What I Learned
Set in central-western Switzerland, with the Alps rising to the east, and the Jura Mountains behind it to the west, this hilly region is surprisingly good when it comes to growing grapes. About 200 hectares of vineyards cover the slopes of the hills in and around Lake Biel. In this bilingual area the name is Lac du Bienne in French.
Trail Name: Chemin du Vignoble (French); OR Rebenweg (German)
Trail Type: Mid-distance; almost exclusively paved, well maintained, and well-marked.
Length: Total: 12.9 kilometers/ 8 miles
Convenient to: Biel, Switzerland
Marking: Marking is the name of the route itself (in German or French) at some intersections; otherwise a gold diamond (with or without a stylized figure of a hiker in black superimposed) indicate you are on a hiking trail. (See featured photograph above.)
The Lake Constance Region tourism information promotes its “Mediterranean feel”. Nonetheless, the weather can be cold, wet, and windy, especially in early spring or late fall. (See the photo below.) Vintners here would often suffer bad harvests for years in a row. But thanks to local man, Hermann Mueller, the industry gained a new lease on life.
What I Learned
The northeast corner of Switzerland, where Germany, Austria and Switzerland group together around Lake Constance and the Lower Lake(the Bodensee and the Untersee, in German), is marketed as Mediterranean-like. While the area does boast some of the warmer and sunnier days in this part of the German-speaking world, due in part to the lake and the Rhine River which flows through it, the reality is that it is often cloudy, if not rainy, with windy and cool conditions. Hence vintners here face challenges growing grapes.
In 1882, Hermann Mueller, a local man, came to the rescue. Born in the village of Taegerwilen, within sight of Germany’s city of Constance and its Swiss conjoined city Kreuzlingen, he grew up in this area. His father was a part-time vintner, and his mother from the great wine region of the German Rheingau (further up the Rhine). Oenology was in his blood. After completing high school in Constance, and teaching for a stint in nearby Stein am Rhein, he entered the University of Wuerzburg where he graduated with a Ph.D. in botany. He worked in the Rheingau at the Prussian Institute for Horticulture and Viticulture, but the issues faced by Thurgau grape producers were not far from his mind.
Trail Name: Rebwandern am Untersee (Grape Hiking on the Lower Lake)
Trail Type: Medium distance; almost exclusively paved, well maintained, but the route itself is not exclusively marked.
Length: total: 15.4 km/9.5 miles
Convenient to: Constance (Konstanz), Germany; Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
Marking: Yellow “Wanderweg” signs only; some indicating direction and distance to towns and villages.
Continue reading Rebwandern am Untersee: Trail in a Nutshell
Wine and Cheese, an iconic pairing. Swiss wine and cheese – not so often thought of. But that was exactly what came to mind on this hike.
Most people picture Swiss scenery as idyllic: alpine peaks, pristine villages, high meadows and green pastures. This hike offered it all, on a family-friendly trail that never ceased to amaze.
What I Learned
The historical wine tradition in this area dates to at least 966, when the emperor gifted a vineyard in Malans to the nearby Bishop of Chur. But vines may have also been planted in earlier times.
Trail Name: Weinrunde Malans-Jenins or Rundweg Malans
Trail Type: Medium distance; almost exclusively paved, well maintained, and very well-marked.
Length: 10.4 km/ 6 miles
Convenient to: Chur, and Bad Ragaz, Switzerland; Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Marking: Rectangular blue and white arrows with white lettering: Weinwanderweg” (and sometimes red lettering “Rundweg Malans”) (See comment below)
Continue reading Weinrunde Malans-Jenins: Trail in a Nutshell
