road trip

On the Route des Vins d’Alsace

~ donquioaty ~ Leave a comment

After a bit of a wander around Strasbourg and a very fine meal (more on that later), DonQui decides to explore the Route des vins d’Alsace from Strasbourg to Colmar.

His first stop after leaving Strasbourg is Mittelbergheim — an unspoiled and non-touristy village in the foothills of the Vosges where the vines of Alsace are cultivated. He is quite excited to see a stork with chicks in her nest above the church.

At Hunawihr he makes his first purchase after a little sample of the wines on offer. Safety conscious readers should note that, as he is driving, he only takes a mouthful of each.

Then he trots up a hill to take a look at the 14th Century fortified church which is surrounded by walls complete with bastions and firing ports. 

Alsace has been tramped over and plundered by a succession of armies right up until 1945. DonQui imagines the medieval peasants fleeing the village below for the safety of the church as they see an approaching robber baron.

At dinner in Strasbourg the previous night DonQui had sampled a lovely pinot noir from Dambach-le-Ville so he heads there to procure a case. 

Dambach-le-Ville is a lovely little walled village with yet another nesting stork. 

DonQui dose not remember seeing so many storks in the Rhine valley before but on this trip he sees many of them. It is perhaps a good sign of nature recovering.

DonQui also stops off at Ribauville and Riquewhir. He remembers the latter village as being particularly beautiful on a previous visit years ago.  Yes it is pretty but it seems to have succumbed to a bit of Disneyfication. Unlike the other stops on his route it is also full of other tourists. Still it is enjoyable to walk around, although DonQui does not buy any more wine as post Brexit rules only allow him to bring 18 litres back to the UK.

DonQui’s final stop is the beautiful city of Colmar. From here he will cross the Rhine and head over to Germany.

All in all the Route des vins d’Alsace makes for a most enjoyable day out — leaving his car heavier (with cases of wine) and his wallet lighter.

Road Trip!

~ donquioaty ~ 2 Comments

DonQui Oaty is excited to be off on his travels again. This time it is a road trip through France, Germany (a bit of Austria) and Italy. 

So passport in hand and car fully serviced with new front tyres, he sets off on the first stage. He is heading for Alsace but intends to break his trip at Arras. 

Actually his first break is at the channel tunnel where he encounters a massive traffic jam trying to get out of the terminal carpark and into the border control lanes. Designed when one could just wizz through, the traffic management is not set up to deal with detailed passport checks — yet another of the Brexit ‘benefits’ along with higher food prices and critical labour shortages. Even though he arrived more than 1 hour ahead of time, Donqui misses his booked train and has to catch the next one.

Arras is a very pleasant town with lots of good watering holes around the Place des Héros. DonQui is glad to have stopped here.

It looks a lot better now than it did in 1917 when it was the centre of a British offensive in the First World War. The above photo being the same square where DonQui stops for a drink more than a century later.

Arras is twinned with Ipswich, close to DonQui’s home paddock in Suffolk. The Place d’Ipswich comes complete with a familiar looking phone booth.

After another drink and a decent meal, DonQui will resume his trip in the morning.

On Road and Trail

~ donquioaty ~ 3 Comments

After a hearty breakfast of french toast and bottomless cups of coffee, DonQui is ready to hit the road again.

He hastens to add that this is not the vehicle he will be driving, although it would probably be a bit of fun to do so.

The bleak, open, desert landscape is striking…

… and the road seems to go on forever.

It looks like some pretty nasty weather up ahead. Sure enough, when it reaches him, it brings driving snow and blizzard-like conditions. Fortunately DonQui is soon through it and out the other end.

He skirts the southern end of Death Valley, which today does not quite live up to its reputation for brutal heat. Then DonQui approaches Clark Mountain pass.

Once through the pass the drive takes him down to the flat lands of Dry Lake and the Nevada state line.

Crossing into Nevada, DonQui heads off on a small road through Spring Mountains. Unfortunately they look anything but Spring-like thanks to the unusually cold, snowy weather.

Five hours after setting off from Joshua Tree, DonQui reaches his destination. This is Sandy Valley Ranch.

Here DonQui trots along the Old Spanish Trail together with a couple of horses and a wrangler called Randy.

The desert views along the trail are starkly beautiful.

DonQui’s trail guide is a most pleasant companion. His horse, however, is not keen to be seen engaging in conversation with a Donkey.