German Wine Street is car-free Sunday

The German Wine Street will be the stage for a car-free adventure day Sunday.
For the 25th time,  Germany’s oldest wine tourist route will be closed to motorized traffic from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 85 kilometers from Bockenheim in the north to Schweigen in the south. The car-free route leading through Germany’s biggest wine-growing area will turn into a fun mile for bicyclists, skaters and hikers.

This year’s motto is “Blooming Pfalz.” There will be special attractions and activities. Kurt Beck, minister president of Rheinland-Pfalz, and Gabi Klein, the Palatinate wine queen, will officially start the event at 10 a.m. in Edenkoben.
About 30 villages and towns along the German Wine Street will offer entertaining programs with many attractions, including music, sports and games. Regional food
specialties will also be served.

Participants will be able to pass 10 gourmet stations where, for a set price of €5, little dishes with the matching wine can be tasted. Delicacies include prime boiled beef in aspic with a sunflower see vinaigrette, vegetarian tapas, snails with wild garlic and various fjord salmon. The traditional 10-kilometer run will start in two places again. The route in the north goes from Bockenheim to Kirchheim and the one in the south from Weissenburg to Bad Bergzabern. Starting time is
10 a.m.

Organizers ask all bicyclists, walkers and skaters for mutual respect. They expect, just like last year, several hundred thousand visitors. It is recommended to come to the German Wine Street in public transportation vehicles such as trains or
busses. For details, visit www.zum-wohl-die-pfalz.de or www.pfalzwein.de.