Day 71 – new city day
Aug 6 (Wed) – to Riquewihr
- After our (boring AF) typical European breakfast, we walked from hotel to our bus. There are no trains to Riquewihr, and the bus is only 25 minutes. At the stop, we happened to see our new friends again.
- During the very pretty drive, our bus driver circled a roundabout an extra time so people could get photos of a mini statue of liberty. One lady had an out-loud “a ha!” moment when the driver asked “everyone good?” during the circle, to ensure everyone had photos.
- Even the short walk from the bus stop to our hotel was picturesque.
- Since we were early, we took a seat to figure out what to do. Shortly after the noon church bells, we heard an air-raid siren. Apparently, in France, the towns test their sirens every first Wednesday. These are used to notify citizens of an emergency. I guess we hadn’t yet been in France on a first Wednesday. We dropped our bags and headed to the little old town of Riquewihr.
- We found a nice shady spot for lunch. He had roesti poulet and I had a tarte flambé (super similar to pizza).
- The town is uphill, so after we walked more of it, we stopped for a drink break at a random hotel bar.
- By the time we got back to our hotel, we could check-in.
- We were thrilled to find the AirCon was cold and blew right on the bed. Nice!
- We returned to the little old town for dinner at Bistrot Moderne. We both ordered the same steak–rindertfilet, pommes, und salat–so they served it family style in twin cast iron dishes. Their house-made salad dressing was some of the best I’ve ever had. I didn’t ask for the recipe, but I could tell it’s a guarded secret.
- Our hotel had a Hamamm, which is crazy cool for a Best Western, especially one way out in the country! So, we showered, “swam” in the indoor pool, sat in the 45ºC/113ºF steam room for like 2 minutes maybe, sat in the 40ºC/104ºF (but it did NOT feel that hot) dry sauna for 15 minutes, showered again, and felt like jello after it all. What a luxury.
Day 72 – Riquewihr
Aug 7 (Thu) – Wine Tastings are free?
- Apparently, we were very relaxed (and maybe a little extra tired from the heat) because we didn’t wake up until 1pm.
- For “brunch”, we found a semi-pre-fixe menu of “mimosa” (deviled) eggs, roast/ravioli, and dessert. I found the ravioli’s pasta too dense, so I just ate the filling.
- Wine Tastings
- We went to a wine tasting, but we had to ring a bell for admission. I felt like we woke her up from her nap. So, it was the fastest wine tasting in the world, and I left with an affordable bottle.
- Not to be dismayed, we went to another wine tasting. It was more touristy (and was, you know, actually open). There, I had the second fastest wine tasting in the world, and left with another affordable bottle.
- It’s very different than the US ones. First, the tastings are free. I don’t know how many is fair to expect to try because there seem to be no rules. The Alsace region is nearly all white wines, which aren’t my favorite. So, I didn’t want to try too many or buy too much. But it really does seem like you could go in, taste everything for free, and leave without paying for anything. I’m used to “our tasting is $15 and you get to pick five off this list” kind of tastings.
- Knowing it’s off the beaten path, we stopped again for drinks at the same random hotel bar before heading back to our hotel to get out of the heat. For our afternoon siesta, we cooled off, planned our next town, and booked our next hotel.
- Looking for dinner took a while. It’s weird because no one eats until at least 7pm, but everything closes at 9pm. I thought I was ordering a pot pie (and was confused it didn’t come in chicken, but was instead ordering a pot roast. I felt bad that I couldn’t finish it, but the server assured me that it’s normal.
- Back at our hotel, we had another evening in the Hamamm, but this time we skipped the pool so we wouldn’t have to get our suits wet before travelling the next day.
