We got a fairly early start, even though we knew it would be a shortish day, but now that we are in the foothills of the Vosges, we have to work a little harder than we were used to. But none of the hills were anything like that one killer of yesterday, and we did quite well. We knew we had time, so we took it, stopping quite often along the way.
Our first major stop was in Barr, where we found a bench in the town centre and had a snack of peanut butter and jam on bread (feeling the need for some protein after our breakfast at the B&B). The French petit déjeuner really is a “small breakfast.” Bread and jam only takes you so far on a cycling trip.
Then we wound our way through village after tiny village nestled among the vineyards, each more picturesque than the last. The Route des vignobles has been really wonderful so far. The signage is mostly excellent and easy to follow (the Meuse and Ardennes départements could take a lesson from Alsace), and for the most part, it takes you through vineyard roads from which most vehicles are barred, or along fairly quiet stretches of secondary roads. It’s not stressful at all.
We had lunch at a random picnic table sitting just outside a vineyard, and then carried on with the last stretch of our journey. We passed through the town of Châtenois, which was holding a medieval festival. We pushed our bikes through the crowds to have a look; it ended up being quite kitsch, as these things so often are, but it made a nice change of pace. From there it was just another 5 kilometres to Orschwiller and our lodgings for the night. We picked up a bottle of Pinot Blanc from the local wine coop as an apéro and then had a lovely dinner at basically the only restaurant in town.
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