Today’s plan was to cycle a loop out to Colmar and back via Eguisheim. We woke to cold drizzle with a vague promise of sunshine later.
Hardy beings that we are, we chose to stick to the plan. Kim has wanted to visit Colmar since our JustGo camper van days when Facebook photos showed such a beautiful town. Our route there was flat, through country lanes and dedicated cycle paths. Perfect cycling, in better weather.
Colmar was busy, we dodged walking tour after walking tour before deciding to follow the tourist train around town. A smart move that provided sights we would not otherwise have found. Colmar is stunning and busy, although the medieval buildings are beautifully painted, they are missing the window boxes full of geraniums found in other towns. The Bartholdi museum was shut and there was obvious sign of any Statue of Liberty so, in less than an hour, we’d ticked Colmar off the list and won’t rush back. Fun fact, Colmar is famous for its Petite Venise a popular tourist spot…. and that France, alone, has at least 50 Petit Venice’s which in reality is just a town with a canal running through the middle.
Our Komoot app let us down on the way to Eguisheim, we’d strayed so far from the route that we were halfway back to Turckheim before we realised the error. Google came to our rescue, if you call muddy tracks through sweetcorn fields a suitable route for Bromptons. This was our only sighting of a stork and it was too quick to be captured in the photo.
Eguisheim is yet another pretty Alsace town, complete with cobbled streets which are hard work on a bike with its small 16” wheels. The sun came out and we stopped for lunch. Our route took us past vineyards and through Wettolshein and Wintzenheim.
We haven’t done much walking this holiday so, this afternoon, we walked the Dragon Trail around the vineyard slopes overlooking Turckheim. The views across the valley were splendid and, if our French was better, we would have learned why the soil makes the Alsace wine so special.
A special mention for the Bromptons, attention seeking little bikes that they are. We were stopped by a German lady in Eguisheim who was rather taken with the neat design and very impressed with how easy they are to fold. Back at the hotel carpark, a van stopped suddenly. The driver needs a small bike for his small British Car. It turned out he keeps a Caterham in a nearby garage, it’s the same shade of green as John’s bike. The Caterham is going racing in the uk soon and a Brompton is just what’s needed to make his trip complete.
braysabroad 