Exploring The Wissembourg Area
The excellent Office de Tourisme, Wissembourg (e-mail: tourisme.wissembourg@wanadoo.fr) had mailed me lots of information including options for day hiking around the area. We chose to do the Cross-border Vineyard Circuit today, about 8 kms/4+ miles with red ring markings the entire way. Wissembourg is almost exactly on the border of Germany and this walk would take us through a forest and vineyards to Schweigen, the beginning of the German Wine Road and then return to the center of Wissembourg on a different route. But first....breakfast!
After the skimpy breakfast from yesterday, we did some major chowing down. Entire baguettes, croissants, yoghurt, fruit, meusli, juice and coffee. It's sunny today but a little on the cold side which makes it perfect walking weather. On the return, we'll take more time to take the circuit touristique and photograph the important landmarks. Leaving Wissembourg, we walked by House of the Friend Fritz, an old tanner's house on Faubourg de Bitche - an area that was once a swamp...
..continued on past an old mill...and the beautiful Hotel-Restaurant au Moulin de La Walk... We had considered staying at this hotel and were glad we didn't...it would have been a considerable walk out of town. You definitely need a car to stay here.
A right turn up the street and a very steep incline into the forest with....Walnut trees...laden with ripening walnuts and falling on the ground...
This trip is turning out to be a landmark horticultural trip for city girl, me. More grapes, apple trees, umpteen wild berry bushes, chestnuts, more walnuts and some kind of bushes with what I think were wild plums. I picked one, smooshed it and there was a small pit inside. Plums?
Out through the forest, and into the vineyards with Wissembourg in the distance...
