So…..Has 3 months gone quickly or what???

We only have a few days left here in our little haven of Ammerschwihr before heading back home so hence this will be our last blog…..until next year!

We ares till finding things to do. We went to a couple of wine producers here in our village to do a “tasting”.

Kuehn has been making wine since 1675 and Rhonda has developed a “liking” for their reisling! We ventured downstairs into their “Cellar of Hell” , which is one of the oldest and deepest cellars in Alsace, and was apparently a “safe haven” for people of the village during the bombing of WW11. We decided to make a comparison and visit a “bio ” winery , but for us , there was no comparison at all! We were not all that fussed about the wine! We did make a few purchases!

 

We took another drive along the “Route des Vines” and visited some more pretty villages. Mutzig is known as a”beer village” so hence Greg wanted to visit!

 

 

It used to have a brewery which has since closed down after Mutzig beer was taken over by Kronenbourg. The City Gate was rather impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

Another “beer village” was Molsheim which is also the home to the Bugatti factory and Museum.

 

 

 

The Medieval Porte de Forgerons was impressive as was the 19th Century Town Hall.

 

 

 

Another picturesque village was Dambach la Ville with some beautifully preserved half wooden houses such as the ” Clog Makers House ” dating back to 1686.

 

 

 

 

The Ebersheim Gate has an inscription mentioning that the first stone was laid in 1323!

 

 

 

 

By this time , it was time for a break so we stopped at this cute little patisserie in Barr for a coffee, and of course a cake!

We then stopped at Rosheim, another pretty village along the Vine Route. The medieval Gates of the village were quite impressive. The 18th century Porte de L’Horloge was rather nice as was the Porte de La Vierge at the other end of the village!

 

 

We are still loving all the shop signs that we find in all the villages. This particular one is above the “oldest bakery in Alsace” and is 400 years old…..not bad!

 

 

One night we ventured out past our bedtime to go to Turkheim to experience the “Night Watchman Tour”. He does his rounds of the village every night at 10pm, wearing traditional clothing and basically puts the village to bed!

We lasted for half the tour (one hour) but by then , with the tour being all in French we were a little drained so we left to take some pictures and partake of some beer!

 

We visited the First World War Battlefield and History Museum of the “Mussee Memorial Le Ligne” near Orbey. It was extremely interesting and you are able to walk through the actual French and German trenches of WW1 , high in the Vosges Mountains. Over 18,000 soldiers were killed in the Ligne Battle , it was another moving experience for us.

 

We made a visit to Haut-Koenigsbourg Chateau, (along with thousands of others) . It was the day after a public holiday and we think that all the French had taken a day off to visit the chateau! Once we “found” a car park , and visited the chateau it was worth it!

It was built in the 12th Century , but extensively renovated in the early 20th Century. The entrance to the Chateau with it’s Coat of Arms was rather impressive!

The “Arms Room” had a large display of swords , crossbows and suits of armour. Rhonda especially liked the green ceramic stove with it’s built in heated seat! No cold bums in this chateau! The ceiling in the Kaiser Room had an impressive Eagle and Coat of Arms and was quite impressive!

 

The views from the Grand Bastion, looking out over the valley makes you understand the strategic importance of building such fortifications on the summit of mountains!

 

We went into Colmar one night to check out the traditional Alsace dancing that occurs every Tuesday night.

 

We still walk every morning……well nearly every morning…..and we are noticing how the grapes are changing colour from when we first arrived.

 

Yesterday we took a drive to visit Gerardmer, a town that is known as a ski resort and is situated in the Vosges Mountains. It’s main attraction in summer however is it’s rather beautiful lake which we spent some time wandering around!

 

After all that exercise, it was time for refreshments!

 

 

 

With only a few days to go we thought we would give you an indication of what we will miss and not miss when we return home!

Our “miss” list…..

the raspberries , blueberries and peaches……and so cheap!

the bread and pastries and cakes (although the waistline will not miss them)

Wine ,particularly reisling , and beer ,Alsace Kronenbourg

Fromage, (36 month old comte in particular)

the weather  (on average high 20’s here)

the Thursday night Festivals in the village!

 

And the ‘NOT MISS” list

French drivers…..they are so impatient

Coffee ….the French cannot make good coffee!

Having to buy bottled water

 

So before we finish , we would like to say a huge thank you to Fabien and Lotfi. They have been so generous and kind to us during our stay in Ammerschwihr. If anyone is looking for a place to stay in the area we can recommend their place 100%.

 

So for the last time….it’s that time again!

Au revoir France and in a few days time Bonjour Melbourne!

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda.