Further north of the Vosges mountains, at the edge of Alsace and Lorraine, there are several villages (St-Louis, Lemberg, Goetzenbruck, Soucht and Meisenthal) which had long specialized in producing glass and crystal ware. The village of Meisenthal is famous for its Centre International d’Art Verrier (CIAV; international center for studio glass). Glass has been produced…
Category: France
Golden landscapes along the Alsace Wine Route – a small picture gallery
As snow is now announced here are some pictures taken in Autumn: late September, October and November. Autumn in the upper Rhine valley is actually 3 seasons in one. End of September is still very similar to Summer. Then comes the golden leaves period in October. And right now, almost end of November, some leaves…
Grape picking in Alsace – some pictures
Every year, from end of September to mid of November, Alsace and the upper Rhine valley is wearing its golden dress. This is also a very popular season for holiday makers from all over the world. Winemakers and grape pickers are dancing their ballet on the natural stage of green and soon golden vineyards and…
Gourmet restaurant Au Trotthus in Riquewihr
The Restaurant “Au Trotthus” in Riquewihr is only a 2 minutes walk away from any of our holiday apartments in Riquewihr. It is secluded in the narrow street (rue des Juifs) leading to the Tour des Voleurs and like all hidden gems it is worth the trouble finding one’s way. Housed in an old winemaker’s…
Grab your basket and let’s go to the market!
One of the pleasures of a holiday in Alsace, in any season, is to visit a weekly market to buy fresh local produce. So grab your basket and let’s go! Week after week, year after year: markets are an old tradition Local markets were created in the Middle Ages by the princes. They were frequently…
The Alsace Wine Route celebrates its 60th anniversary
End of May 2013 the Alsace Wine Route will celebrate its 60th anniversary. Between Alsace and wine, it is a very old love story. The beginnings of viticulture in Alsace are dated back to the Roman period. On May 30, 1953, the Alsace Wine Route was officially launched by the tourist office on the occasion…
Back to the homeland of Easter Bunny: Alsace
Have you ever seen that fast-running, long-eared mammal that resembles a large rabbit, having long hind legs and living typically in grassland or open woodland? It is the hare. De Oschtahaas. In the local Alsatian dialect of my village, this is how the Easter Hare was called. The “Easter Bunny” indeed is a hare, not…
Carnival – Mulhouse celebrates 60 years parade
An old tradition in the valley of the Upper Rhine, southern Germany and Switzerland, carnival is the time of the year when the reign of bad spirits of the cold and grim winter period is over and these spirits are symbolically being hunted down and expelled. By the end of winter, each year around January…
Carnival – Fasnacht in the Upper Rhine valley
An old tradition in the valley of the Upper Rhine, southern Germany and Switzerland, Fasnacht (carnival) is the time of the year when the reign of bad spirits of the cold and grim winter period is over and these spirits are symbolically being hunted down and expelled. Carnival – Fasnacht in the valley of the…
Carnival – recipe of Alsatian apple donuts
In the valley of the Rhine, and since the Middle Ages, the time of the Carnival is a highlight in the heart of winter. To hunt the demons of winter to celebrate the lengthening days and before the fasting period of Lent that follows, people were feasting (and formerly this allowed to finish the victuals…
St Maurice Abbey church in Ebersmunster, a baroque cathedral in the Ried
Right in the middle of Alsace, not far from Selestat, between Strasbourg and Colmar is Ebersmunster. Ebersmunster is a village of some 500 inhabitants lying in the Grand Ried. The Grand Ried is the swampy plain that spreads between the Rhine river and the Ill river. It is a flat, wet and fertile land with…
Haut-Koenigsbourg castle: a 900 years long history …
When I was a kid, we went to the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg with our school. It was always a romantic and magical day out that struck our minds of children. For several years since, the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg is at my window. And it is still magical … Of course, for almost a millennium, it…
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