Road Trip to Alsace

Sunday May 5, 2013

This morning we got up early and drove to France.  Specifically, to that north eastern corner of France close to Germany called Alsace, sometimes referred to as Alsace Lorraine.  Our trip took us to the marvelous little medieval town of Ribeauville (re-beau-vil-LAY), 755 kilometers north (470mi) up over the Italian Alps, driving straight across Switzerland, and into Alsace.  10 hours after we had started, the Hotel de la Tour was a welcome sight as we were ready for a break and so was the Saturn. 

 We had thought about going to Paris at one point but after 5 months of living in Florence we both had had enough of cities for a while.  Our plan was to stay in Ribeauville, a town on the Route des Vins d’Alsace (the Wine Route of Alsace), a road lined with towns that each contribute their own special approach to the wines, primarily white, that flow from this region.  Our goals were to sample the local wines and most importantly a few of the tremendous hiking opportunities offered throughout this part of France.  The little town of Ribeauville proved to be a charm, everything we had hoped it would be.  Every building in the town center and along the Grand Rue (Main Street) was of original or restored “half -timber” construction.  The Grand Rue and several side streets are closed to cars from 9:00am to 6:00pm, making a casual stroll from restaurants to shops to wineries a thoroughly pleasant experience. 

Monday, May 6, 2013

After breakfast we walked up to the top of town and picked up the trailhead for the hike up to the castles of St. Ulrich and Haut-Ribeaupierre.  We had packed lunches and bottles of water in our knapsacks, and set ourselves into the climb up the mountains.  Most of it really wasn’t too steep, and on our way up to our first planned stop at Haut-Ribeaupierre we passed by the castle of St. Ulrich.

The castle at Haut-Ribeaupierre is mostly ruins, fully half of it fenced off in the interest of safety, but its overlooks were beautiful and it made for a great mountain top trekking destination just the same.

 

With that we headed back down to St. Ulrich.  Although the entirety of the roof was gone, many of the walls and archways were still in good form.  The castle was quite large - it was fun exploring its rooms and courtyards, and its views overlooking the Alsace plan below were outstanding. 

Angie broke out our lunch of French bread, cheese, spicy mustard, and fruit.  I can honestly say it was our first ever lunch in a French castle and it was great!  We had everything we needed except a bottle of French wine, but we had deliberately decided to forego that due to our need to get back  down the mountain in time for our evening plans. 

 After lunch we headed back to town for showers and a rest break, then took an hour long walk around the lower end of town and its flower gardens.

As we headed back uptown we stopped for some wine tasting at JOGGERST et FILS, Vins Fins d’Alsace.  Our young, energetic host, C.G., was the 5^th generation of the family wine making business, and she kept us well plied with her family’s best wares.  Our wine tasting was made all the more enjoyable by the young, friendly German couple seated with us, and the 5 of us joyfully conversed in English, German, some French, and with a smattering of Italian thrown in when we could manage it. 

We left with 4 bottles and dropped them off at the hotel before continuing on to our evening repast at the restaurant Au Cerf Chez L’Alsacein.  Dinner was excellent – Angie had a fresh salad with shrimps and I had veal with an amazingly spicy peppercorn sauce.  Both were outstanding, and including a carafe of good Riesling the entire bill came to 37€.  A great end to a great day! 

Tuesday May 7, 2013

Today we drove to Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, the biggest castle in Alsace.  Built in the 12^th century and towering high up in the Les Vosges mountains, it overlooks the town of Rodern and out across the Alsace plain that separates it from Germany. 

It underwent a massive reconstructive renovation in 1900, and it has obviously been well cared for in the many years since then.  Haut-Koenisbourg is very impressive and is a must see when traveling in Alsace. 

 
 
 As we walked through the castle we used hand held speaker phones that explained not only the castle history but the function of each of the rooms as we self-toured our way around.  We had just finished our tour and were pausing for a cappuccino and tea when the rain let loose, so I got the car and we headed back to Ribeauville, pausing for a lunch stop in the town of Bergheim.  Bergheim, like Ribeauville, is one of many small towns that sit on the Route des Vins d’Alsace, however, its particular claim to fame (or infamy) is its inclination to burn witches.

 If ever there was a town that qualifies as “Village of the Dammed” it is Bergheim.  The small hamlet is a dichotomy of past and present – on the one hand its old churches, buildings, and alley ways were eerily quiet with practically no one on the sidewalks.  On the other hand, a seemingly never ending convoy of cars paraded right through the middle of town, using it as a throughway to get somewhere else.  Its as though the town has been cursed with a plague of traffic from people who have no interest in being there.   All I know is, Bergheim has a genuinely creepy vibe, right down to its tortured, gnarly trees in the town center.  We were just thankful that due to the rain the day’s witch burnings had been cancelled.….

Once back at our hotel in Ribeauville we checked the weather forecast and found there would be one more day of good sunshine before the rain really moved in, so we made a decision to stay in Alsace one more day.   

Wednesday May 8, 2013

The small town of Ribeauville and the lovely Hotel de la Tour had provided a great stay for us –the hotel staff spoke some English and they were friendly and accommodating, offered a good breakfast and secure parking at reasonable prices, plus the hotel was right on the Grande Rue in one of the best parts of town. 

Still, we wanted to move further up the Wine Route of Alsace so the next morning we said our goodbyes to Hotel de la Tour, loaded up the Saturn and headed north for the town of Obernai – with one important stop along the way.  Angie had researched the hiking around the abbey at St. Odile, which like Haut-Koenisbourg was located high up in the Les Vosges Mountains. 

Its peaceful setting and mountainous terrain made for wonderful hiking opportunities and we quickly picked up the trail head for our trekking for the day – to a castle in the woods called Chateau d’ Ottrott. 

The castle was really just a ruins, and fenced off from exploring for safety reasons, but it made for a nice hiking destination and a good spot to take our break for a simple lunch of French bread and cheese. 

 After lunch it was a long climb back up to the Abby, with a stop along the way at the Elsberg hut where we met a U.S. couple.  They were college professors from Syracuse University NY who were winding down their 4 month long assignment teaching Syracuse students music in France.  We exchanged experiences in Alsace as well as our past 5 months in Florence, a city they also knew well from previous teaching assignments.  We resumed our climb and once we got back at the abbey we took a few moments to walk around the buildings and observe the tremendous vistas over Alsace plain below.

Then it was time to head off to Obernai for our final night in Alsace.  The town center of Obernai was every bit as charming as Ribeauville, but about 3 times bigger.  It was filled with the same “half -timber” structures and houses, and its larger size offered more restaurants and stores for shopping, but it was clear that it also had a bit more of a touristy feel than Ribeauville. 

 
 

Though squarely on the beaten path of the Wine Route of Alsace, the town of Ribeauville seems more like a hidden gem that is somehow managing to hide in plain sight.  Anyway, after our evening at the Le Gouverneur Hotel we were back on the road for home.  Due to heavy traffic getting out of Switzerland, and also on the Italian Autostrada near Milan, it took us 11 and a half hours to get home.  Still, we were ending on an incredibly high note, having spent four nights in France  where we enjoyed outstanding hiking, excellent food and white wines, and most of all the slow measured pace of the small towns that line the Route des Vins d’Alsace.

Au revior!