Few for the Foodies

A lovely dinner last night at the restaurant just below our apartment.  Sorry for the picture quality.  The food was amazing!

Foi gras with cranberry gelee

Red Mullet with root vegetable mousse

The cheese course

Dessert

The restaurant

The entrance.  We thought it was a window and walked past several times!

Wine!

We took a city tour today with a wonderful guide.  We will post more later but here are a few pictures of some wine presses throughout the years.  One is dated around the year 950!

Sunday Drive

Today we took off in the car to travel south.  We were looking to taste some wine but most tasting rooms were closed.  We ended up wandering through many small towns.  On the way we stopped at a magnificent chateau, "Chateau Pizay" in Saint-Jean-de-Ardières.  Below you will see the most unusual way they trimmed their trees.  We also stopped along the way in Chardonnay and shared a bottle of Chardonnay!!  

Some of the locals arguing about a boci ball game!

A few more photos of Beaune

Remembering Jurbise, Belgium

I enjoyed a small beer today while sitting about six inches from a the two high inch curb on a narrow street here in Beaune. It struck me that The best beer I have had this entire trip was at Carl's  Place, Au Chevalier D'Or. Carl, the proprietor is over six feet tall and robust. He greeted is all warmly at the door. I offerred him a handshake, and he insisted on a kiss on the cheek. He recommended a Belgian Dark Ale named "Scotch". Best beer of the trip, and the tidiest well kept drinking establishment of the trip, Carl. I tipped my glass to you today in Beaune, France Carl - Prost!

Kaysersberg

Rob here. Another day, another castle. Kaysersberg.is another nice hill town in the Alsace. We made another trek uphill to the highest point above town. This time Cinda made the sandwiches and we brought a  bottle of the local sparkling wine "Cremant". Margo, a wonderful friend we met in Belgium recommended ithe wine. Margo -" When you get to the Alsace, be sure and drink the Cremant, pronounced like cement with an r"!

The hike up to this Chateaux was part of the route that Trekkers take from town to town when hiking the Alsace. Our route was shorter and easier than the last. As for the Castle,  more of this Structure was left to explore. 

I thought about my nephew Steve when I looked down through the narrow "archers window" to the stone walkway below. 

On the way up the spiral stairs, I shared the story of the "Sinister Hand" that my friend Mike Kraemer gave me last year. The "Sinister Hand" was the moniker given left handed knights during the High Middle Ages. They were given this name because the spiral staircases in the castles were made with the spirals in the direction that would give advantage to the defenders of the castle (those already occupying the advantageous higher point on the stairs.

However , the direction of the upward spiral provided advantage only against the right handed swordsman. Against the left handed attacker, the advantage was handed over to the attacker, hence, the "Sinister Hand".

More on the "Cremant" the sparkling wine of the Alsace -  We bought our bottle of Cremant bottle in neighboring Katzenberg the day before, after tasting it at the Stoeckle' Winery. At the winery we met an engaging couple from Holland. Like most people from Holland, they spoke several languages, including English. When we were all making our sorry attempts at speaking French with the owner, he came to the rescue. He told us he loved speaking English, or any other of the five languages he had learned instead of his native Dutch!

 He explained that speaking Dutch was "not so much a language, but a disease of the throat!

When he pronounced Cremant he  a chcchhh sound  between the c and the r.

More on the Stoeckle' Winery. After struggling with our (lack of ) French, the owner called in his charming 25 year old daughter Fannie from her harvest duties. Fannie is a sincere, engaging young woman who could carry any room with her charm and quick wit ! 

Fortunately Fannies English was far better than our French! We asked many questions about the wine growing in region !

" Who works the vineyard during harvest? Do you have to bring in workers from elsewhere or are they local?"

There are several varieties of grapes growing in most of the individual wineries vineyards. These varieties of grapes grapes are each ready to pick at different times. So the labor needs are not huge. It is manageable. Our grapes are picked by local persons, but also a great many pensioners (retired people). 

I was pretty excited about that. I asked Fannie "so when I retire, I can come work harvesting grapes ?" Her reply was stern.  "Yes , but you must first pass a test ".

I asked, is the test difficult?" 

"Oui, you must drink two bottles of wine"

Food Porn

For those foodies who may be following us..... We had dinner on Monday night at Au Vieux Porche and went with the chef's surprise prix fixe menu.  Started with shrimp in dill sauce, next a generous portion of foie gras (mmmmm ) with toast.  Next scallops over leeks with the most tender mussels.  Just when we thought dessert was on the way they brought the most amazing lamb chops.  Again.....dessert? Then our cheese plate arrived.  We each received enough cheese for the 4 of us.  Finally dessert.  Orchard peach (really plum) tart with ice cream.  Oh, also a white wine paired with each course and red with the lamb.  Over the top amazing.  The next night we had a rotissery chicken, bread and green salad at home.  We needed a break! Here are the lamb and scallop dishes.  Enjoy!

And more pictures of our hike from Carol...

...

This is Rob. Eguisheim to Les Trois Chateaux

We took a five mile hike today from our rental in Eguisheim to Les Trois Chateaux (the three castles). The hike took us out our front door and through this small town. One of many where wines of the Alsace region of France are made. As you pass through town it is apparent that there are almost as many small wineries as there are homes and businesses in Eguisheim. These are not just tasting rooms, but actual small wineries. It is harvest time and we must be mindful of the small tractors pulling trailers that continuously roll up and down the narrow streets of this hill town. 

As we left town we began a long gradual uphill walk through and along terraced vineyards and then later, along the thick forest bordering the vinyards. Tucked into the forested border, we came across what appeared to be an old labor camp or gathering place with a large serviceable More pictures

outdoor wood fired oven! Further along we discovered an apiary with over forty standard hives and a very unusual "hive house" with colored symbols and geometric shapes over the hive entrances to help the bees navigate back to their own hive! Fascinating. These were not inactive hives, but lively working hives! I thought it was fitting that these hives were colored the natural forest colors, not white! I was so happy to have found those hives and the outdoor pizza ovens. Two of my interests in less than 800 yards! I felt like they had been put there just for me. Gratitude!

Shortly after observing the bees, we began an uphill treck through thick forest paths towards the Les Trois Chateaux. The paths turned to trails and became inceasingly more challenging. It occurred to me that both Cinda and I are in far better shape than we were in previous years, and I remember a time when Cinda would decline a five mile hike like this. We talked about our friends and mentors Jeff and Nicky at Fitness Together and thanked them both out loud on the way up!

I had no idea what to expect at the top(other than an expansive view). I had read about an alternate route to a location near the top, where one could ride a bike or drive, and then park and walk the last several hundred yards. So as climbed up the steep trails to the top I invisioned a visitors center, with bathrooms, maybe a few vending machines and some picnic tables.  It could not have been more different than my vision!

The castles ruins have been left to nature, and other than some very sturdy oak stairs, railings, and gaurdrails installed here an there, they are very much left in an un preserved state. They show every one of their one thousand or so years since the Dukes of Alsace built the castle in the 11th century. After Pope Leo the IX walked the streets of Eguisheim, his home town. 

Cinda, Carol, Maurice and I sat down on the thousand year old walls and ate the sandwiches we had purchased at the boulangerie on our way through town that Maurice packed up the trail.  Might be the best sandwich I have ever tasted!  The bread with firm golden blistered crust protecting a soft white freshraisedstillsmellslikethesteamcomingoutoftheoven flesh. This wonderful bread surrounded the locally made emmentaler cheese and sliced cornichons over a thick layer of fresh butter. 

While enjoying the sandwich, a couple of very slow moving hikers with hiking sticks moved very carefully over the rugged brick and granite terrain. I estimated there age to be between 75 to 80 years of age, maybe much older. Both were in such a healthy, wirey state that it was difficult to tell. Each was tall and was wearing "experienced" hiking clothing over strong well defined legs that could easily have been attached to a forty year-old. I turned to Cinda and commented "I sure hope that is us in 20 years. It is amazing that they could have made the hike all the way from Eguisheim".

After we finished our sandwich, we continued to explore the  Trois Chateaux. Every where we went, I was conscious of the two older hikers, very slowly carefully but very skillfully picking their way across the same uneven ground that we had just traversed. Cinda commented to me" I gaurantee those two didn't hike all the way up here from Eguisheim!". A few moments later,  I stopped to take a picture on the farthest side if the ridge, in a shady area under one of the towers. The woman approached me as she was going up the same path I was going down. She asked me "where are you from?" In very good english with a German or Dutch accent. 

Cinda was close by and she replied for me "Washington State". I inturupted. "In the Pacific Northwest region of the United States". The woman smiled and said "I know where Washington State is. My husband and I lived in San Antonio, Texas for two years and we traveled about the states a bit. Our two boys went to Junior High School in Texas. My husband and I are from Holland."

 I asked the woman "how did you get up here?" She gestured to her husband, standing about fifteen yards away and said "we hiked up from Eguisheim". The woman proceeded to tell me about the 300 mile pilgrimage that she and her husband had walked. Through the Pyrenees from Spain, and on to Portugal. She drew the route with her walkingstick in the dirt, complete with major route points and the location of bodies of water. After the presentation, She looked at me and smiled and shrugged " I am a school teacher".  I commented that this must have been a trip of a lifetime.  Her husband turned from looking out over the fall harvest in the valley. He looked at her, and then at me, and smiled, replying for her. "We did it three times."

I am writing this at 23:42. And I wonder. Why did I not offer to buy them a glass of wine when we all got back to the village? The stories I missed! 

Oktoberfest officially begins

9/20/14

Had some breakfast at the hotel and headed over to watch the parade.  They are ceremoniously  bringing the beer to the festival grounds.  Little bit of rain but great parade with beautiful horses in all their regalia!

We had lunch on the way home... A sampling of the local fare!

We wandered a bit and found a market with local foods.  Mushrooms, veggies etc....  I always wish I had a kitchen when I see goods like these.

And some beautiful flowers.  Now back to the hotel for a short rest and heading out for the evening!