Wines and Cheeses and Cakes, Oh My!
Last Friday we went on a tour of the Alsatian "Route des vins" (Wine Route) and stopped in a few of the villages along the way. Our guide Raphaella was incredible and obviously very passionate about the region and her work, and made the day super memorable by providing us with awesome local stories!
Our first stop was in Obernai, a growing community on the eastern side of the Vosges Mountains. Raphaella explained that this town is the birthplace of Odile, the patron saint of Alsace...
Story time! Odile was born in the 7th century to the Duke of Alsace. Unfortunately, she was blind, and because of this her father disowned her. Eventually she was taken into a monastery where she was baptised and miraculously recovered her sight. Her brother arranged to bring her back home, but their father was so angry about this that he killed the boy. Odile ran from him, and a rock face opened to allow her to hide within. Seeing this, the Duke finally understood his daughter's relationship with God and welcomed her back into the family, and they lived (mostly, considering the circumstances) happily ever after.
After this we stopped for lunch in the town of Riquewihr, popular with tourists for its architecture and Riesling. Here I had my first bowl of onion soup with some local Munster, a strong, soft cheese which I later learned during a tasting (hard life, I know) at Strasbourg's La Cloche à Fromage with a man named Burger, is usually made with milk from the Vosges.
Next we visited the Cave Vinicole Jean Geiler for an incredibly informative tour and wine tasting with a side of "Kugelhopf", an Alsatian cake made with raisins and almonds. It's unlikely that I'll delve too much further into the food and beverage aspects of this voyage, but I will eventually link to the blog of a friend who intends to write about it all in detail for those who are interested.
To cap the evening off we had a short tour of Colmar, a city which was described to us by one of the employees of the chateau as the sunniest place in Alsace. Unfortunately it was dark by the time we arrived, but it was still very beautiful!
As I'm sure you can tell, I love it here. I'm learning so much and am thrilled that there is so much left to discover. Until next time!
Our first stop was in Obernai, a growing community on the eastern side of the Vosges Mountains. Raphaella explained that this town is the birthplace of Odile, the patron saint of Alsace...
Story time! Odile was born in the 7th century to the Duke of Alsace. Unfortunately, she was blind, and because of this her father disowned her. Eventually she was taken into a monastery where she was baptised and miraculously recovered her sight. Her brother arranged to bring her back home, but their father was so angry about this that he killed the boy. Odile ran from him, and a rock face opened to allow her to hide within. Seeing this, the Duke finally understood his daughter's relationship with God and welcomed her back into the family, and they lived (mostly, considering the circumstances) happily ever after.
Place du marché, Obernai, with a statue of Odile holding a book with eyes which help her to see
After this we stopped for lunch in the town of Riquewihr, popular with tourists for its architecture and Riesling. Here I had my first bowl of onion soup with some local Munster, a strong, soft cheese which I later learned during a tasting (hard life, I know) at Strasbourg's La Cloche à Fromage with a man named Burger, is usually made with milk from the Vosges.
Next we visited the Cave Vinicole Jean Geiler for an incredibly informative tour and wine tasting with a side of "Kugelhopf", an Alsatian cake made with raisins and almonds. It's unlikely that I'll delve too much further into the food and beverage aspects of this voyage, but I will eventually link to the blog of a friend who intends to write about it all in detail for those who are interested.
Oak and chestnut casks circa 1818 from Cave Vinicole Jean Geiler, the largest still in use in Europe holding 47,000 bottles of wine
To cap the evening off we had a short tour of Colmar, a city which was described to us by one of the employees of the chateau as the sunniest place in Alsace. Unfortunately it was dark by the time we arrived, but it was still very beautiful!
As I'm sure you can tell, I love it here. I'm learning so much and am thrilled that there is so much left to discover. Until next time!
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