First Day in Alsace

Well, the tour of Alsace has begun.  Friday was sunny and warm but the Grants had had a long journey to get here (lots of flying plus the 3 hour drive to Alsace).so we had an easy start.  Our first outing would be to go along some of the Alsace wine road.  This runs north-south along the base of the eastern side of the Vosges mountains for about 170 km.  The soil is perfect for grape growing and that is what they do here - big time!  Alsatian wines are mainly white - Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Sylvaner, and Muscat but they also make a Pinot Noir.  At this point, I should probably also say something about this area - although I have mentioned it in other blogs.  Alsace (and Lorraine to the north) have been tossed between France and Germany for ages.  Therefore, the culture here is a melange of the two countries.  While the language is French, some older people speak the Alsatian dialect as well.  The food seems to be more German than French.  The most famous dishes are tarte flambee (basically Alsatian pizza), coq au Riesling, Presskopf (head cheese, I think), tarte a l'oignon (onion tart which is one of my favourites) and choucroute (sauerkraut with sausages which definitely isn't!) 

For our first destination, we headed to Obernai, about 30 minutes from Rhinau.  It is more of a town than a village but with lovely buildings, many dating from the 1600s.  We wandered around the flea market in the main square and into some of the shops.  I have always loved this place - with its small Jewish quarter, medieval buildings and ramparts and its restaurants.  Some of the buildings, including the trompe l'oeil. 
 

Some of the ramparts around Obernai

The Mairie with its trompe l'oeil

The main square

Storks are very common in Alsace - sort of a symbol of the area - and can be found nesting on top of many buildings (and as stuffed toys in every single souvenir shop!)  The buildings actually have a big metal structure attached where the storks can build their nests.  It is "hatching season" right now and we have seen several next with a momma and baby in them.

This was a stork on a roof in Obernai

After we were through with Obernai, we started heading south on the wine road.  It is a great drive - undulating up and down the gentle hills of the lower Vosges going through medieval villages (some so cute and charming that they look more like movie sets than real) and vineyards.  It is a combination that works for me!

 

The village of Andlau

 

 We continued heading south to one of the smaller villages but one that I like called Itterswiller.  There was a road rally going on and Doug enjoyed seeing some of the vintage cars - including some that he said were worth a small fortune.  I'm now asking myself why we didn't get any photos of them.  In Itterswiller there is a charming store at the Hotel Arnold that I cannot resist going into each time I am here.  The building, so typically Alsatian, is very pretty.  We also stopped at the Schwartz winery for a "degustation" and we left there weighed down with eight bottles of wine!  Quel surprise!

The Hotel Arnold in Itterswiller

 

 

 



It is asparagus season here (white rather than green) so we stopped at the Ferme d'Asperges in "our" village on the way back to pick up some for dinner.  It is interesting that in both Germany and France the season is a really big deal and asparagus is featured on many menus.  Typically, it is served with ham and hollandaise sauce and these meals are not cheap - they can cost over $35!).  We just baked ours with some oil, Parmesan and balsamic.

So, that was Day 1.  Next up:  Colmar!