Culture in Alsace

The next morning there was some talk of another hike but the group had dwindled to three.  There was no way I was going on another hike - so soon anyway and in any event Frank and I were interested in seeing more of the sights in Alsace.  Elisabeth and Martin had several good suggestions and Steffi, Dorothea and Veit decided to join us after all, although I think Veit was disappointed not to be able to climb another mountain. 

These cows, who look like they are happily grazing in the pasture across the street from our hotel, are actually cutouts.  I'm not sure what their purpose is other than to give tourists the impression that they are part of an idyllic landscape. 


We decided to go to Eguisheim, a pictoresque town founded in the 8th century about 45 minutes away from where we were staying.  Evidently the inhabitants are particularly proud of the fact that Pope Leon IX was born here.  That's a statue of him in the middle of the picture.

Eguisheim is a lovely little town, colorful and inviting with lots of places to eat or have a glass of wine, but unfortunately we had just had a big breakfast and it was too early for wine.

I especially liked the often elaborate signs that hung over the entrances of some of the shops and restaurants.

Eguisheim is originally a Roman town and still retains the basic concentric shape it had in Roman times.  (If you click on the link you can see an aerial view.)  As a result the streets are circular.   This is comforting as it makes it almost impossible to get lost.

We spent a good hour or so wandering along the streets and enjoying the good weather.  It was still fairly quiet because it was Sunday morning and almost every thing was closed.

In one street there was a woman selling sausages from a booth in front of her house.  There was an amazing selection, everything from duck to wild boar.  I wasn't tempted though, because I don't usually like sausages. 

I was impressed with the variety though.  I mean, how often do you have the chance to buy pheasant or goat sausage?

We decided to leave Eguisheim, making some people very happy who were able to park in the two spaces we vacated.  We drove to the former Benedictine abbeyof Murbach, pretty much in the middle of nowhere now, that had from the 8th to the 18th century been the center of the whole region.  Basically only a very small section of the church is still standing.  It's impressive from the front but looks very strange when viewed from the side.

We were feeling a little peckish by now,  in spite of the big breakfast we had had, so we hopped backed into our cars and took off for Dorothea and Veit's favorite Ferme Auberge in the area (Ferme-auberge du SCHNEPFENRIED), not far from the hotel we were staying at.  Since we had been cheated out of our mountain meal the day before, it was only fitting that we enjoy one on this day.  The picture, taken from the Auberge, is of the peak we had wanted (??) to climb the day before when we had been stopped by the snow (I think, second from left).

If you have never had the pleasure of eating at an Auberge, let me say that they are often very simple farms with a very basic menu, but usually all the food served comes directly from the farm produce.  When we arrived (rather late for lunch) there were only two things left on the menu, meat pie and salad.  I think originally there had been three choices.  Everyone except me chose the meat pie, but I am wary of Frence meat dishes and chose the salad.  The salad was very good, but so was the pie and since Frank and I shared I got the best of both. 

However, the main attraction here is the cake or pie with whipped cream which they make themselves from their very own happy cows.  They had a choice of apple or plum cake and I can only describe them as absolutely delicious!  I'm not a big fan of whipped cream and usually pass on it, but this was worth every calorie.

I particularly liked the nice collection of cowbells hanging over the counter.

After we had all finished, Steffi decided to pay the cows a visit and thank them personally for the delicious whipped cream.  She came back to report that they were listening to music.  That explains it!