CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Drinking beer, instead of wine, didn’t suit Etienne. After riding trains across Germany, taking leisurely boat rides and ferries, he zoomed down the autobahn in a luxury rental. Yawning but sober, he didn’t understand why the locals seemed to prefer the beverage made with hops, rather than the luscious fruits of the gnarled vine. Most of his riverfront stops were close to famous breweries that took pride in using only the best, crystal clear water. Great water and fresh grains aside, he couldn’t relate to the area’s historic devotion to the bubbly brew, even though they bottled the stuff for over a thousand years.
Exhausted, he decided to take another boat tour on the Rhine because it advertised a stop at a winery. His daughters would have loved this trip he thought,
