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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 2173788" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>We spent a pleasant day exploring the northern stretch of the wine route which, despite being less inhabited than the southern part, is nevertheless worth seeing. We were a long way from the motorway, its snarled up traffic, and the surrounding roads. After seeing many of the vineyards on that stretch of the route, we turned off and headed across the Vosges to give our guests some spectacular views of this chain of mountains. In winter, skiers make a beeline for the Alsace ski slopes so the tourism infrastructure is pretty good, right down to the sign posting and the well surfaced roads.</p><p></p><p>We had lunch in a village inn whose name now escapes me. We stopped in the afternoon for a coffee and followed that by taking a meandering route back to Andlau and thence to our B&B.</p><p></p><p>For dinner we drove about 5 minutes to Le Hohwald where we had spotted a restaurant which appeared promising and after studying the menu we went in. And we hadn’t been misled. The food, wine and service were spot on, the choices on the menu were nicely varied, the wines were local and reasonably priced, while the ambiance was warm and friendly.</p><p></p><p>We enjoyed an excellent meal and stretched it out as long as was reasonably possible. As we left I spotted a number of shelves, all loaded with jars. My curiosity got the better of me and I stopped to read the labels. A small sign told me that the jars contained jams of different flavours, all of which had been made by the owner’s father. I sighed regretfully: home made jam made of garden-grown fruit and woodland berries is potentially a spear in a diabetic’s BS levels.</p><p></p><p>We suggested next morning that we follow the wine route south until we came to the turnoff for St Odile’s monastery and thence to the mountain top retreat. St Odile’s is one of the most spectacularly situated monasteries I have ever visited. It sits atop Mont St Odile and gives a vista all the way down to the Rhine plain and, when the weather is clear, as far as Germany. There was plenty of parking close to the monastery so Jackie didn’t have far to walk.</p><p></p><p>We undertook a circumnavigation of the walls to take in the views of the surrounding countryside. That was followed by an exploration of the monastery’s buildings. Part of it has been converted into a hotel with a restaurant, while other sections are exactly as they were when begun in the (believed to be) 7th century.</p><p></p><p>The next day’s excursion was further down the wine route to Haut Koenigsbourg Castle. This is a beautifully restored 12th century castle which sits atop a mountain and has views for miles over the plains below. The views are even more spectacular than one sees from St Odile’s Monastery. The drive to the mountain’s peak is fascinating as one twists and turns , catching glimpses of the Rhine or small valleys that are little more than clefts in the mountainside.</p><p></p><p>As we came to the stretch of road where parking for the castle is permitted I felt a pang for Jackie, as the road we traversed had no space available to park. If we had to park at the bottom of the slope the walk uphill would have been agony for her, so the only viable option was to drop Jackie, Vickie and Mike at the top close to the castle entrance, then follow the road down (castle access is a loop of road) and park wherever I could before trudging uphill to join them.</p><p></p><p>At the top Jackie and Vickie climbed out but Mike said he’d stay with me so we started downhill and after about 100 metres the most beautiful sight hove into view: a perfectly sized gap in the line of cars which my car would easily fit into. We grabbed it and returned to our wives, who were expecting a much longer wait and were indulging in a little refreshment at a stand near the castle entrance.</p><p></p><p>We made for the entrance when they had finished their drinks which is quite a walk. Jackie surprised me by walking the whole distance without even once wincing. I asked if she was OK and she said that she had no pain whatsoever. After passing through the castle’s main gate I left Jackie while I went to find the ticket office and a toilet. Once having visited the facilities I easily found the ticket office, even though it was a bit of a walk, so Jackie was wise to wait below while I, with our guests, walked for what seemed ages to the ticket office.</p><p></p><p>Armed with tickets we rejoined Jackie and passed into the castle’s interior. We had visited this castle many years before but renovations had been ongoing so now we were able to enjoy the results of the years of work. The route we followed through the halls, towers, courtyards and interior chambers was pretty hard going and I was keeping a close eye on Jackie. Strangely, I thought, I could see no sign of the strained look that appears on her face when her knee and legs are at their worst. I asked how she was feeling and she reassured me that she was fine.That’s the strange thing about spinal stenosis, some days she’s unable to walk 300 yards without suffering agonies, but then along comes a day that would normally have her in its painful throes. I’m hoping she’ll be on the operating table as soon as possible as this, we’ve been told, has become a routine procedure and the relief afterwards is immediate.</p><p></p><p>Having finished our tour of the castle we adjourned to the restaurant adjacent to the castle for some lunch. The quiche lorraine with salad looked pretty good to both of us so that’s what we ordered. Mike and Vickie tried the pate with salad and fresh baguette. We enjoyed the meal then sat chatting over coffee before adjourning to the car and taking a winding route back to the B&B.</p><p></p><p>For dinner that evening we returned to the first restaurant we tried and I can assure you that Vickie did not order the trout on our second visit.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 2173788, member: 9985"] We spent a pleasant day exploring the northern stretch of the wine route which, despite being less inhabited than the southern part, is nevertheless worth seeing. We were a long way from the motorway, its snarled up traffic, and the surrounding roads. After seeing many of the vineyards on that stretch of the route, we turned off and headed across the Vosges to give our guests some spectacular views of this chain of mountains. In winter, skiers make a beeline for the Alsace ski slopes so the tourism infrastructure is pretty good, right down to the sign posting and the well surfaced roads. We had lunch in a village inn whose name now escapes me. We stopped in the afternoon for a coffee and followed that by taking a meandering route back to Andlau and thence to our B&B. For dinner we drove about 5 minutes to Le Hohwald where we had spotted a restaurant which appeared promising and after studying the menu we went in. And we hadn’t been misled. The food, wine and service were spot on, the choices on the menu were nicely varied, the wines were local and reasonably priced, while the ambiance was warm and friendly. We enjoyed an excellent meal and stretched it out as long as was reasonably possible. As we left I spotted a number of shelves, all loaded with jars. My curiosity got the better of me and I stopped to read the labels. A small sign told me that the jars contained jams of different flavours, all of which had been made by the owner’s father. I sighed regretfully: home made jam made of garden-grown fruit and woodland berries is potentially a spear in a diabetic’s BS levels. We suggested next morning that we follow the wine route south until we came to the turnoff for St Odile’s monastery and thence to the mountain top retreat. St Odile’s is one of the most spectacularly situated monasteries I have ever visited. It sits atop Mont St Odile and gives a vista all the way down to the Rhine plain and, when the weather is clear, as far as Germany. There was plenty of parking close to the monastery so Jackie didn’t have far to walk. We undertook a circumnavigation of the walls to take in the views of the surrounding countryside. That was followed by an exploration of the monastery’s buildings. Part of it has been converted into a hotel with a restaurant, while other sections are exactly as they were when begun in the (believed to be) 7th century. The next day’s excursion was further down the wine route to Haut Koenigsbourg Castle. This is a beautifully restored 12th century castle which sits atop a mountain and has views for miles over the plains below. The views are even more spectacular than one sees from St Odile’s Monastery. The drive to the mountain’s peak is fascinating as one twists and turns , catching glimpses of the Rhine or small valleys that are little more than clefts in the mountainside. As we came to the stretch of road where parking for the castle is permitted I felt a pang for Jackie, as the road we traversed had no space available to park. If we had to park at the bottom of the slope the walk uphill would have been agony for her, so the only viable option was to drop Jackie, Vickie and Mike at the top close to the castle entrance, then follow the road down (castle access is a loop of road) and park wherever I could before trudging uphill to join them. At the top Jackie and Vickie climbed out but Mike said he’d stay with me so we started downhill and after about 100 metres the most beautiful sight hove into view: a perfectly sized gap in the line of cars which my car would easily fit into. We grabbed it and returned to our wives, who were expecting a much longer wait and were indulging in a little refreshment at a stand near the castle entrance. We made for the entrance when they had finished their drinks which is quite a walk. Jackie surprised me by walking the whole distance without even once wincing. I asked if she was OK and she said that she had no pain whatsoever. After passing through the castle’s main gate I left Jackie while I went to find the ticket office and a toilet. Once having visited the facilities I easily found the ticket office, even though it was a bit of a walk, so Jackie was wise to wait below while I, with our guests, walked for what seemed ages to the ticket office. Armed with tickets we rejoined Jackie and passed into the castle’s interior. We had visited this castle many years before but renovations had been ongoing so now we were able to enjoy the results of the years of work. The route we followed through the halls, towers, courtyards and interior chambers was pretty hard going and I was keeping a close eye on Jackie. Strangely, I thought, I could see no sign of the strained look that appears on her face when her knee and legs are at their worst. I asked how she was feeling and she reassured me that she was fine.That’s the strange thing about spinal stenosis, some days she’s unable to walk 300 yards without suffering agonies, but then along comes a day that would normally have her in its painful throes. I’m hoping she’ll be on the operating table as soon as possible as this, we’ve been told, has become a routine procedure and the relief afterwards is immediate. Having finished our tour of the castle we adjourned to the restaurant adjacent to the castle for some lunch. The quiche lorraine with salad looked pretty good to both of us so that’s what we ordered. Mike and Vickie tried the pate with salad and fresh baguette. We enjoyed the meal then sat chatting over coffee before adjourning to the car and taking a winding route back to the B&B. For dinner that evening we returned to the first restaurant we tried and I can assure you that Vickie did not order the trout on our second visit. [/QUOTE]
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