Alsace Wine District
October 10-19 2016
Who wouldn’t want to visit the “Prettiest Towns in France”? Alsace has several, with flowers from every window and floral displays in front of several of the medieval buildings. Besides, the towns are just a short drive or train ride from Strasbourg.
We rented a car twice and took a train another day, to visit towns south of Strasbourg along the Alsace Wine Route. Our first car exploration of the Alsace region began in Riquewihr, a favourite of tourists with its flower bedecked half-timbered houses surrounded by vineyards. We bought three bottles of local wine and had them with our meals back in Strasbourg.
Hunawihr, our second stop, was founded in the 7th C by Hunon, whose wife, Hune, is the saint of washerwomen. The small church, surrounded by fortified walls, had old murals on the walls of a small side chapel.
We made it to Ribeauvillé for lunch in an old wine cave. I had good rabbit stew. In the Middle Ages, Ribeauvillé was the seat of the Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre who built 3 castles, the largest, Saint Ulrich, can be seen from the main street in town.
After lunch, it was up into the hills to visit Chateau Haut-Konigsburg. The castle is first mentioned in 1147 documents when the monks complained to King Louis VII of France about its unlawful construction by the Hohenstaufen duke. By the middle of the 17th C the castle was left in ruins after changing hands and being burnt several times. The castle came into the hands of the Germans as a result of the Franco-Prussian war in the 19th C and the German Emperor Willhem II contracted to restore the castle to its Alsatian grandeur of the Middle Ages. He completed the restoration in 1908 and it is now a popular tourist location. The site, at the top of high pinnacle overlooking the villages below, is spectacular, even shrouded in mist as it was the day we were there. We spent quite a long time exploring the many rooms and views.
Our last stop on the route back to Strasbourg was Dambach-la-ville, another pretty Alsatian town.
Colmar, one of the largest and prettiest towns in the area, is a direct train ride from Strasbourg. We planned to spend the day exploring just one town so we wouldn’t need a car. It was an easy half-hour that landed us within a short walk to the center of the historic town. We wandered the streets, admiring the many large Alsatian buildings, churches and museums. A band from another town arrived and set up a corner in the center and treated us to a selection of marching and waltz tunes. Other musicians entertained us on a corner by the canal and beside an outdoor patio where we were enjoyed our afternoon refreshment. Boat tours are always fun and the canal running through Colmar was no exception. The slow ride along the waterway gave us a different view of the towns many half-timbered Medieval and Early Renaissance buildings. We skipped the museums but did visit the interior of some of the many churches, each with something unique to entice us in.Read about our visit to Strasbourg
