Alsace, Alsace Wine Route, Cities and villages, Spring, Vineyards, wines & winemakers

Early morning walk around Riquewihr (2)

Posted by Jean-P. on

The alarm went off early … The sun now rises earlier, and to capture the unique light of dawn, a lay down is not the best plan. Dawn brushed away the night when I go down from La Vancelle direction Riquewihr by the wine route. I guess the sun still hidden behind the blue line … Black Forest, to the east, beyond the Rhine plain. The sky is clear. Only a light mist caressing the plain … As promised, here is an early addition to the pictures made the other day in the late afternoon.

In the morning, around Riquewihr …

Rising sun at springtime in Riquewihr seen from the vineyards of Schoenenbourg
Rising sun at springtime in Riquewihr seen from the vineyards of Schoenenbourg: the first rays illuminate the towers, the highest gables and the Dolder tower while our house in the ramparts is still asleep in the shade …

My circuit this morning will be almost identical to that of the previous day and yet the perception of the scenery is quite different. Sunlight from a diametrically opposite horizon, i do not notice the same things. The eye stops on other details.

Click on the pictures to enlarge …

The morning sun highlights the medieval Dolder tower of Riquewihr, Alsace
The morning sun highlights the medieval Dolder tower …
The morning sun rises in the East above the Rhine and the Black Forest
The morning sun rises in the East above the Rhine and the Black Forest

My walk begins again on the Schoenenbourg slope, the most renowned vineyards of Riquewihr. The village is still there, hidden in its walls. The first rays illuminate the towers, the highest gables and the Dolder tower while our house in the ramparts is still asleep in the shade …

In the vineyards of Oberberg …

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An old shed in the vineyards
An old shed in the vineyards
Young leaves of the vine
Young leaves of the vine
A surprise along the way
A surprise along the way
Church tower among the vineyards
Church tower among the vineyards
Oberberg vineyards in Riquewihr with the silhouette of the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle on the horizon
Oberberg vineyards in Riquewihr with the silhouette of the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle on the horizon

On the other side of Riquewihr, in the south, the vine rises high to reach the forest. I head to the Oberberg, which means « mountain of the top”. A garden shed in the vineyards, a captured spring that flows through several iron beaks  … The morning sun tinges the young shoots of vines. In the distance, the Haut Koenigsbourg Castle imperturbably continues its shift.

The plain of Alsace is illuminated, a hot air balloon glides silently in the sky … New landscapes appear …

Click on the pictures to enlarge …

The sunlight plays with the vines
The sunlight plays with the vines
Kientzheim and Ammerschwihr, on the south side of the hills
Kientzheim and Ammerschwihr, on the south side of the hills
Hot air balloon in the still early morning
Hot air balloon in the still early morning
Morning haze over the plain.
Morning haze over the plain.

From the highest point, near the forest, only the church towers of Riquewihr emerge from the valley. The rising sun highlights the rows of vines and gives the landscape a graphic design not to be noticed in the middle of the day. The hands of the clock tower are moving. The winemakers are at work in the vineyards. The daylight is there. I’m going back home.

The winemakers are already at work in the vineyard. A new day has begun.
Riquewihr nestles in its valley at the foot of the Vosges. The winemakers are already at work in the vineyard. A new day has begun.

I invite our friends and guests who stay in one of our holiday apartments at Les Remparts de Riquewihr to take a picnic and do some walking around the village. In the silence of nature, there are wonderful discoveries to be done …