the distance, on the other side of the Rhine, lie the vineyards of Alsace, France. Wine is definitely king in this southwest corner of Germany!
What I Learned
The Kaiserstuhl is a wine district within the German wine region of Baden. With almost 4300 hectares (over 10,500 acres), it is the largest of all nine wine districts in Baden.
Trail Name: Radwege durch Weinland Baden: Kaiserstuhl Alternative (Bike Trails through Baden Wine-land: Kaiserstuhl Alternative [Route])
Trail Type: Mid-distance trail; almost exclusively paved, (two short sections, less than a half mile total, were hard-pack surfaces), well maintained, but no consistently specific markings for the route itself.
Length: total: 49 kilometers/30 miles
Convenient to: Freiburg, Germany
Marking: No trail marking specific to this trail, and it is at times on other named trails (like the Rheintal Radweg (with a green sign and white lettering) from Malterdingen to Koenigschaffhausen)
Continue reading Radweg Weinland Kaiserstuhl: Trail in a Nutshell
I had to laugh at the dog. Just yards from the start of this 99.1 kilometer wine trail (my longest yet), the trail inclined dizzyingly, twisting up and away from Freiburg’s historic old center. Yet a little dog, not much bigger than a cat really, trotted past me, his tiny jacket proclaiming “Yes I can.”
A bit further along this trail, I came across a group of preschoolers on an outing: each one bearing a backpack no less than a third his size. Thus inspired, I thought: I can do this entire trail, in spite of the several challenges it presented.
What I Learned:
The Breisgau area of the Baden Region of Germany has some unique topography, both natural and manmade. From the plain, you see ridgeline after ridgeline, each rising higher as it moves away from the Rhine, and toward the upper reaches of the Black Forest to the east.
The vine-covered hills, usually on the first or second ridgelines after the plain, tend to be small, but steep. Man has worked around this by terracing many of them over time. This terracing provides plenty of opportunity to notice the primarily loess and sandy soils that predominate in this area.
