Rhine River, Alsace, and Mosel River cycle tour – Episode 5

This is part five (out of seven) of our cycle trip from Andermatt, Switzerland northward along the Eurovelo 15 and 5 routes. In this video we continue cycling through the vineyards of the Alsace Wine Route from Colmar, France, through Strasbourg, France to Offenberg, Germany where we take several trains to Luxembourg to start our cycle down the Mosel River.

hi I’m David And I’m Lesie And we enjoy spending our vacations traveling around the world by bicycle On some previous trips we cycled around Sweden and Denmark marveling at the amazing cycle path there A couple summers ago we flew into Paris We made our way to the Lir Valley and cycled around there for a few weeks It was amazing Mostly though we spent some great time here in Ontario marveling at the wonderful landscape that we live in We’re starting this trip at the end of June 2024 and plan to spend about 3 weeks cycling largely north on the Eurov 15 We flew into Frankfurt spent the night assembled our bikes and then took a train to Andermmont Switzerland where we then cycled down 15 through Likensstein and Austria to Basil Switzerland Then we cycled a little bit west towards the UVL 5 and cycled through the Alsace region through Strawburg and then cycled back into Germany to Offenberg and then took a train to Luxembourg where we cycled over towards the Moselle River down the Moselle River to Coblans and then back up on the Rine and ended in mines where we took a train back to Frankfurt In this fifth video from our trip we start in Kmar and we pedal through the vineyards on the foothills of the Voge through some interesting Alsatian towns like Rickwear Reboville and Burghheim We stopped at our first winery in the Alsace for a wine tasting And then we arrived a couple hours later in the city of Obernai where we spent the night The next morning we continued northward heading towards Strawburg Went through the city of Mullshime and along cycled along a a very old canal called the canal de Brush before arriving in Strawburg where we spent uh two nights When leaving Strawburg we then cycled back towards the Ryan River to the city of Offenberg in Germany where we got on the first of three trains that eventually led us to Lux City of Luxembourg [Music] [Music] All [Music] [Music] right it’s back on the road after a day in Kmar Well hanging around the uh the uh the canals and old buildings And now we’re heading back towards the Voge Mountains ahead of us through the vineyards that encircle seemingly encircle Kmar We have about a 70 km ride today to get to Obernai Uh going through a couple of old medieval towns We had some a nice dinner last night Some nice wines from the region last night And uh can’t complain It’s 20° Chance of rain maybe thunderstorms but I think it’s should be a nice weather morning Go left here Yep Bummer Bummer Onto the onto the gravel A bumpy Very old asphalt And gravel And then gravel Yeah Can’t let them all and the crows want to feed into So we did learn yesterday at a wine tasting that during World War II most of the vines around here were destroyed So almost all the grape vines in the region are no older than the 1940s Think that might be ingashim or turkim I’m not sure Pedaling through the grape vines Think we’re headed up in that direction Right This is a far as you can see [Music] The small medieval towns near Strasburg in the Elsas are known for their storybook charm and half-timbered houses cobbled streets and a rich blend of French and German heritage Towns like Obernai Roberville Rickquer Iguashim and Kaiserberg are especially picturesque and we were lucky to go through a few of them They feature colorful architecture historic castles flowered balconies and are often surrounded by the vineyards that we’ve just ridden through But it’s too long to be at the end See it that building on the right looks like a different stone of timber [Music] Yeah Turn right here We’re climbing this town [Music] One of our hobbies is geocaching So we were able to stop a few times and get some geocaches in the Elsas 29 That’s what it says [Music] The haircut cutting places are open Something you only see on the highways in France are lost baguettes Second one row on this little busy stretch here of nice little fountain Oh no drinking I was all set to drink this one Will town This looks like Switzerland Left turn here Yeah They got whatever these flowers are They’re making a lot of them in France Is that [Music] people This is a nice view isn’t it Come on [Music] This is kind of got a bump in there More ramp parts After riding through so many vineyards it was great to stop at a winery Domain Arman Gilg was a historic winery that’s been in one family since the 1600s with sellers dating back to the 1500s This little town that it was located in was called Middle Burg And it was really one of the most beautiful villages we visited in Alsace We were able to taste a few wines including the Pino Gree and Seror and we learned all about the Grand Crew It was a really fabulous visit The woman was very generous knowing that we were on our bikes and couldn’t buy any wine [Music] Then we go straight through the roundabout [Music] everywhere Still mega bumpy We arrived in Overnight in the early afternoon and it’s a another one of those absolutely adorable historic towns of the Alsas but this one has some Roman origins which is really interesting Um it was a one of those towns that went back and forth in the Renaissance uh and the Middle Ages between French and German control Eventually it became part of modern France Uh but it’s really celebrated for its beautiful medieval charm at wine culture and that combined French German heritage We’re going to pull up to see what the hotel is Wow Turn [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] back on the road on a Saturday morning the eve Good pastel day and we are leaving overnight It’s uh officially 15 but it feels warmer in the sun I think the high is 23 today which is very pleasant about a 40 km ride to Straborg where we have two nights and laundry and a Michelin star dinner at Oak Crocodile And the ride today I think is supposed to be mostly downhill There’s a a noticeable bump in the topographic profile though midway between So there’s going to be a climb somewhere But I think we’re leaving the the Voge foothills and wineries today vineyards today as we head to Strawburg We had a 26 m climb leaving overnight right out of the gate which got the blood going And uh that’s it So these little metal these stone trough things if they were old um horse feet watering troughs Yeah This is pretty You’re frequently reminded that this is an active agricultural area and so you often encounter uh not tractors this large often but smaller vineyard tractors uh going in and out of the vineyards and crossing the path you’re cycling along Oh this is a smooth looking uh cobble I think I’m liking this town already Did you pick Yeah Yeah As we learned at the winery we visited the wines of the Alsas are renowned for their aromatic and expressive white wines primarily made from grapes such as rezling garter pinogree and muscat The region’s unique teroir influenced by the Voj mountains in the rine river contribute to what many say is a distinct character of the wines Also notable for the Grand Crew vineyards These we learned represent the pinnacle of the quality of the region So there are 51 designated Grand Crew sites um which are all recognized for their exceptional teroir and it’s a combination of soil climate exposure and all those things together create wines of remarkable complexity and longevity Oh that’s a big church It’s ginormous Look at this Cat and a dog had a runner Close your eye Close your eye That’s a store Oh in the tree Yeah for sure More slimes Oh sure It’s like a little canal continues for a while I think [Music] Little geese with their babies [Music] The canal douche is a 20 km canal in eastern France It was built way back in 1682 to transport sandstone from the Vo Mountains to Strasburg for its fortifications It featured 11 locks altogether and was used for commercial transport until 1939 It officially closed in 57 but today it remains as a scenic water-filled route with a cycling path along an old toe path part of the Eurova 5 trail which we are following And it’s known for its natural beauty and its truly historic charm [Music] We arrived in Strawburg in the early afternoon and then got ready for our splurge dinner of our trip a meal at Okraadil in Strawburg a one-star Michelin restaurant And it was fantastic to see all the sights of Strawburg We had decided to spend a rest day here [Music] Well this was supposed to be a rest day from our bicycles to see everything we wanted to see We realized we couldn’t do it on foot and we got on our bikes The first stop was the Barrage Voban which is a 17th century defensive dam and bridge built in the late 1600s It was meant to be able to flood the southern part of the city in case of an attack But today it’s a beautiful covered walkway sculpture gallery rooftop viewing platform It’s really a a beautiful spot to stop and see the sites [Music] What is this This [Music] [Music] So just behind the museum [Music] today [Music] the Grand Canal Circles This is the museum We think the palace [Music] and the cathedral not de Strawburg is one of Europe’s most iconic churches built between the 11th and 15th century at 142 m It held the record of the tallest building in the world for almost 200 years We went up to the rooftop platform to see spectacular views of Strawburg And you could also see the etched graffiti left behind by people who had gone up there over the centuries [Music] Leaving Strazburg on our race to the train in Alenberg 27 km It’s a busy day on the cycle path in Strabber We’re cycling down to the rine and up out of the rine a little bit to get to a three terrain trip to capital of Luxembourg which is Luxembourg and uh like yesterday not a lot of cars on the road a few more and more cyclists Pleasant morning it’s like 18 17° and supposed to be 28 or so today [Music] So now we’re crossing the rind There’s a couple Viking boats on either side of us here Strawberry goes back there going over this very cool bridge and see the other side of the Ryan Hills over there [Music] This morning we’re leaving Strawburg to get on the first of three trains in Offenburg Germany which will eventually get us over to Luxembourg with the intention of getting to the Moselle River which you’ll see in subsequent videos A lot of wobbling going on See if this is to go zooming past trying to race us now Oh that’s not a slug Thank you [Music] The boys are all here Boys are all racing us This bike’s coming up too come out Don’t care We had booked our train tickets but we didn’t have uh reserved spaces for our bicycles although they were allowing bicycles on the train So every time we got on a new train it was a bit of a scramble and a fight to get some space Uh there are people with dogs and and there were lots of bicycles and lots of standing up for the the three hours or so for that day but it was actually fairly easy to arrange and there were a few of the trips where we had designated parking spots for the bikes We arrived in Luxembourg City in the early afternoon in the rain Um Luxembourg city obviously the capital of Luxembourg It really was a interesting blend of historic charm and modern institutions and a lot of natural beauty Actually the old town and fortifications are a UNESCO World Heritage site and really dramatic geography to to marvel at with deep gorgees and rivers cutting the city apart And they put in this amazing panoramic elevator that we uh went up It was fantastic even in the rain [Music] Keep an eye out for the next video when we cycle from Luxembourg over into the Moselle watershed and then start cycling down the Moselle towards where it meets the Rine