Cycling to Turckheim

It was very foggy and cold when we woke up. We got ready slowly and then got on our bikes for a cycle north up the Alsace Vine Route to Turckheim. We went through lots of vineyards - and where vines are everywhere in the middle of towns - and arrived at the Fecht River and Turckheim. It is a walled village and we went through the main gate seeing lots of old framed houses on the other side.

The plaque gave the history of viticulture in Turckheim starting from the abbey in the 9th century.

We wandered around checking out the 12th century church - of course.

We walked up to the back of the village to the other gate. A plaque honored the men who had held this gate against the Germans until the allies arrived in August 1944 - and therefore saved the village from ruin. There is also a museum about the village at here.

We walked back to the centre of the village and found a small bistro to have a snack of a tarte flambé- basically a very thin based pizza with cheese, ham and onions - or other toppings - a nice snack.

After lunch we went to check out Stork Park - we weren’t sure what it was. We found about 5 storks in a cage there, maybe injured. There was a plaque explaining there had been a decrease in the population in the 1970s and 80s. They took some measures to address the decline and now they have more storks every year. On the way back we saw a stork out and about on the football field.

We saw that rain was on the way so we got back on our bikes and started pedaling as fast as we could go. The rain did start as we were on our way but as we took the most direct route through villages and grapevines - sorry didn’t stop to take photos - we were soon back at the campsite.

It was nice being back in the van with the cold and wet outside. We only need to turn on the heater for 10 minutes and then the van is very warm for the night.

We had a great movie night in watching the Fall Guy with Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling filmed in Sydney during covid. There was lots of action - and we recognized lots of locations around Sydney - a lot around Sydney Harbour.

We went to bed warm and happy - with the sound of rain and leaves still falling on the roof.