Colmar ist eine bezaubernde Stadt, aber es ist großartig, die umliegenden Städte, Dörfer und die mit Weinbergen bedeckte Landschaft zu erkunden. Dieser von Ophorus Tours organisierte Tagesausflug war die perfekte Gelegenheit. Unser Reiseleiter war Thierry, der uns wunderbar alles über das Elsass erklärte. Er hatte einen wunderbaren Sinn für Humor und umfassende Kenntnisse der Region, die er auf informative und unterhaltsame Weise vermittelte. Der neunsitzige Van, in dem wir reisten, war komfortabel und hielt häufig und pünktlich an. Wir begannen mit einer angenehmen Weinprobe in Eguisheim, gefolgt von einem Spaziergang durch die malerischen Ringstraßen innerhalb der alten Mauern. Wir hatten die Gelegenheit, uns andere Städte wie Turckheim anzusehen, bevor wir in Riquewihr Zeit zur freien Verfügung hatten, einschließlich Mittagessen. Thierry wies auf geeignete Restaurants zur Auswahl hin. Der Höhepunkt am Nachmittag war ein Besuch des Schlosses Haut Koenigsbourg. Thierry war bereits zuvor dort als Reiseführer tätig und konnte so die Geschichte des Ortes für uns fachmännisch lebendig werden lassen. Es war eine wunderbare Tour, die wir wärmstens empfehlen können.
We enjoyed a wonderful day of beautiful towns, a castle, history, shops, lunch and wine tasting. Myself, au pair, and 2 children were thoroughly entertained and enjoyed learning so much about the region. I highly recommend and would do another tour when we return to the area.
From tasting the best of Alsace to lovely villages and chateaux and castles to some really great lunches to Colmar's Statue of Liberty (just like ours but not as tall), our three days with Pieter went by far too quickly.
We had a very general idea of what we wanted, Pieter filled it in with energy, experise, and enthusiasm.
Beginning with the 7 main grapes of Alsace and vineyards in the hills, we visited small boutique wineries to large super-colossal establishments and all were pertinent, tasty, and, well, fun!
Most importantly, wines presented & tasted were well planned, chosen with purpose, their place explained thoroughly: compare and contrast.
We visited a friend of Pieter's who is building an earth-friendly modern winery -- we interrupted their construction to say hello. We went to a winery guarded by a blind dog, he never moved. We went to the greatest Christmas store in the world. Castles, chateaux, quaint towns -- I don't know how we packed so much into 3 days.
And, of course, the wine. Red, white, and rosé, still, bubbly, and sparkling, sweet, dry or in-between -- truly we had it all.
Pieter's English is perfect, his French must be good because he fits in like a Frenchman, and he seems to know everybody and everything pertinent in the region.
We had such a great time, we're trying to get him over to Bordeaux next September for another visit to other vineyards.