Sunday drive

On the last day in Strasbourg a friend took me on an excursion around the area. Most of the time I was there I stayed in the city, shuttling between supermarkets and shopping malls, between hospitals and pharmarcies on all kinds of errand rounds. So it was pleasant for a change to get out into the countryside.

In the beginning we didn't really have a destination or objective we could decide on. Like me , this friend sort of lives on the spur of the moment, and we agreed from sharing many of our travel stories and experiences that sometimes "The way is the objective" (Der Weg ist das Ziel).


Chateau Koenigsbourg

So we just drove, not sure where we would eventually end up, only knowing that it would be somewhere away, to somewhere peaceful and quiet. Soon green open fields flashed by, as mountains came closer and closer into sight. Perched on top of some mountain tops were castles and monasteries, overlooking sprinklings of houses and church towers in a scene remniscent of tales of Medieval Europe.


Vineyards


old Alsatian style houses


Houses in Bergheim

Just driving around, sometimes aimlessly, at times lost, and once being stuck in the middle of a corn field, I discovered that sense of freedom again that travellers enjoy. Go wherever, be wherever, at your own pace.

We drove through wine country, along part of the 'Route des Vins', which stretches hundreds of kilometers through valleys and mountains dotted with neatly cultivated vineyards and picturesque romantic villages. Alsace at its best, as far I know it.