The beautiful Alsace with my wonderful friend Dennis

 A weekend full of laughter, reminiscing and enjoying fantastic new places together. Actually, I have been to the Alsace on several occasions but Dennis hasn’t . It was a perfect weekend with my crazy selfie-taking friend!

Dennis is not only a language whiz but also history and geography, so I had lots to learn as we visited Hartmannswillerkopf, a place where horrendous battles took place and too many people died or were injured in the War. What a beautiful, scenic spot it should be, but what a terrible place it was during the war. 
Dennis loves driving, especially in the hills . He did really well and eventually we reached the top where there were spectacular views over the mountains and valleys.
Here an idea of ​​the stunning area we had driven through.
First stop was Eguisheim, one of the most beautiful villages in France, and certainly my favorite. I have so many great photos, but have chosen just a few.
Not only are the brightly coloured houses, with their roses and flowers clinging to the walls, magnificent, but also there were dozens of stork nests perched on the rooves
We decided to check into our apartment, La maisonbleue, in the picturesque village of Riquewihr. We weren't disappointed. It was like stepping back in time!
Outside was simply gorgeous, but inside took our breath away. It was so beautifully decorated and had very creaky floor boards and wonderful smell of the wood. 
We even had a beautiful terrace overlooking other lovely homes.
Before settling down for the evening, we popped along the Wine Route to another of 'Les Plus belles villages de la France', Ribeauville
The colors in late evening are even more incredible, and the best thing is most tourists had gone!
I loved this little secondhand book shop and the amazing bread, which reminded me of the metre long bread I ordered for my 60th birthday,
Time to head back for our first wine tasting of the day in Riqhwihr.
We had a fun, but very late evening watching the Eurovision Song Contest. I haven't seen it for years. It's extravagant now and the decor, clothes, dancing all take away from the song. But it was a fabulous evening sitting there in this unbelievable old house, eating local bread, cheese and meat and sipping local wines. Neither of us was impressed by the winning song, in fact, we couldn’t believe it had been voted for!

Before breakfast Dennis and I went out to explore Riquewihr before the masses arrived - such a good plan!
Picturesque delicatessen, and brilliant reflections of the colourful houses in the water of one of many fountains.
Riquewihr undoubtedly has some of the most attractive houses in the area, along with Equisheim.
Our main destination after leaving our lovely accommodation was the fort/ castle at Haut Koenigsburg. 
It was so pretty driving through the vineyards and then up the hill once again to the castle. Selfie time again!
We didn’t have time to go into this massive castle, but were nevertheless impressed from its sheer size and beautiful position.
Last village we stopped in was Kaysersberg, another of the recognised beautiful village of France. 
I definitely like the far end of the village the best, with its river running through.
Both Dennis and I felt that the sign forbidding swimming in this incredibly shallow water was rather unnecessary.
Our stay in Alsace was short, but we saw an incredible amount of wonderful places. Now it was time to cross back into Switzerland and visit another of my favourite little villages, St Ursanne. It is so perfectly situated , tucked into a deep valley with the pretty River Doubs meandering past the city walls. 
I have lovely memories of visiting here with a number of close friends at all times of the year. Winter, with Christmas markets is probably my favourite. Not so many people know this village, so it’s beautifully peaceful and unspoilt. I’ll only share it with friends,

What a fantastic trip!







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