I first visited Alsace on a bicycle, riding across the Rhine River from Germany during my student years. Alsace dazzled me then, and I felt just as impressed by its fairy-tale landscape of hilly vineyards, half-timbered towns and crumbling castles on my recent visit. The region’s unique cuisine combines French and German influences to great effect, and its wines — Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir, among others — are justly acclaimed. But the main purpose of my visit was to fill a hole in our hotel map.