After four days of trekking through Burgundy and Franche-Comté, Madonna and I landed in the heavenly little village of Thannenkirch in Alsace.
This delightful place had it all. There were two friendly owners, Steeve and Régine, who worked hard to make their guests happy. And wore very colorful aprons.
A VERY modern bathroom.
And all around us was the beauty of the Vosges mountains, a range that lies in a north/south direction the length of Alsace, like a spine. The foothills of this range are devoted to vinyards and the thriving wine industry. Well-known Alsatian wines are Riesling (not as sweet as German Riesling), Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Gewurtztraminer, and for us red wine fans, Pinot Noir. Also a beautiful bubbly called Crémant d'Alsace.
The Vosges range parallels the Rhine River which forms the border with Germany. On the other side of the river is the corresponding German mountain range, the Schwarzwald - the Black Forest.
According to Régine, our hôtelière par excellence, the ridges near the hotel attract many hikers who believe that the rocks give off heathful rays. There were certainly lots of hikers, all of whom looked quite healthy.
From our room we could see houses of the village and mountain sides.
Last but not least was the breakfast buffet. Oh, my! Let me just show you.
His croissants were the best we had on the trip.
And we had a lot of croissants.
Could this photo be a bit blurry because my hands are shaking with excitement?
There was always an assortment of cheeses and charcuterie (deli meat, often pork). Although Alsace is located in France, and thoroughly French in allegiance, the people of Alsace have a German dialect, culture and cuisine.
Local products, such as Munster, Comté cheese, Montbéliard and Alsatian sausages were always included in the selection.
And then there was the healthy stuff, fresh fruit salad and home-pressed cider.
All of the jams were made by Régine. These are from peaches of the vine (?), apricots, blackberries, rose hips, sour cherries, and prune plums. (This was a real work-out for my botanical vocabulary! I'm especially proud of knowing the word for rose hips.)
But my very best friend in the morning was this elegant coffee machine.
It produced a delicious cup of café au lait on demand and as many times as needed to achieve fully awake status.
Though I must admit that on my first try, I didn't place the coffee cup in the right spot leading to a rather embarassing mess. Note the white and yellow arrows which were oh-so-important, depending on the type of coffee chosen. Oh well, coffee on your feet early in the day leads to an alert state which is enhanced when you actually get to drink some of it.
And I also had a moment of Schadenfreude when another newly-arrived tourist did the same thing. (I believe that is the first time I have ever been able to work that word into a sentence!)
On the morning of Monday the 26th, we were well-rested, well-fed, and well-coffeed (though one with damp toes). That day, we were to pick up Madonna's brother Charlie at the Strasbourg Airport. He was joining us for this part of the journey, where we would follow, as closely as we could, the trail of their father Charles Meagher, Sr., mortarman in the 409th Infantry, "L" Company.
It was a bit tricky to find the entrance to the "autoroute" (limited access divided highway).Instead we found ourselves in the middle of the local commercial composting operation. Not only do you find recycling collection everywhere in France, but there is also communal composting. I know you gardeners are longing to get your shovels into that pile of rich black dirt in the background. Madonna was so excited she took several photos.
The best news here was that there was a man working there who knew how
to get onto the autoroute.
Once we found the entrance, it was an easy drive to the airport in the outskirts of Strasbourg, where Charlie had already landed. Now that Strasbourg is one of the three capitals of the European Union, its transportation centers are modern, comfortable and well-marked in as least three languages. There was a store with a great selection of maps. Can't have too many of those (Right, Charlie?) We stocked up on local maps and a new Michelin guide to Alsace.
On our way out of the terminal, we came upon this wonderful statue of the Pilot and the Little Prince from the well-known tale by Antoine de St.-Exupéry.
St. Exupéry was a writer, poet, and pilot in the early days of commercial aviation. He was one of the pioneers for Aéropostale, flying mail routes into west Africa, and later in South America.
After the fall of France in June, 1940, he went to New York City and worked to convince the US to enter the war against Germany. Then he joined the Free French Air Force (although over the age limit for military flying) in North Africa to fly missions over Occupied France. His plane disappeared over the Mediterranean In July,1944.
No trace of St. Ex was found until 1998 when a fisherman working off the coast near Marseille found an ID bracelet caught up in his net. The name of Antoine de St. Exupéry was engraved on it, as well as the name of his wife, Consuelo. When the sea bottom was searched, the wreckage of the missing plane was also found.
St. Exupéry, affectionately known as St. Ex, is an icon of French culture, beloved for his literary efforts and heroic life. Most of his writing reflects his experiences as an aviation pioneer and wartime pilot. His gift was in being able to express the romance, danger and incredible beauty of that life. But his fairy tale for grown-ups, The Little Prince, is the work that made his world-wide reputation. For a taste of the prose and wisdom of St. Ex, check out this page of quotations from his works: http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Antoine_de_Saint-Exupery/ If nothing else, you will have pithy quotes to write on every card you ever need to send, for any occasion.
In 2008, I found this statue of St. Ex. in a park in the southwestern French city of Toulouse. That city was the center of aviation in those days, as it is today. Airbus aircraft are built there. I had taken a course in Toulouse, and tried to book a few nights at the old hotel where all the pilots used to stay. It's called the Hotel le Grand Balcon - The Grand Balcony. This is what the pilots called their plane's dashboard and the view out into the heavens during flight. Unfortunately, the hotel was under renovation.
I say unfortunately, not because it isn't much more comfortable now that it's finished (and much more expensive!). But it won't have the lasting traces of those pilots and the three sisters who ran it as a boarding house for the young pilots of the Aéropostale. I am perfectly capable of inhabiting a space and imagining that St. Ex or Mermoz or some less famous but no less brave pilot leaned his hand on the very same railing (trying to get up the stairs after a night of carousing perhaps?) This is why, when I visit an old place like France, I am half the time in some other decade, if not some other century. It's time travel.
By the way, the three sisters who ran the boarding house in the 20's through the 50's not only fed and sheltered the pilots, but saw themselves as the guardians of their morals. No women visitors were allowed in the rooms. Some creative thinkers among the guys would carry their ladies piggy-back up the stairs so the sisters would only hear the one set of footsteps!
Francophones can find the hotel story here along with great vintage photos. http://remb.free.fr/dossier/grandbalcon.htm
The newly designed rooms are quite .... exotic, as you can see in these photos from the hotel's very engaging website, complete with club music, videos and great photography. I'm thinking entry into a film festival!! After the intro has played, and the reservations page appears, click "Photothèque", then "chambres" (rooms). You can choose "cosy" to "deluxe". And don't miss the "suite Saint Exupéry". (Clicking "page precedante" gets you back to the list.) Whether you are French or English speaking, this is a real "WOW". Do check it out.
As I said, the rooms are exotic, EXCEPT...St. Ex's old room #32, which has been restored to what it was in the '30's only newer and cleaner no doubt. It is the most beautiful room in the hotel in my humble opinion. And you can book it for only 400 euros per night ($520). Here's photo of #32, as well as a video about the hotel and its mix of history with modernity. Apologies to all of you anglophones; it is in French but the visuals are universal.
http://news.celemondo.com/2010/11/dormir-dans-la-chambre-dhotel-de-saint-exupery-a-toulouse/
I know this seems like a lot of work, but this place is really cool. I love the green apples on the pillows.
I know this seems like a lot of work, but this place is really cool. I love the green apples on the pillows.
Meanwhile, we had picked up Charlie at the airport and the poor man was hungry and tired from a long night of travel (in the tender, loving care of Air France, I add with bitterness and jealousy in my mental voice.) So we drove off in search of lunch. Once off the autoroute. small roads led us to small villages with cozy restaurants serving the best in home-made Alsatian food. Here is Charlie outside the restaurant "À l'Ancienne Chapelle" in St. Hippolyte.
And here on the left is the best meal I had the whole trip, jambonneau (pork shank) stewed in wine. Alsatian dishes tend to the Germanic influence of pork, though one always has other choices such as chicken, goose, and beef. Vegetarian food is also now available - though most is not indigenous. Lots of Flammenkuchen (kind of baked flatbreads with toppings). The stews are hearty and usually laced with potatoes. The regional specialy is Choucroute garnie - Garnished sauerkraut.
It is essentially a large platter of potatoes stewed with sauerkraut and Riesling flavored with juniper berries. Then the whole is "garnished" with sausages, pork chops, ham hocks, and "lard" (thick delicious slices of something like a meatier version of slab bacon.) I served this at my wedding long ago. I'm not sure everyone loved it as much as I did. (Anyone who was there remember that? Nancy, CJ, Ron, Ed, Berta, Gyula, Ivo, John?)
Notice that beer is served above with the "choucroute" - Alsace is also more of a beer culture than the rest of France. The most well-known regional brew there is Kronenbourg. Beer brewing is a long tradition - I remember sitting at a bus stop where a large poster advertized one brand that had been "brewed for you since 1334".
After lunch, we headed back to our hotel to get Charlie settled in. He and Madonna hiked around the village (while I was blogging no doubt), and discovered "potable wasser" at this fountain.
Some liked the mountain spring water so much, they visited it everyday at least once.
Other scenes of this idyllic village, a woodsman statue near the fountain.
(Left, not right!)
And I fell in love with this handyman's special, with its soft green color melding into the green misty evening.
And what a roof! As the house was below the road grade, the roof cascaded almost all the way down to the sidewalk.
I'm thinking that this lovely, rather large house, would be a wonderful getaway. Anyone care to chip in?
Once we three followers of the 409th had settled into our home base, it was time to plan our routes for the next few days,
and time to see for ourselves just how much the idyllic present we were experiencing in Alsace clashed with its bloody past. Next post: we'll be again on the trail of the 409.
After lunch, we headed back to our hotel to get Charlie settled in. He and Madonna hiked around the village (while I was blogging no doubt), and discovered "potable wasser" at this fountain.Some liked the mountain spring water so much, they visited it everyday at least once.
Other scenes of this idyllic village, a woodsman statue near the fountain.
(Left, not right!)
And I fell in love with this handyman's special, with its soft green color melding into the green misty evening.
And what a roof! As the house was below the road grade, the roof cascaded almost all the way down to the sidewalk.
I'm thinking that this lovely, rather large house, would be a wonderful getaway. Anyone care to chip in?
Once we three followers of the 409th had settled into our home base, it was time to plan our routes for the next few days,
and time to see for ourselves just how much the idyllic present we were experiencing in Alsace clashed with its bloody past. Next post: we'll be again on the trail of the 409.
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