Scooter trip to visit Haut-Koenigsbourg Chateau

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Another treat of a day out and Kisbee was raring to go. Sky cornflower blue and sun already hot as we set off well before 10am. An easy ride, only 20 km from the campsite.

Stopped once to photograph some storks and big grey herons who were grazing on one particular field.

At Chatenois Tomtom directed us along a right turn. Now all I can say is Tomtom did not know we were on Kisbee, a two wheel scooter when she sent us along what was virtually a dirt track through a vineyard. If we had been in our 7 metre Tandy Tomtom would have been smacked and then sacked.

Kisbee enjoyed the bumpy track (!) and at the end of it we picked up the normal road up to

Chateau Haut-Koenigsbourg. The 5km road up included a few hair pin bends and some long upward stretches but Kisbee coped well and at the top we sailed past all the poor car owners who had to park part way up the hill and walk the rest Always a great feeling and I have to resist the impulse to wave.



Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg is fantastic. A proper Castle. In England we have palaces, castles and stately homes. In France they are all Chateaus (the only exception I can think of is Versailles) with no differentiation between big proper castles like this one and the the rather ostentatious private dwellings which abound in certain areas.

The Chateau dates from the 1100s, has been the site of several skirmishes including, rather surprisingly to us, one by the Swedish army. It fell into disrepair in the 1500s after one too many attacks. In the late 1800s it was given to Wilhelm ll by the town of Senestat and he decided to make it into a proper castle again.

He employed a superb architect, Bodo Ebhardt, an expert on Medieval architecture who made use of the modern building techniques which were just becoming available. The chateau had electricity 20 years before the villages around it. The renovations were completed by 1918 at which point the chateau was returned to France.

The displays within the chateau are enhanced by the exhibitions showing the reconstruction. No attempt is made to pretend things are original but oh, it is quite superbly done in every way. A wonder of a building with some fantastic decorations, carvings, paintings, stained glass windows, balconies. etc etc. You name it, this chateau delighted us at every turn and on every floor.



We finished the tour in the medieval gardens and then returned to Kisbee.



Back down the hill but using a different road, this time heading for St Hippolyte. Very hot and thirsty and in need of refreshment we stopped at a busy café on the corner ( Le Hupsa Pfannala) and ordered tarte brûlée avec Champignons. An Alsacian speciality rather like a mushroom pizza but lighter and nicer with a crème fraiche rather than tomato paste base. Delicious.



We found a bank which we needed as down to our last €20 as we keep having to pay cash at the campsites and filled Kisbee with fuel. Would have needed to fill up sooner but Bob free-wheeled all the way down the hill from the chateau !

Took a few photos (of course) of this rather lovely vineyard town and set off back. We stopped in Chatenois as I saw a rather lovely church tower and wanted a closer look. Found another much more interesting one. It had a stork’s nest right on top, like an untidy toupee. One stork, which we assumed was a youngster as it was a bit brown tinged and fluffy, obligingly but unknowingly posed for the camera but a second was a bit reluctant.

Back then to the campsite via Super U to pick up some drinks as stocks very low. Had to buy a bottle of water to drink on the spot as it was very, very hot. A sign read 36 degrees which made us feel even hotter.

A swim was needed so we hopped onto the scooter (too hot to walk 100 metres !) and went to the municipal swimming pool next door to the campsite. Swam in the enormous outdoor pool until we were nicely chilled down then back to the campsite for dinner then drinks and a chat with a couple from a few pitches along. A very pleasant evening was dramatically cut short by distant thunder which rather suddenly became a full blown and very wet thunder storm.





Weather has been superb for last 3 weeks, so we are not complaining if it has now decided it now needs to rain a bit. Got excellent tans (that is easily achieved by riding round on a scooter wearing suntop and shorts… don’t tell my daughters !) and have been applying lots of aloe vera moisturiser to keep it in place. Forecast is for very unsettled weather from now on with more thunder and high percentage chance of rain. We will suck it and see.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

France
Beautiful countryside.