Alsace

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I had been to Alsace with my family 2 yeas back. I have tried to describe my holiday here . Hope you find my post purposive.

Alsace .

Reminiscence of my holidays give me a sense of gratification . I often sit back to recollect about my past vacations . France is very much like the Indian subcontinent . Each region has its own history / architecture / language / culture / features/ cuisine and uniqueness .

You can blindly take a trip to any near by place and notice the diversity immediately . One such vacation which left a lasting mark is my family trip to the region of Alsace , France . Though in those days , I didn’t blog much , the recess is so indelible that every tiny bit is etched in my memory .

This diary is for all those who think France , Croissants , the language of French and Paris go hand in hand all the time .

Read on and you will know what I mean .

Alsace is a vicinity of France to its east bordering with its neighbor Germany . It’s a mere 5 hour car trip from the French capital of Paris . Inhabited by a spirited race ,they fiercely guard their culture and language . Many senior locals speak French hesitatingly ( and grudgingly ) . They prefer speaking in their provincial tongue - Alsatian which is a mixture of French and German . It’s a dialect which is prominently taught in schools even today . English and French are popular with the younger folk though .

The diligent German Alsatian breed of dog has its beginnings in this region.

The first thing which strikes you as you enter the district of Alsace is its conspicuous ,colourful timber houses.

The pretty picturesque town of Rimsdorf is a good place to start your discovery of Alsace. Its only a 30 minutes drive from the German border.

When entering this expanse you feel waylaid and start deliberating if this is some Toy Realm . It looks as if some petulant child has assembled splashy / vibrant Lego block houses.



The condos and cottages are painted in bright and boisterous hues like parrot green , ink blue , dark purple , shocking pink and even black but rarely white and cream.



Once you are all checked in , your hostess follows you to your cottage showing you the interiors .

It’s a homelike feeling walking into a cottage ( you have rented) all smelling of fresh scones and gratins which the hostess has made as a welcome gift . Many of the cottages which are let out still have the original owners residing in the back portion of the houses.

Some of the them have guarded their old appliances though the generations like old styled washing machines / ovens / hand pumps etc., Though it does not serve any purpose now , it makes for alluring display .







Our self catering cottage had a multicoloured shocking pink exterior. Like majority of the cottages there ,they too had a huge garden in the backyard where they grew their own vegetables . It stood right next to the village crematorium. Some of the graves were dated hundreds of years ago. Our hostess spoke a smarting of French with her native Alsatian and yet managed to drive home her point .

Apart hotels/ self catering Cottages / B&Bs / motels / camping sites are all given ratings by the local government .If you are traveling with your family , make sure you get at least a 3 star cottage .It will include self sufficient kitchen inclusive of appliances / vessels /some groceries / garden furniture and easy maintenance ( tiled floors and not carpets ) interiors

Upon prodding, we were told that the shade of the house shows the occupation of the inhabitants. Butchers use one colour , cloth makers ( tailors /seamstresses ) have a colour for themselves , shoemakers have one hue allocated to them and so on ….

Traditionally people have followed their progenitors in their professions . The colour of the house shows their ancestory and skillset . it was meant to identify the owner’s aptitude from a distance . For instance , a few decades back , if I am urgently searching for a doctor , then I can spot his house from a long radius . Of course they could have hung boards ( printed on board / chiseled in Broze / Smoked in Wood … ) but then there is always a man or two who cannot not read or write in the village .

Alimentation :

If you are a pure vegetarian its practical to rent a self catering cottage . It’s a tough chore going around searching for herbivorous joints. The last thing you want to do on a tired day when you are all spent touring various sites is drive around looking for a suitable eatery . Even the so called salad outlets inherently include Fish in their diet . They say that fish does not have meat so it’s a vegetarian dish . But if you are fussy like me , then its better you rent your own .

In many countries in the west , if you are not in one of the big cities, then finding a fully vegetarian outlet in the small regions could take quite a while though there are Pizzeria huts , McDonalds and Dominos at regular intervals .

Choucroute is a 100% vegetarian dish which is local to Alsace but its eaten as a side dish . It contains finely shredded cabbage with salt and juniper berry . Like pickles this too is left to ‘set ‘ or ferment and relished with the main course often containing meat .

The Alsatians use a lot of Pork in its local cuisine . Wine and beer is preferred to water or juice . Like many districts in France ,here too they make their local brand of wine. Many individual families , even today , have fully functioning wineries in their underground caves . Once upon a time , water was consumed only by the poverty stricken or when you were ill . Drinking water at mealtimes was considered an anomaly till a few decades back.

The regional soil is rich for grapes . White wine made of green grapes is prominent in these parts . The very mention of wine might evoke hushed whispers in the Indian subcontinent ( to use one inclusive term for India / Pakistan and its neighboring nations ) but truth be told , it does have its plus points . The manufacturing and consuming of wine here is as old as civilization itself . Wine in Europe is as pious as milk in South Asian countries. Its deemed a profanity if you refuse wine as a guest when offered ,especially during religious occasions.

Wine clears the palate so its sipped between courses. . The taste of the first course gets erased and your tongue is ready to relish the next course . Hence they say sip wine before and in between meals . Alsace prides in making wines which are white and sweet. If like me , you are in the habit of regularly drinking only red wine ( my usual justification is that its rich in iron / builds antioxidants / boosts skin collagen etc., etc., … ) , then give it a rest for a few days during your holiday in these locales and go for the local white wine .



Shopping :

Alsace is acclaimed for its pottery , glass and crystals . It’s a near heresy ( to use a dramatic term ) to finish your holiday without shopping for these.

The crystal and glass ware for the French royalty and aristocracy has come from this region .

Many shops and factories here boast of their rich lineage of producing for royal courts world wide and are still catering to the same noble families since hundreds of years .









Try to visit one of the glass factories if you can . You get to watch a 30 min demonstration of manufacturing glass ware . It looks so easy that you are tempted to try it yourself but remember the glass is burning at several hundreds of degrees and there are professionals at work wearing thick gloves and face masks .

The factory outlets are a home maker’s delight . You can get intricately carved ( moulded or smoked) wine glasses, mugs , jars, heavy chandeliers , tea sets … at reasonable prices One small multicoloured finely chiseled chandelier will cost around 300 Euros. Its worth every penny as it lasts a life time .

I personally didn’t find the prices very different from Paris . It might be a tad cheaper as the transportation cost of sending it to other cities is avoided here . The only thing is that here you get more variety .

Crystal is costlier than glass . Its definitely more exquisite and fragile . However , If you need to drink something hot then go for glass cups . The same coffee in crystal cups gets colder very soon ( or was it my imagination ? ) Crystal is better for cold things like juice / wine / milk etc., That’s why they have decanters made of crystals which reflects the bright drink inside ( blood red / golden … ) in its many angles. Crystal is supposed to maintain the coolth of the drink inside for a longer time .





Visits :

Alsace also has many attractions for the family . The region of Alsace is so vast and unique in many places that it cannot be covered in one week . However , Some of the main sites need to be visited because of their allure .

Europa park :

A not to be missed site in Alsace is the Europa Park especially if your group includes children.

Like Disney Land in Pairs, if its your birthday then they let you go free and you also get a gift. So it’s a popular destination for children’s birthdays . Its much bigger than Disney land and it takes more than 2-3 days to visit it in entirety . Rides , games , Roller coasters, costume parades , themed eateries , food festivals , Toy factories, free give aways , haunted castles , simulated events are just some of the attractions there . It has many hotels for short stay which run free shuttles ( bus / vans ) from and to the nearest airport or train station. It includes many restaurants and food courts .You can carry your lunch as they have a huge picnic area inside . If you have any handicapped member in your group , you need not fret as you get free access to wheelchairs and walking supports.



The Parc zoologique of Amneville :

This has been given a 2 star by Michelin. Michelin is a tyre company which has travelled world wide and rated sites and hotels . I have read about of star chefs ending their lives if their Michelin stars are taken away or even reduced.

Dinner in such a restaurant costs not less than 200 Euros per head and worth every penny.

A Michelin star site is a well earned prestige , indeed.

This zoo houses more than 2000 animals .

One of its unique facet is that it houses only European animals like Bison . Lemur etc., It does not house any African or Asian animals like Panda or Zebra. The visit takes a full day . Visitors are allowed to carry their lunch inside the zoo and they have large picnic spots for family outings.

A small train takes you around slowly where the driver doubles up as your guide . It goes at the speed of 5 kmph . You can get down and pet some small animals and climb in again . The train journey is pretty long and can go up for couple of hours . If you are planning this holiday in August then be warned ( and go armed) that this is a sinfully hot month in France . You will find yourself invariably dozing off in the train while its on its several-hours-long chug . The train goes at a very slow pace so don’t worry about children hanging at the open doors waving at the animals passing by .

This site is popular with the children . Don’t miss it for the world .Tickets can be booked on line .



Its common to see people hanging at the doors and waving at animals pass by . They are well trained not to accept anything to eat from the general public .













Bitche :

The quaint town of Bitche is closer to the German border and has faithfully served as a boundary checkpost during its many wars. You can follow the underground passages of kitchens / dormitories in the village which has served as hiding holes . Audio commentary is available in many languages including English . Nearby you have many good hotels for short accommodations . Plan to stay a couple of days in this pretty town and you wont regret it . The town hosts one big citadel which is now dilapidated .

The citadel and its near by areas are abound with bunks /tunnels leading to the surface or hidden holes from where gun positions or firing placements were laid out . The hopeless romantic (like me ) can sit on one of the spiral staircases of this cathedral and dream away about wartime romances while Father Time passes by nonchalantly .

Old shell cases are found to this day by the stray adventurer .

The visit to the citadel requires several hours as its an uphill climb so go well stocked with food items. They do have a canteen on the site but like most touristy places, it’s a bit costly with not many dishes on its menu . Many local trains and buses ply to this town so you don’t need to go by a vehicle of your own . It’s a popular destination for school trips from both sides of the border France and Germany .

Fast TGV trains ( Inter state ) run regularly between Bitche and Strasbourg ( which is the commercial centre of Alsace ) carrying tourists and students .

The citadel stands atop a hill and we get to see many scouts groups / walkers / nature lovers take the rocky terrain to climb uphill .









Strasbourg:

Strasbourg is the largest city of Alsace and is the seat of many international bodies .It stands on the banks of the river Danube .

Like most tourist spots , this too is infested ( for want of a better world ) with hawkers selling all kinds of things from colourful furniture to beaded necklaces for a heavy price to tourists. Don’t hesitate to bargain with them .

A dingly dangly straw hat costing 30 euros can be bought for 2 Euros with a little bargaining . A boat ride over the river Danube is a must to appreciate the beauty of the river bank . Because of the free flowing river, this town has housed many organized and commercially run laundries since centuries . Needlesstosay they are dysfunctional now with the easy availability of washing machines and launderettes .





The central Cathedral of Note Dame ( our lady ) of Strasbourg is bang in the city centre and is definitely worth a Dekko . You are allowed to go to the upper most floor when the sermons are not in progress. To the best of my knowledge, there is no entry ticket for this cathedral . it’s a bustling busy town filled with tourists during summer months so be wary of pickpockets











Added to this , there is a small portion of the town where the stoned lanes and beamed cottages date back to the 14^th century . Its well preserved in its original design and is a big draw with visitors .

With a periodic setting like this , one can easily conceptualize a pretty washer woman ( a young lass in her early 20s ) wearing a starched white pinna four slithering down these rocky roads going to Danube to wash her basket load of clothes and clandestinely slipping out to meet a boy , missing her boat and getting scolded in return . Sigh …. So much for my imagination .



above picture shows a quaint part of Strasbourg still maintained in its 14 century design with the original beams and bricks.

Many eateries have mushroomed in this bustling town which caters to various requirements like vegetarian restaurants / salad bars /juice bars / meat-only joints etc., so cheap alimentation is not a problem at all . The tourist is spared carrying a heavy lunch bag while touring this town.





















Colmar :

Colmar is the wine capital of Alsace . Its not as big as Strasbourg but equally bustling . Within a short vicinity, it houses many ancient continuously running wineries. This is the place to shop for wines in Alsace . Degustation is a popular pass time of the French. It means tasting various types of wine in small portions . Wineries are famous for their tasting parties and gatherings where the guests are served scores of wines in modest quantities . Strictly speaking , you are supposed to spit out the wine once you have rolled it on your tongue but many (lets say ) ‘innocently ‘ end up swallowing it . It’s the site for many wine festivals during the summer months . However there is nothing much to view or visit in this town other than wine press factories. A mere half a day is enough to tour this town if one only winery is on your agenda .



Saint Louis Azrviller :

This is a remarkable site where you are carried in a slanting boat . The boat ride of 30 minutes can get scary . Its built to make travel easy between the villages of Strasbourg and Vitry le François .

Its located between the towns of St Louis and Arzvillier. The technicalities involving words like self propellers/ rope tyres are too much for me to understand . So in turn , I am sparing you the complex details . Many private jetty parties are held below on the river Rhine . This slanting boat ride should be taken for its sheer thrilling experience .

















Since there are no border restrictions between Germany and France , you can go across without any problems . Sans constant patrolling , you feel like we are all one big happy family . Not that there is any problem showing your passport and other papers but you can let your guard down , relax and focus on what you have come for – pure tourism .

Germany is a very vegetarian friendly country . For some reason millions are embracing vegetarianism each year . My aim here is not to advocate vegetarianism but am merely saying that finding a herbivorous outlets is easier in Germany . Pure salad bars (wholly uncooked food ) are found aplenty in each street .

Today English is fast catching up as the main mode of communication on both sides of the border . Helpful books which carry translations of some main phrases and sentences can be bought off the shelves.

What I have described above is what I have personally visited and noticed. Alsace surely has truckloads more to offer than this like music festivals , camping , ski , Abbeys ,casinos , chateaus , cycling and walking holidays …

A typical family holiday here should last one week . Any break period longer than this is bound to tire you up ( in my opinion ) . A trip to Alsace is surely bound to fully satiate your senses and you come back to your main town all rejuvenated ready to take on work post holiday .

Give it a go and give me your feedback.

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