Alsace - Part I
The drive from Aix to Dettwiller was the longest I've ever done, 12 hours straight, we only stopped for gas and to grab a sandwich.
We did most of it during the night and in the rain, pure fun! Aix en Provence is around 900 Km from Strasbourg and it costs around €50 in tolls if you choose the autoroute (highways). Of course we didn't :D, we went through the slower and free roads.
2/13/05
Next day we just rested from the long drive and visited Rémy, Angie's uncle with whom we planned a cross-country ski and a 20km hike.
2/17/05
We had a relaxing morning and a special homemade lunch, Mahlknepfle, typical from Alsace.
It looks like a big gnocchi, but tastes different. It is a boiled dough made with flour and eggs that we ate with apple sauce, lots of sugar and other carbs, perfect meal for our cross-country ski afternoon.
We left Dettwiller and went to Champ du Feu, a place with several trails for cross-country skiing. In our company we had Rémy, Richard and Yvan, Angie's relatives. The Champ du Feu is a pine tree forest located at the top of a mountain. While skiing we could enjoy the nice scenery since everything was covered with snow.
2/18/05
After lunch we went to pick up Mario in Strasbourg, a good friend from Brazil. he was in on a business trip to France and stopped by to spend a few days with us. We did a basic tour of Strasbourg ...
... with a special attention to the Cathedral, drinking 'vin chaud' (hot wine/quentao)...
... followed by a stop in a nice Brewery.
Beer and Tarte Flambée at happy hour price, what else do we need?
2/19/05
The next day we went to see a typical village, Ribeauvillé, and one of the 400 castles from the region. The village is at the bottom of a hill on which remain 3 castles. Saint Ulrich is the castle we visited and to get there was really fun.
We got to the bottom of the hill at about 10:30 AM and it was snowing since the night before. The trail starts with an easy ascent but it gets worse as you go further.
Up there it was completely covered with snow to the point of hiding the trail, and a couple of times we had to stop and double check if we should turn or keep going.
The high inclination and the layer of snow, about 8cm, made it very slippery, but in the other hand it was really beautiful.
The trees had no leaves and its branches were loaded with fresh snow, the ground looked like a smooth white carpet and of course there was nobody else there, just us.
After a while in the remains of the castle we walked back to the village, starving. and of course a typical village with a typical restaurant comes along with a typical dish: Baeckehoffe. it is made with lamb and beef that was left soaked in white wine for 3 days and then cooked with potatoes and carrots and some local spices. The flavor of the meat is outstanding.
I also have to mention that this is the region of Munster, so guess what kind of cheese we had? voilà, and we had it Flambé au marc de Gewurtzraminer.. For dessert we also had a speciality, Kougelhopf Glacé au Marc de Gewurtz, an ice cream cake made with one of the most appreciated white wine, the Gewurtzraminer. the whole meal was delicious.
After all this eating we walked in old narrow streets to get to a wine producer to try and buy some white wine.
We then drove to another village, Riquevihr, walked around as any good tourist. After we went home for more food. There a meat fondue with good red wine was waiting for us .Wow, we are getting fat!!
We did most of it during the night and in the rain, pure fun! Aix en Provence is around 900 Km from Strasbourg and it costs around €50 in tolls if you choose the autoroute (highways). Of course we didn't :D, we went through the slower and free roads.
2/13/05
Next day we just rested from the long drive and visited Rémy, Angie's uncle with whom we planned a cross-country ski and a 20km hike.
2/17/05
We had a relaxing morning and a special homemade lunch, Mahlknepfle, typical from Alsace.
It looks like a big gnocchi, but tastes different. It is a boiled dough made with flour and eggs that we ate with apple sauce, lots of sugar and other carbs, perfect meal for our cross-country ski afternoon.
We left Dettwiller and went to Champ du Feu, a place with several trails for cross-country skiing. In our company we had Rémy, Richard and Yvan, Angie's relatives. The Champ du Feu is a pine tree forest located at the top of a mountain. While skiing we could enjoy the nice scenery since everything was covered with snow.
2/18/05
After lunch we went to pick up Mario in Strasbourg, a good friend from Brazil. he was in on a business trip to France and stopped by to spend a few days with us. We did a basic tour of Strasbourg ...
... with a special attention to the Cathedral, drinking 'vin chaud' (hot wine/quentao)...
... followed by a stop in a nice Brewery.
Beer and Tarte Flambée at happy hour price, what else do we need?
2/19/05
The next day we went to see a typical village, Ribeauvillé, and one of the 400 castles from the region. The village is at the bottom of a hill on which remain 3 castles. Saint Ulrich is the castle we visited and to get there was really fun.
We got to the bottom of the hill at about 10:30 AM and it was snowing since the night before. The trail starts with an easy ascent but it gets worse as you go further.
Up there it was completely covered with snow to the point of hiding the trail, and a couple of times we had to stop and double check if we should turn or keep going.
The high inclination and the layer of snow, about 8cm, made it very slippery, but in the other hand it was really beautiful.
The trees had no leaves and its branches were loaded with fresh snow, the ground looked like a smooth white carpet and of course there was nobody else there, just us.
After a while in the remains of the castle we walked back to the village, starving. and of course a typical village with a typical restaurant comes along with a typical dish: Baeckehoffe. it is made with lamb and beef that was left soaked in white wine for 3 days and then cooked with potatoes and carrots and some local spices. The flavor of the meat is outstanding.
I also have to mention that this is the region of Munster, so guess what kind of cheese we had? voilà, and we had it Flambé au marc de Gewurtzraminer.. For dessert we also had a speciality, Kougelhopf Glacé au Marc de Gewurtz, an ice cream cake made with one of the most appreciated white wine, the Gewurtzraminer. the whole meal was delicious.
After all this eating we walked in old narrow streets to get to a wine producer to try and buy some white wine.
We then drove to another village, Riquevihr, walked around as any good tourist. After we went home for more food. There a meat fondue with good red wine was waiting for us .Wow, we are getting fat!!
posted by Adriano and Angie | 8:03 AM
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