France 14 - Quick Lorraine, Sorry Quiche Lorraine!

I have said before that I realise how lucky we are; we landed on a gem of a campsite yesterday about 3.00pm. It is on the banks of the River Moselle at Villey-le-Sec, and there is a bar/restaurant on site. It is quite small and very quiet, and the best bit is the people taking their deck chairs down to the riverside watching the big industrial boats going by, so guess what we did with a bottle of wine in hand – yep, we joined them. It was so relaxing, and the mirror images from the river were some of the best I had ever seen.

But I wanted to tell you about the Alsace Region, and the last 4 or 5 days, for me, it has probably been the best stage of the trip so far, and once again, I believe for the co-pilot too! And can I point out at this stage that it has nothing to do with the local wines, although I can assure you they did help!

We entered the region in the southwest near Montbeliard after being in Switzerland and stopped there for one night at Mandeure, a small town with not a lot going on. We found a quiet campsite with all facilities for about €15, but it was the one that had the bouncy castle and screaming kids!

After that we went through the valley, stopping at Eguisheim, my last post, and we have been to Bergheim via Riquewihr and Obernai via Kayersberg & Ribeauville until we arrived at Villey-le-Sec.

What a beautiful region! We were on a gem of a campsite the night before last in Obernai, stopping at ‘Municipal Campsite Le Vallon de l'Ehn,’ and the night before that we were on, would you believe, a gem of a campsite, Camping Les Noyers near Bergheim - yes, all repetitive and all gems. We have been quite lucky with our choices recently and so different from that very first night at Camiers.

So, the Alsace region is so very green, not the best for a Rangers fan but covered in vineyards. I was initially going to write about acre after acre, then mile after mile, but I need to say 10 miles after 10 miles of vineyards; it is an amazing sight, driving surrounded by grapes, the vines, and the future wine. On our way here yesterday one thing I thought was strange was how suddenly the vineyards stopped and other fields for arable farming started; it was literally as if someone had drawn a line through the countryside and one type of crop couldn’t cross that line.

Being well looked after

But then no sooner had we crossed the line into the wheat, barley, and other crops' territory than we were as suddenly back amongst the vines and only vines. I didn’t think it would last, and it didn't; there was eventually a mixture of both, and the good news is all the crops seem to be able to live peacefully together!

When researched, there are many variations of the most beautiful towns and villages to visit in the Alsace, but the one thing they seem to have in common are that they all contain

Bergheim - Riquewihr - Obernai - Kayersberg & Ribeauville. I have already mentioned Eguisheim in my last post, so I won’t repeat. But being able to sit and have a nice bite to eat and a drink and to watch the storks was again something completely different and lovely to watch.

And I will dedicate a 4-piece photo section to each town. You can see the similarities, but yet they are all unique, and it was well worth the time to visit each one, even if only for an hour or so to have a wander around; again, we are restricted with the heat with the mutts, so it is either a quick walk because we have the dogs or a quick walk as we have left them in the motorhome.

Bergheim

Riquewihr

Obernai

Kayersberg

Ribeauville.

The advantage of these old-type towns is the narrower streets, meaning lots of shade and less sun, so the dogs aren’t so troubled. But even walking in the shade, our old border terrier does struggle at times, with the little Maltipoo not being overly bothered, but she does like lying under the motorhome to cool off. The advantage of the site we are on is that, as mentioned, we can site by the river and with a cool breeze it is very cool compared to shade elsewhere and that is where I am sitting as I type this

However, while also talking about birds, I have also noticed one strange little aspect, and that being the birds of prey; they have been everywhere, with buzzards being the most popular. However, from research, I do believe we have also seen the black kite, but I’m no expert. They seem to be everywhere; to the extent that if I had 50p for every bird of prey I had seen since landing, it would have paid for our ferry home. One day there were three buzzards flying at motorhome cab height over a cornfield looking for prey, and beside the road we were driving. Obviously, I couldn’t watch for long, but I saw enough to hopefully remember them!

But as we have been driving through Alsace, they seem to have disappeared and been replaced with the storks that are common in the region. I’m not saying they have disappeared completely, but there doesn’t seem to be so many going about. Is that a coincidence, or don’t they like the storks? Maybe the two just don’t get on!

But it is beautiful, beautiful countryside, and the campsites reflect this. The one we stopped at near Bergheim was an ex-wine producer turned wine grower, as it was easier for them to grow the grapes and sell them rather than turn them into wine. But the owner was telling us how the grapes used for sparkling wine have to be hand-picked, whereas the others can be picked using mechanical equipment. I had no idea!

The grapes are bought by consortiums from all around the region; it is all planned and harvested and collected with what sounds like precision planning, but then I don’t suppose they can go to waste. If they did, is that where the term ‘sour grapes’ must come from, because someone in the system wouldn’t be happy if the grapes couldn’t be used!

The site is where the reception was, an old farm building, and that’s where the campsite shower was and also the bar and the very small souvenir shop and the swallows' nest with a hole cut out of the wooden wall to let them in and out. But to show the difference, we had a grass pitch with electricity, showers, toilets, and washing up with waste disposal. I had two cans of lager; my wife, two glasses of the local wine. We bought a wine stopper and bottle opener as souvenirs, and we didn’t pay €40; very close, but not quite. The drinks didn’t cost us €8;’ again, very close but not quite!

It was in Obernai that we treated ourselves to a selection of the local wines, from a small local distillery called ‘Weibel Marcel & Fils.’ It’s just like a small farm when you turn in, which I suppose it is; they just farm grapes! You can pop in when you want; if no one is there, you call them, and they will come to you and let the tasting begin.

They had about 6 white, 3 sparkling, and 3 red wines for tasting and for sale, and as far as I know, you could try them all, but we resisted the temptation; however, we did buy a selection of 12 bottles, some for us and some for friends back home, and they were all very nice. The strangest thing for me was them bringing the red wine out of the fridge, which we are told never to do!

Couldn’t fit it in the motorhome.

Seemingly, it is the style of wine and the type of grape; the wine seems thinner than usual, and it was lovely cold. It was a pinot noir, and one I will look for when I’m home and definitely put in the fridge!

There was a very friendly owner who couldn’t speak a word of English, so once again the translation app helped, as did the Belgian couple at the bar who helped translate. And as we keep saying ‘every day is a school day,’ I did not know Belgium did not have its own language. Like Switzerland, they speak with a French, German, or Dutch dialect depending on which border they live closest to! You learn something new every day!

However, after about 4 different tastings, they did only buy one bottle – talk about us Scots being tight!

And so, to food, we are in the Lorraine region tonight, and the site has a restaurant where we can buy take-away quiche, and of course there is only one type, and that is 'quiche Lorraine,’ and we have just finished our evening meal consisting of the local quiche and salad, and it was absolutely amazing. I often wonder when the French come to the UK, do they enjoy fish & chips as much as I have enjoyed all their local delicacies? I hope so!

But to finish, does the wine and food taste better because we are here? I believe it does. It is rare we would ever buy French wine, but it is something we will definitely be looking for going forward. Personally, I can’t see the quiche being as good, but who knows?

Thanks for reading

DJ