Mittelbergheim back to Hinsbourg

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The extreme heat that we are experiencing on this motorhome trip through France to the Alsace is causing us problems, the reality is that the weather is too hot. We have not found any relief from the high temperatures. We have visited wine producers, sampled their wines and purchased quite a lot, now that the UK has left the EU we can not take back as much wine as we want, we are limited to our duty free allowance, that’s 24 bottles of still wine each plus either 4.5 litres of spirits or 12 bottles of sparkling wine.

Between us we can take back 48 bottles of still wine plus 24 bottles of sparkling wines, we don’t want spirits. We have decided that we will head back to the higher elevation of Hinsbourg and stay on the municipal campsite again. The day begins with breakfast here on the parking lot at Mittelbergheim, also known as Zotzenberg, after breakfast I take a walk, very slowly, up the hill on a marked footpath. There is a series of signs inviting you to bring drawing materials and sketch or paint, a super idea. I have my watercolours and drawing materials in the Hymer, but decide that they can stay there due to the heat, I’ve tried watercolour before in hot dry conditions and found it challenging. You have to keep the paper very wet and work quickly otherwise the paint dries then you can’t do much with it. I walk slowly up the hill to the View Point of Zotzenberg, a wonderful spot to look around over the surrounding country.

Then a little further to Rippelsholz, a kind of event or picnic area on the top of the hill between Mittelbergheim and Barr, extensive views over both towns. This is indeed a great place for sketching and painting. I think it would be worth a return visit in cooler conditions.

I descend the hill slowly, the heat is building up already. We pack up and leave, on the way we decide to go back to Marlenheim and visit different wine producers there, it’s on our way so no diversion is needed. We found a place to park on the main street, then went to the tasting rooms of Domaine Fritsch Romain et Jérémie, very close and on the main street. A warm welcome from Romain, a man of a certain age, another wine lover and another who just loves sharing his wine. We tasted a selection and we very pleased with what we tasted. In fact it’s unusual if we come across wines that we don’t like in the Alsace. The wine producers are mostly small, which means that they don’t produce enough wine to sell into the big supermarkets. Romain told us that his business produces around 40 thousand bottles a year, while the big commercial concerns are producing around 15 million bottles. We love the differences, the grape varieties, the soils, climate conditions — all contribute to produce wines that are unique to the area. That’s what we can’t get in the UK because it’s hard for the producers to sell into our market in relatively small quantities, say 500 to 1,000 bottles. We emerge from Domaine Fritsch laden down with more wine, of course we’re now over the amount that we can take back to England, but that’s not going to be a problem, we’ll drink some before heading for home.

The journey back to Hinsbourg is uneventful, we arrive back at the municipal campsite early afternoon, then read the cards outside reception to find out which pitches are booked before taking up residence near the shower block. There is a completely different mix of people here now, many with tents, it seems strange to see a small tent on a large pitch. When I go to pay for the pitch the woman at reception tells me that there is a party in the village tonight. Thursday nights in July and August is party night at the Sale des Fêtes in Hinsbourg and everyone is invited. I tell Gill when I return. A German man that we met near the campsite told us about the party, with a dance band and food, he recommends it. With our English reserve we ‘consider it’ and wonder what goes on. Maybe we should go and see what happens there.

After our evening meal we take a slow walk into Hinsbourg and are really surprised by the number of cars parked at the sale des fêtes, not at all what we expected. Entrance to the dance is free, inside the building are rows of tables, a stage with the dance band, dancing in progress. A helpful waitress who spoke good English told us what happens and sat us down, then took an order for drinks. All very reasonable prices too. Food is available at the other side of the hall, you go and purchase a ticket for what you want then get in line to collect. The food is cooked to order. Very well organised and reasonable prices. We sat and ate, watched the dancing and took in the atmosphere. A really good evening out for us and all the people there. Later we ambled across the road and watched a ball of orange fire descend behind the trees, still very hot.

This motorhome tour through France to the Alsace has been very tiring because of the heat, we have not had the energy to explore more places, that’s not our style, we are usually out visiting towns and historical sites on our travels. We decide that we will stay here at Hinsbourg then start the journey back home. There’s always a great reluctance in my mind to make that decision, I find the freedom of travel in our motorhome so exciting, it’s a kind of release from the regular activity even though we are no longer working. We stay at Hinsbourg several nights, walk in the forest, across the local footpaths and enjoy the comings and going around the campsite.

We have neighbours from various countries, the teenage girls can be nuisance, they are always together in the toilet block looking at themselves in the mirrors, I guess that’s what teenage girls do. Over the next few days we plan our return journey, to Trier in Germany, then back through Belgium to Calais. I booked a Eurotunnel crossing a couple of days in advance, we’re not using ferries after the P & O debacle with their staff.