Thursday 22nd September – Sasbachwalden, Germany

The France AA road atlas showed a Roman Villa just a short distance from Rhodes so we headed around the lake and soon found large signs that directed us to the site. Access to the site was through a convent and when we reached its gate we found a sign in French that told us about the villa. Slowly translating it we got to the bottom line – 'Open in July and August' and not the rest of the year! The convent was open and we could have visited it but it was modern and didn't look particularly interesting.

We headed to Germany, crossing the Rhine just north of Strasbourg and started to follow a drive detailed in the Germany Michelin guide. This took on the Baden Wine Route, starting close to Baden Baden and going down the Western edge of the Black Forest. The guide book promised us charming villages and many half-timbered houses however we were not that impressed. Parking was difficult or impossible to find and the villages were not that pretty although they all had lovely flowers on every street. We have certainly seen prettier villages, especially in Alsace Lorraine a few years ago.

Road closures and diversions took us high up into the hills with excellent views west over the Rhine valley. We descended to Sasbachwalden surrounded by vineyards and headed to the Stellplatz (aire) in the festival place behind the Alte Gott winery. A sign at the entrance to the motorhome area told us that the stellplatz would be closed from 12:00 tomorrow as a wine festival was being held. What a shame, it would have been great to go to it. There were at least 20 motorhomes in the stellplatz and all of the electricity points were in use but there was plenty of room for us.

We headed into pretty town and walked up through vineyards full of ripe red and white grapes. Some were being harvested and we were passed by small tractors towing trailers holding large tubs of grapes. Enjoying views over the town we walked down to the winery where we watched the tractors pulling onto a weighbridge where the tubs were lifted and disappeared into the winery. At the back, a loud noise like the burners of a hot air balloon accompanied the expulsion of stalks. At other times a conveyor dispensed large volumes of dehydrated squashed grape skins and pips onto a large pile that was then taken away in trailers. Fortunately, the noises stopped shortly after 22:00 and we had a peaceful night.

Photos: Sasbachwalden sculpture celebrating the twinning with Villie-Morgan (France); Tending the vines in Sasbachwalden.