Obernai, a town of 11,000 residents, is our home base for our exploration of the Alsace Wine Route. We are renting a home we found on the Web on the VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) site. The house is on a narrow one-way street that is just two blocks from the center of town. The owner lives across the way and explains that the house was built in the 1600’s. He purchased the house in 1983 and had done extensive remodeling. It is a beautiful Renaissance style wood frame home with a spacious living room and dining room. There are three bedrooms that are perfect for us and our traveling companions. From here we can quickly get on the Alsace Wine Route to view vineyards, visit wineries, and explore small villages. The only downside but a minor inconvenience is the weather. The first day in Obernai was partly sunny, and the rest have been very overcast and sometimes rainy. The grape growers and wineries are very concerned about the grapes. Harvest began a week ago and ran through the end of October.

Each morning one of us trots down to the local boulangerie and purchases croissants and a baguette for a delicious breakfast. At the house, we have stocked up at the local supermarket, SuperMarche Match. We also enjoy shopping at the local artisan shops for cheese and meats.

We eat a good lunch at one of the villages we have visited during the day. For our evening meal, we prepare light dinners at the house. We find this a relaxing way to enjoy the evenings after having been out all day. At our cocktail hour, we sample the wines we have purchased during the day at visits to tasting rooms along the Alsace Wine Route. We also enjoy having a slide show on our laptop of the photos we’ve taken during the day.

On this Thursday morning, we spent 2 hours at the weekly farmer’s market in town.
According to a sign, we’d read in town, this market dates back to 1301! Locals also bring in merchandise to sell at the market, which enables us to buy inexpensive clothing for the unseasonably cold weather we hadn’t packed for.