September 18: Neuburg to Dammheim
Click on small photos for a full size picture.
The morning dawns clear and nice. As we prep the bike, a group of Italian businessmen (late arriving guests of the hotel) come by to take a look at the bike. Though our Italian is rudimentary, again we can get the message across - even Hugo jumps in with a bit of translation.
Though our original plan was to follow the Rhine north, we decide to take a
side trip into another wine region, following a route called the Winestrasse,
that winds trough France and Germany. 
We ride back to Lauterbourg to the now-open tourist office to check on lodging for the evening. The office worker is not particularly enthusiastic about helping us, so we decide to push on and hope for the best.
The Winestrasse starts off flat, then quickly becomes hilly 
as we cross through vineyards. 
The villages are decorated with grape vines... 
After 10 miles or so of slow climbing, we change plans and decide to head back
to the Rhine river plain.
Get your Neuer Wine here... as we travel through the wine
country, we see signs at wineries and roadside stands for "neuer
wine" or "new wine". Finally, outside Landau, we stop
at a roadside stand and try a taste. 
Hmmmm, not bad. The minimum purchase is 2 liters (more than a half
gallon) for 6 Euros, so we buy a jug and add it to the rest of the stuff
hanging from the bike. The guy at the stand cautions Jayne about
drinking too much, that new wine is strong. Little did we know what
he meant...
As we settle into our room, we break out the new wine and have a couple of glasses, then head out to dinner. When we return, we keep hearing a persistent high-pitched whistling sound. Finally we figure out where the noise is coming from - the jug of wine. Is this stuff still fermenting? We never find out, but over the next 24 hours we are an awfully flatulent pair. |
Landau, our planned overnight spot just doesn't feel right, so we push on to a suburb, where we book a room in a guesthouse. There's only one restaurant in town, a Portuguese place, but the food is pretty good.