German Wine Street closes for hikers, bikers, skaters Sunday

by Petra Lessoing
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs


For the 26th time, the German Wine Street will close to motorized traffic from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

From Bockenheim in the north to Schweigen in the south, Germany’s oldest wine tourist route will be the stage for a car-free adventure day. The 85-kilometer car-free route, which leads through Germany’s biggest wine-growing area, will turn into a fun mile for bicyclists, skaters and hikers.

This year, the event will put its emphasis on wellness and fitness, on the common desire for relaxation, and cutting off daily stress. There will be special attractions and activities. Kurt Beck, minister president of Rheinland-Pfalz, and Karen Storck,
the Palatinate wine queen, will officially open the event at 10 a.m. at the historical town hall in Deidesheim.

About 30 villages and towns along the German Wine Street will take part in the car-free wine street day and offer entertaining programs with many attractions to include music, sports and games. Event participants will be able to taste wellness kitchen products at five stations. The food is special because they are based on the manifold use of grape products. Wellness treatment will also include relaxing shoulder-back-massages and a new fitness drink.

Other regional food specialties will be offered at nine gourmet stations, where, for a set price of €5, little dishes with the matching wine can be tasted.

The Pfalz Sports Association will again sponsor its traditional 10-kilometer run, which will start in two places. The route in the north will go from Bockenheim to Kirchheim and the one in the south from Weissenburg to Bad Bergzabern. Starting time will be at 10 a.m.

Organizers ask that all bicyclists, walkers and skaters have mutual respect for one another. They expect, just like last year, to have several hundred thousand visitors, and they recommend traveling to the German Wine Street by public transportation, like trains or buses.

For details, visit www.zum-wohl-die-pfalz.de or www.pfalzwein.de.