On to Alsace!

Saturday, September 26 -- Our stay in Pommard had come to an end.  We were obligated to clean the apartment and leave things in good order.  Fortunately, we had met the owner a couple days earlier and discussed the countertop with the red streaks in the surface.  Thank goodness it turned out those were part of the natural stone from the area (something I suspected from examining the floors in the Dijon's Dukes of Burgundy).  Also, we did not want to leave anything behind, so there several careful sweeps of the place while Dick and I placed the suitcases in the car which had a considerable capacity.  Parking the car in the alleyway next to our front door made the process easier.

Eguisheim

Livestock water tank

The drive north took us mainly on super highways, paying tolls every once in a while.  Because our apartment in Riquewihr would not be available until late afternoon, we chose to take in the new wine festival in Eguisheim, an Alsatian village said to be the most beautiful village in France.  At least,  in 2013 it was voted the "Village préféré des Français" (Favorite Village of the French), an annual distinction that passes from town to town throughout France.  I have to admit, that even as lovely as Burgundy was, we were bowled over by Eguisheim's quaint charm, abundant flowers, and picturesque cobbled streets.

New wine and tarte flamb

As we had not eaten, our first stop was the town square where the festival was just getting under way.  We quickly figured out that we could have white wine and tarte flambée, the Alsatian flatbread topped with fromage blanc (a fresh, tart, spreadable cheese), thinly sliced raw onions and bacon.  It is as Franco-Germanic in flavor as can be. (Someone else said that “If a pizza and a crepe had a baby, it would be a tarte flambée!” )

We found a pleasant sunny spot at one of the tables where we could watch the local people enjoying the festival.  Even a wedding party came by on their way -- on foot -- to the church where vows would soon be exchanged.



A band played beside the city water tank and quite a few people danced. After sampling the regular white wine (Riesling) , we got glasses of the new white wine for which the festival was named (Fête du vin nouveau).  It's kind of cloudy white in color, comes in a green bottle with no label, and tastes okay, but it is not something we'll go seeking out on a regular basis.


Flowers cascaded like waterfalls from every window box, old planter, and front step.  We began to  assume that the garden center business must boom all year in the Haut Rhin region.  This storybook village also proudly stands as the birthplace of winegrowing in the region. 

Note the stork's nest

 

 The drive to Riquewihr was not long, but it did curve around many small villages and vineyards.  We passed apple orchards  as well where "pick your own" schemes seemed to be popular.

Driving in Riquewihr was just about as challenging as Valerie, the real estate agent had warned.

We circled the walled city twice before finding a temporary parking spot and walked up to her office. She showed us the way first to the apartment, and then to the parking lot.  That required yet another circumnavigation of the city walls as well as some careful winding through narrow tourist-choked, cobbled streets and alleyways.

Of course, on the way back from the parking lot to our new abode, laden with suitcases, Dick and I got lost and could not find the apartment again.  Just when we were about to give up and go seek out Valerie again, we heard Marcia and Faye talking and they opened a door -- the only one we had not tried.

Faye and Dick with Valerie

 The two bedroom, two bath apartment on the third floor is quite nice.  It has a spacious with a view over the rooftops and into the courtyard below.  The decor is sort of "Alsatian rustic" in natural wood with the odd hunting trophy on the wall and occasional horns here and there. (Marcia noticed that a few items of Christmas decoration seem to still be hanging about, but they are colorful.) The television does work, but it seems to receive only one English language news program, one of the British channels.

Living Room and Television

The other odd bit is the coffee maker, one of those Nespresso machines which do better making very small cups of strong coffee.  We brought some Nespresso pods with us from the U.S., but the coffee maker died on the second or third day. After that, we simply brewed drip coffee the old-fashioned way.

By the time we got all the bags up the stairs and somewhat settled, it was time to think about dinner.

Marcia and Brian's room

Of course, this was a Saturday night in the height of the fall tourist season, a weekend when France was enjoying wonderful weather. We had Faye make the telephone call because she could switch to German if necessary; but, it turned out everyone wanted to speak English.

The first few restaurants had no space at all, even when we tried the more expensive, upscale places which usually have room. The answer everywhere was "complet."


Finally we found a bar/brassiere in old Riquewihr, a short walk, Le Grognard, that could take us.  I especially remember being adventurous and ordering the kangaroo -- it was a little chewy, but okay.

So, this has been a long day with some travel, some pictures, some inexpensive wine, some flowers, and some new views.  There's a green hillside vineyard outside our bathroom window that gets bathed in sunshine every morning.

I think we'll like Alsace.

Vineyard view outside our bathroom window