The Alsace and daytrip to Germany

So, my last trip before I leave for Europe, and great to be able to spend four wonderful days with Trudi, who has so kindly and patiently put up with my comings and goings over the past five months!

Our destination was Dambach la Ville, one of the many beautiful 'villages fleuries' of France, on the Wine route through the Alsace. Our appartment was spacious and in the heart of the old city, only metres from the ramparts.

We ate on the balcony on the first evening - a feast of local cheeses and bread, with, of course accompanying wine, and this lovely view all around us.It will certainly seem strange to be in New Zealand again with such young homes around me.

The village is very pretty and not too touristy. In fact, we were glad to have bought our food for a meal at the appartment, because everything was closed in the village on Monday night! However, I like the fact that there is only one souvenir shop, only a couple of restaurants, a bar, little shop and a bakery at the end of our street.

The little pottery in the village had some tempting things, but I was strong for a change!

As we headed back to the flat, we enjoyed the sight of two large dogs peering through the gap at the bottom of this huge gate. They so wanted to get out!

The Wine route, with its 16 picturesque villages , all with their unique qualities, and all living from two things, tourism and wine. Of course, many tourists come only for the wine

But the majority simply enjoy the fantastically colourful houses, adorned with the most amazing display of incredible window boxes and hanging baskets. In Scherwiller, our first stop, we had a glimpse of what we had in store for us!

Not only the flowers are spectacular, but also the architectural features of homes of over 300 years old.

Next stop, only a few kilometres further on was Saint Hippolyte. Each town is classified by 1,2,3 or 4 flowers. I have no idea how they are judged, but this town had 3 flowers and certainly deserved a high rating.  It was spectacular, particularly some of the very narrow, oddly- shaped, elaborate houses.

One of the route's most visited villages is Ribeauville, with over a thousand years of history. Sadly, the main street has become very commercialised with one souvenir shop after the other, but if you can forget these and focus on the buildings, flowers and letter boxes, then it is still extremely special.

It is  a very long and narrow old town with ramparts on one side and stream on the other. It is particularly famous for its 3 castles situated high up on the mountain overlooking the town. Here, just one of them can be seen between the colourful buildings. We ate delicious Flammkuchen, Tarte Flambee at the Three Kings restaurant. It was also a great place to watch the hoardes of tourists passing by.

This window display was my favourite! The cat did not move an inch, oblivious to the many people taking photos of it. Luckily, nobody tapped on the window.

By the time you reach the end of the town, there are far fewer tourists around and so you can better appreciate some of the less commercialised and very attractive areas of the town.

Not much further along the Route des Vins was the other big tourist trap, Riquewihr, amazingly dating back to the 8 th century. Like Ribeauville, it has become somewhat too popular and was very crowded. It was hard to believe that when I last visited about ten years ago, we were almost alone there.

Still, it is stunningly beautiful, and once you leave the main street with all its shops and cafes, you can once again feel its charm.

However, even the main area is gorgeous with its picturesque buildings and fabulous flowers. What a brilliant name for a hotel and wine tasting venue- Jess Sipp!

Of course, there are plenty of sweet treats to tempt you too - nougat, just as colourful as the houses!

With perfect weather and such clear blue skies, it was a fantastic sight gazing up to the top of the incredible houses.

Kaysersberg, the next stop, is cradled into the vine and forest- clad hills, and for me is definitely the most attractive of the three most visited villages in the region, particularly at the far end of the village where the castle is. 

The homes here are so lovely, and, as in almost everywhere on the Wine Route, in perfect condition.

Time to head home after a day full of remarkable villages and fabulous scenery. We went up the hill to Zellenberg to enjoy the view across the vineyards towards the villages we had visited earlier. What a breathtaking sight!

Recommendations from friends led us to take a day trip to Germany, firstly to the city of Lahr, just over the border, close to the Rhine. 

It was definitely worth a visit, as was the little spa town of Sasbachwalden, in the centre of another huge wine- growing area near the Schwarzwald.

We sampled some of the local wines, at a vineyard called Alde Gott! 

The language here is a very special German dialect.

Next day, back to the Alsace and a visit to Colmar. I had forgotten just how lovely the old town  was, even with its bus loads of visitors from all corners of the globe!

The name plaques above the various shops and bars are really intricate and special. 'Look up' - you should!

Petite Venise is stunningly beautiful and oh so colourful. Of course, the main streets were packed, but if you head away down the narrower alleyways, you are very soon almost alone. It is fantastic.

My favourite village is still, and will always be, Eguisheim. I read about this village 14 years ago in a book entitled, The Most Beautiful Villages of France. The book inspired me to visit France, in particular as many of those villages as possible!

It is hard to put into words just how lovely it is to walk around the outer ring of houses, which thankfully have hardly changed since my first visit about 13 years ago. There are a few very good, new, local arts and craft shops, and a few small cafes there, but otherwise it remains totally unspoilt, and it is an absolute joy to wander through the narrow cobbled streets.

The colours of the houses and their flowers are so vibrant, and yet the atmosphere so incredibly peaceful.

Poor Turckheim. It was our last visit and hard to match up to Eguisheim, even though it did have some fabulous homes.

It also had one of the tiniest houses we had seen. I wish I could have gone inside to see what it was like.

It was good to get home early, to park the car, and to visit our town a little more. No more driving, so we enjoyed some wine tasting at a vineyard  at Dambach la Ville. A great end to another amazing trip.