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The scenery
• Tiny in size but full of character, the region is one of contrasts, between the marshes on the Rhine plain, the generous hillside vineyards and the austere peaks of the Vosges mountains. The massif des "ballons" is of medium height (about 1,400m), but can look quite fierce (it is a listed national park), although its eastern slope is greener, dedicated as it is to excellent wines. The marshlands of the Rhine are greatly appreciated by migratory birds, including of course the storks.
Hiking
• Hiking in the Vosges has to begin in a pine forest, dotted with clearings where small lakes and peat bogs create some precious biotopes: woodcutters and wood sledgers (who transported the logs on sledges) used to be the main occupations in these villages nestled half-way up the slope. The Club Vosgien is an association (you might even say the institution!) which traces and marks out the hiking trails in the massif.
Gastronomy and local produce
• A little higher up, the chamois frolic on the steep slopes. On the rounded hilltops, the prairies called "hautes-chaumes" are home in summer to herds of dairy cows, continuing the tradition hospitality amongst the cattle breeders who make the famous Munster cheese and offer traditional meals in their farmhouse inns, based on dairy produce.
• Regional recipes (often quite elaborate) provide a gourmet festival, especially the Baeckeoffe (a stew with different sorts of marinated meat, the ever-present sauerkraut (or choucroute in Alsace) and the delicious Kougelhopf (a brioche with raisins and almonds): dishes that will prolong many an evening with friends!
• Further downstream, the valleys are covered with vines, inviting you to take a cyclotourist and epicurean ride from one village to the next, each as picturesque as the other. Riesling (a fruity white wine, perfect with dessert) or Gewurztraminer (another noble white that comes from a pink grape) afford cyclists a very good reward after all that effort in the saddle on the famous Route des Vins d'Alsace.
Cyclotourism
• On the plain, a network of 700km of cycle paths and marked out routes are especially intended for families, between Strasbourg, Sélestat and Molsheim and also in the area around Colmar (the Hardt forest).
Navigable waterways
• The grand canal and the Rhine provide 120 km of waterway for sailing between Mulhouse and Strasbourg (make sure you see the Naviscope museum and the dam-lock by Vauban) via Neuf-Brisach, to drift in a timeless dream...
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