We took the train back from Dijon to Colmar.  Again, there was the question of whether the train had a fourgon on it or not.  We had to change a few times, so this drama was played out in various ways.  Twice there was no fourgon, but the controlleur let us put the bike on the train just in the corridor.   Sometimes it almost blocked the door to the (excellent) bathroom.

Train again

Other times, we blocked the little jump seats.  As long as the train wasn't very full, this didn't seem to bother anyone.  On the last leg of this trip, from Mulhouse to Colmar (it was getting late in the day, so we didn't want to have to ride this heavily trafficked section), the controlleur said he would not let us on with the bike if there was no fourgon.  He did not know if there would be one or not.  We always found it odd, with the highly organized train systems, that they did not know if each train would have a fourgon.  Apparently when they do have them they are little used.  The ones we saw were all empty except for our bike. 

Chambre d'hôte

We had arranged for five nights at a chambre d'hôte.  This is pretty much like a bed and breakfast.  The one we went to was quite elegant and the people were very friendly and accommodating.  We enjoyed their company.  The room was large and beautifully outfitted.  The breakfast was very complete, with cakes, homemade jams, coffee and tea, but also meats and cheese. 
They also offered us dinner three nights, which was convenient for bikers.  Two of these nights they invited other people to join us.  We had interesting, wide-ranging discussions of French and American life.  The other couples enjoyed having a real (meaning in French) conversation with amenable Americans.
The dinners were always Alsacien classics, very professionally prepared - choucroute à l'Alsacien and tarte flambée.
This cost us 50 Euros a night with breakfast, 15 more each for the dinner.  Considering that we sometimes paid 12 Euros for a camping place without dinner, this was a great deal.  Regardless, the human contact, the warm welcome and the authenticity of the surroundings made it very worthwhile - a highlight of the trip.

Conversations

When we had dinner at the chambre d'hote the owners invited another couple to eat with us.  This provided all of us the opportunity for good conversation, almost as important as good wine for a French dinner.  These people were quite eager for discussion with Americans.  We talked about retirement and health care in France versus US (they retire earlier), US politics and foreign policy (we didn't like it), relations between our two countries, and, of course, food.  The French care a lot about their food and talk about it in detail - not just what it is and how it tastes, but also how parts ofthe meal go together.  These were very enjoyable evenings.

View from our window

Beblenheim was a few kilometers from the foothills, in the middle of the vineyards.  There was a bike-only road just a kilometer from our chambre d'hôte.