World’s largest wine barrel: Bad Dürkheim, Deutsche Weinstraße
“You have no reservations!” exclaims the friendly women at the Neustadt an der Weinstraße tourist information centre. “You realize that Germany’s largest wine festivals are taking place along the Deutsche Weinstraße (German Wine Road) right now. There’s a giant parade here in Neustadt on the weekend for the crowning of Germany’s Wine Queen.” She sees the overwhelmed looks on our faces, arms us with information and brochures and gently recommends that we head to the town square where we can figure out what to do over a nice kaffee und kuchen.
Old town square in Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Indeed, the kaffee und kuchen calm me, as does the gorgeous café-lined square that is brimming with folks enjoying the sun on this warm late-September day. Neustadt an der Weinstraße is the epicentre of the Deutsche Weinstraße, the oldest of Germany’s tourist wine routes. The Wine Road, in the Pfalz (Palatinate) region, runs 85 km from Bockenheim to Schweigen-Rechtenbach at the French border. It’s popular with German visitors but doesn’t attract nearly as many international tourists as wine regions like the Rhine and Mosel. For cyclists, this area is a dream, with miles of paved paths that run through vineyards and charming towns.
Deutsche Weinstraße cycle route symbol
My phone calls fail to secure reservations for the night. We place our bets on a message I’ve left at a guesthouse in the small village of Weisenheim am Berg about 35 km north of Neustadt. We find the well-signed Wine Route with its distinctive grape and bike design. It quickly gets us onto a quiet vineyard path. Every few kilometers, the path dumps us out into another cute town—Mußbach, Deidesheim, Forst, Wackenheim, Bad Dürkheim. The latter hosts the world’s largest annual wine festival and boosts the world’s largest wine barrel.
Pretty town of Deidesheim along the Deutsche Weinstraße
Mike admiring one of the local wine princesses
Town square in Bad Dürkheim
The world’s largest wine barrel in Bad Dürkheim houses a restaurant
As we stare at the giant barrel my phone rings. Bingo! We’ve found a room for the night. It’s not a total surprise that the route to our guesthouse in Weisenheim am Berg is uphill (berg means mountain in German).
Peaceful uphill ride to Weisenheim am Berg
The lovely town hall in Leistadt, enroute to Weisenheim am Berg
As soon as we check in to the Alter Winzerhof, Andrea, the owner, asks whether we’d like to participate in a wine tasting that her husband, Harold, is leading for two other guests. We dash to our room, change out of our bike gear and are in the guesthouse’s ancient wine cellar five minutes later. For three hours, over many glasses of wine, Harold captivates us with interesting facts and stories about everything wine. Halfway through, Andrea serves a delicious, traditional dinner of bratwurst, sauerkraut, leberknödel (liver dumplings) and local specialty saumagen (sow’s stomach). That last one—a pig’s stomach casing stuffed with ground pork, onions, potatoes and all kinds of spices and seeds— tastes much better than it sounds (Mike doesn’t agree). Apparently, Helmut Kohl, Germany’s chancellor from 1982-1998, was very fond of this dish and regularly served it to guests like Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Wine tasting in Weisenheim am Berg
At the wine tasting, someone lets it slip that Donald Trump’s ancestors are from this area—a fact that locals and his relatives keep quiet about. Coincidentally, as we ride through the tiny village of Freinsheim the next day, we spy the Bäkerei Trump. According to a New York Times article the bakery is owned by Ursula Trump, whose husband is the president’s seventh cousin. The amusing article goes on to recount how Ursula’s neighbours boycotted her bakery when she jokingly decorated her spongecakes in stars and stripes and edible pictures of Trump. She no longer makes those cakes.
Bakery owned by a Trump relative
Freinsheim is one of the prettiest villages we’ve visited. Its 15th century Gothic town wall is almost wholly intact and its pastel coloured houses are draped with grape-laden vines.
The beautiful walled town of Freinsheim
We spend the afternoon immersing ourselves in history lessons at the Hambacher Schloss—a castle that was the scene of the 1832 Hambacher Fest (Hambach Festival), an important political rally disguised as a county fair. Disillusioned by the government’s restrictive policies and increased censorship, as many as 20-30,000 people took part, calling for freedom and democracy. The castle is considered a symbol of the German democracy movement.
The next day we explore the area south of Neustadt where we ride the undulating vineyard paths between more sweet towns. The village of Rhodt unter Rietburg has been making wine for over 1200 years. It’s impossibly cute and has some really nice- looking restaurants and guesthouses. The scenery around Gleisweiller, Birkweiler and Klingenmünster is spectacular—vineyards stretch up to forested hills peppered with castle ruins.
Riding through Rhodt unter Rietburg
Conquering a hilly section near Klingenmünster
Late in the afternoon, as I’m starting to get panicky about where to stay, we ride into pint-sized Oberotterbach. There’s a wine festival just getting underway. I decide that this is where I want to stay. A vendor at one of the wine booths directs us to an electronic accommodations board that indicates vacancy via red and green lights. There are five green lights on the board. Three don’t answer my calls and one has no vacancy. On the last try, success— a last minute cancellation.
The guesthouse board in Oberotterbach
Our host for the night is the charmingly eccentric Ursula Metz. She rents out a large, whimsically decorated room on the top floor of her house. I love it. We have a fun evening drinking more wine, dancing to schmaltzy German music, eating heaps of potato salad and chatting with revellers who are shocked that a couple of Canadians on bikes are hanging out at this very local wine festival.
Mike enjoying the fare at the Oberotterbach wine festival
The next morning, Frau Metz delivers a room service breakfast that is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Luck has been on our side as we improvised our way through the fascinating Deutsche Weinstraße. Fortified by our killer breakfast, we look forward to slipping into France, just 7 km away, and continuing our journey through the famous Alsace wine country.
This wins the prize for the most beautifully presented breakfast
For those who want more cycling details:
- Read about our earlier segments along the Rhine, Mosel, and Saar rivers. After the Saar stretch, we decided to speed things up by taking the train from Saarbrücken to Neustadt an der Weinstraße, an easy one hour trip.
- Unlike previous posts, I don’t provide daily routes and distances in this post because we took so many little detours and side trips. Over the three days we rode roughly 140 km starting in Neustadt, heading north as far as Weisenheim am Berg on day one, and then south to Oberotterbach over two days.
- Route options and cycle paths are endless (plus there’s a good regional train). We would have enjoyed a few more days in this region. The ADFC Pfalz cycling map is extremely helpful.
- At the southern end of the Deutsche Weinstraße it’s easy to continue a cycling trip through Alsace, France (upcoming posts). However, if that’s not in your plans, it’s worth just taking a peek and having lunch in pretty Wissembourg.
Read about our ongoing cycle adventures in Strasbourg and the Alsace Wine Route
Writes of Passage 
Germany, being so technically advanced and a bit far sighted, tries to nip over-tourism in the bud.. Have written a few articles on it.. They recommend advance reservations for tourist spots to cut the crowds and manage them effectively. Experienced that in Reichstag, Berlin.
I liked Durkheim the most.. Its so pretty and idyllic.. A perfect place to enjoy the calmness, away from crowds, and deep inside the German heartland and have a close contact with the traditional German culture.. 😊😊
The food looks great.. ❤ ❤ Any recommendations for the traditional wines of Durkheim?
Thank you once again Madam for sharing such detailed and well penned description of the hidden jewels of Germany.. 😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
While my background is German and I have been to the country many times, the Deutsche Weinstrasse was a new and very interesting experience. It is busy, but while we were there it was almost all domestic visitors and locals enjoying the wine festivals. As you mention, it felt very authentic and we got a real sense of the German culture (especially its wine culture). I’m not a wine expert, but I do love a good riesling and there are many exceptional ones produced in this region.
I haven’t been to Berlin in may years. I’d love to do a return visit,
Thanks for all your wonderful comments.
LikeLike
Wow..!! That’s a wonderful and enlightening reply Madam..!!
It’s a pleasure meeting you and learning so much from you about your Country Germany.. 🇩🇪
Noted all your points. Will have your posts printed before visiting Trier and Durkheim.. ☺️☺️
Thank you so much for taking your time and patiently explaining so many details.. ☺️☺️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would urge you to visit Berlin without delay, even if it were your 100th visit to that city.. Berlin, to me, represents the exemplification of a City – A People who never gave up. It’s a symbol of resilience and resistance. It broke down its division, picked itself up and assumed it’s rightful place as the Crown of Germany. Every second I spent in Berlin reminded me of this surreal feeling and overwhelmed me with respect. I wrote a poem on Berlin as well in one of my posts.. 😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: The Saar River Cycle Path: Dinner Plates, Bends and Banksy | Writes of Passage
Pingback: Cycling Germany’s Mosel Cycle Route: Koblenz to Trier | Writes of Passage
Pingback: When Things Don’t Go Smoothly on a DIY Cycling Trip: Wissembourg to Strasbourg | Writes of Passage
Pingback: Cycle Touring in Germany and France: The 10 Things I Enjoyed Most | Writes of Passage
Oh my gosh, you really lucked out with getting reservations last minute! This post sounds like one big party with all those wine festivals!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We were super lucky with both last minute accommodations and timing of wine festivities! That wasn’t always the case on this trip and I’m thinking my next post will be about when things didn’t go so smoothly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent trip, Caroline. And the smaller towns looked/sounded very interesting. Your photos were wonderful -sharp and so colorful. I loved the wine cellar, and the first town square (Neustadt an der Weinstraße) above. And last, but not least, you found the Trump bakery! A small world, indeed! What a beautiful trip!
LikeLike
This post makes me want to hop on a bike and explore Europe. I’ve been to the continent twice and hit the major sites and cities, but as your posts show, there are so many out of the way small town just dripping in charm.
Having worked in the Alaskan tourism industry the last 14 years I feel your pain on hotel lodging, but from a different perspective. Hotels in AK always sell out or oversell, and I’ve spent many hours on the phone trying to find rooms when we are oversold or when a tired travelers shows up and we are sold out.
Trump, the gift that keeps on giving. At least we had Obama who is respected the world over. I was in Bangladesh recently and everyone hates Trump there, but when they started complaining about him I shouted “OBAMA” and everything changed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jeff, even though I’ve been to Germany many times, this cycling trip really opened my eyes to exploring regions and little towns that are not on the major tourist circuit. I think part of this was just moving at a slower pace. Perhaps the fact that we couldn’t find accommodations in the more popular tourist towns (relatively speaking) during wine festival time was a blessing in disguise as we discovered charmers like Oberotterbach where we were definitely the only North Americans. I can highly recommend hopping on a bike and exploring Europe!
Your Trump experience in Bangladesh is funny (and sad). If you have the time you should read the NY Times article I referenced. It is well written and I think you’d find it funny.
LikeLike
This sounds so peaceful, and fun, and nourishing on all levels. I do love your leaving accommodation to fate, having that kind of freedom and trust. And I think I’d better go to Oberotterbach just for that magnificent breakfast!
Alison
LikeLiked by 1 person
Leaving accommodations to fate worked out for us and experiences like Oberotterbach where everything fell into place (plus that breakfast) outweighed the stresses of worrying about where we’d find a room. Having said that we should have been smarter on a couple of occasions (a holiday weekend) where booking ahead would have saved us grief. This may be the theme for my next post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading this made me think of the huge potentials many places on the island of Java have to attract tourists who are adventurous enough to take a detour from the main touristy areas. The grape-and-bike sign is a good example of how to incorporate several places under a unique theme for people to explore. It sounds like you encountered some of the best surprises in Germany along this route.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Germany’s Palatinate (Pfalz) region has done a great job on themed cycle routes. In addition to the Wine Route, there’s a Kraut & Rüben (cabbage and carrots) route featuring a carrot logo that emphasizes agricultural highlights. There’s a Barbarossa route with a stylized symbol of the Roman emperor, which travels past castles/palaces/towns—legacies from the time of his rule. I agree with you Bama; I think lots of countries/regions could learn/benefit from this type of marketing for both tourists and the local population. Thanks for your interesting perspective on this post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, cabbage and carrots route sounds fun! I wonder if someone here should make a durian route (which reminds me of your post on Kampot).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha…I love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bama, I feel like there are so many places in this world just waiting to be explored, and we need to spread out to take the pressure off the big ticket sites. I went to many small towns in Indonesia, especially in Flores, and I see incredible potential for tourism there. Is there an effort to promote some of the lesser known places in Indonesia?
LikeLiked by 2 people
The government is more focused on promoting a handful of destinations as alternatives to Bali. But it usually requires visionary people or forward-thinking local businessmen to bring lesser known places to people’s attention.
LikeLiked by 1 person