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At the turn of the millennium the Romans brought wine to the Pfalz. The Pfalz is one of the thirteen wine growing areas of Germany. Around 22% of the grapes being grown in the Pfalz are of the Riesling variety. The Pfälzer Weinschorle is famous, especially for being poured in huge half liter glasses called ‘Dubbeglas’.

I drove to the Pfalz for a one day hike. I stayed at Campingplatz Wachenheim, which is right on the Pfälzer Weinsteig. I walked from Wachenheim to Neustadt an der Weinstraße via Deidesheim, famous because Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl (1982 - 1998) liked to entertain his guests in Deidesheimer Hof and served the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, John Major, Václav Havel, Jacques Chirac and Mikhail Gorbachev Saumagen, stuffed pigs stomach.

Die pfälzische Saumagen-Diplomatie

Below Deidesheimer Hof where Kohl invited Michail Gorbatschow in 1990, almost exactly a year after the Mauerfall on November 9 and only weeks after German reunification on October 3. Kohl believed that the cosy atmosphere would prove to be more productive as opposed to a pompous state visit in the capital Bonn. Kohl and Gorbatschow had indeed a lot to talk about. That summer Kohl went to Moscow and Stavropol to seal a deal on German reunification with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The main point of contest was if Moscow would allow a unified Germany to remain part of NATO. Gorbachev agreed in principle. But it would cost West Germany between 25 and 40 billion euros to be paid to the Kremlin to gain the East-German territory.

Kohl couldn’t quite create the same atmosphere when Margaret Thatcher visited Deidesheim the year before in April 1989. The German leader was very much in favour of the European Union and wanted to bring forward disarmament talks. The Iron Lady wasn't very interested. Kohl: "Mein Eindruck war, dass Margaret Thatcher bei allen Themen, die wir besprachen, grundsätzlich nur die Interessen ihres Landes im Auge hatte und auf Empfindlichkeiten anderer Länder kaum reagierte." Source: Die pfälzische Saumagen-Diplomatie

Michail Gorbatschow in Deidesheimer Hof (10 November 1990).

Helmut Kohl was known to love his Mercedes S-Klasse der Baureihe W 140.

Pfälzer Weinsteig

The Pfälzer Weinsteig is a typical German long distance trek. If you walk the entire length you are looking at 172 kilometers of mostly single track in dense forests, through vineyards and wine villages. The walking path was only opened in 2010. You will find plenty of forest restaurants along the way. During lunchtime I ended up in Altes Jagdhaus Looganlage which serves local food and Weinschorles in a Dubbeglass. I spied when they were making my Weinschorle and my rough estimate is that my glass contained about 0,3 litres wine and 0,2 litres Sprudel. I drank two of these glasses for lunch and was lucky the path was mostly winding since I couldn’t walk straight for quite a bit. The day ended in Neustadt an der Weinstraße about 25 kilometers from the camping. I was able to take a train back to Wachenheim.