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Postcard from Alsace: Wine, Wisteria, and Storks

30 Apr

30 April 2019.

It is always time for wine in France’s Alsace Region, but only for a short time in the spring do the storks roost here to rear their young. Until we arrived we had no idea about this annual migration nor did we know how revered the storks, or cigognes blanches, are.  They are symbols of happiness and faithfulness bringing fertility and good luck. There is a fun read here from the Seattle Times a few years ago.

Ric captured a close up of this nest with both parents present. They were clicking away at each other, their method of communicating. The nest is perched atop a steeple. Note the supports. The towns build and maintain platforms to support the huge nests.

The storks feature prominently in town art,

We have had a full itinerary, one day taking a tour of a small portion of the Route des Vins d’Alsace visiting three family-run wineries, and another day exploring the beautiful and tiny villages, spotting storks, and enjoying the seasonal decorations that adorn every house, shop, and square. Wisteria drapes from walls, roofs, and trees, enhanced by bunnies, eggs, and other signs of the just-past Easter holiday. The air is fragrant with lilac.

The wisteria is at its peak while the tulips have just faded.

A day hike through the vineyards got us away from the hordes and tourist buses in Colmar, which has been our base for five nights. There has also been plenty of time to enjoy the local cuisine.

Flammekueche or tarte flambée, depending on your language choice. Think of it as Alsatian pizza. It is FABULOUS.

As usual, we are car-free. I can imagine why a car would be helpful in this region as public transportation is a bit thin. With the help of a taxi driver named Isa, we have managed quite well. Three times Isa took us to villages that were difficult to reach by bus. We feel like we have our own personal driver in Colmar. Three taxis were far more economical than renting a car for 4-5 days.

For now, I will let our pictures do the talking. Between us, we took far too many in four days: almost 500! Watch for a post (soon!) over at Project Easy Hiker as well about our backroads walk from Riqewihr to Ribeauville along with our visit at the Centre de Reintroduction which has helped in stork recovery.

One of the more brightly colored buildings, this one in tiny Riquewihr. Can you see the bunnies in the window boxes?

The decorations would be tacky on one house, kitschy on two, but when every building has them, it is a theme.

Even this restaurant in Turckheim was bedecked. This is where we had the tarte flambée along with seasonal white asparagus, another specialty of the region.

In Alsace, they use some very old wine barrels such as these beautifully decorated ones from a bygone era.

An eye test chart in an Alsatian winery. The real test for me was pronouncing the names.

Even in the overast that predominated our days in Colmar, the buildings are charming. No wonder this area is called “La Petit Venise.”

 

 

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Off the beaten – Piemonte

12 Oct
12 October 2017.
Leaving Le Marche and moving across the country, we took three trains to reach Bra in the Piemonte. No, it is not named for a feminine underthing. That word in Italian is reggiseno. There was, however, a bra thief that struck there.

Kitty has a view…of trains. Tromp l’oeil in Bra.

Many people have heard of Asti and Alba, but Bra is a smaller town with less than 30,000 people, famous as being the place the Slow Food movement started. For such a tiny place it had amazing restaurants. Two out of our three dinners there were truly stellar.
Boccondivino was the first restaurant to be opened by the Slow Food Movement in the 1980s. We found the food to be inspired without being pretentious, and prices unbelievable for the quality. It is Michelin-listed; no stars, but still! Even excellent Piemontese wine was available by the glass for €3-5 per glass. Our total bill was only €70 including a shared antipasto (a roasted yellow pepper wrapped around tuna pate), two secondi (rabbit for Ric that was perhaps the most beautifully prepared rabbit we’ve ever seen, and roasted guinea fowl for me), a shared dessert, four glasses of wine, a grappa, and caffè. We so appreciated the impeccable-but-not-stuffy service and fair pricing to go along with memorable food. Unfortunately, I was so caught up in the moment, I did not even take any food photos. That is a good thing.
We so enjoyed Boccondivino that we wanted to go back on our third evening. But I did not call until lunchtime Friday and they were completely booked. I sought out something completely different: a seafood restaurant in land-locked Piemonte. Ristorante La Bula serves only seafood and the reviews were terrific so we reserved a table. It may be landlocked, but this part of the region is quite close to Liguria where seafood is a religion.
I think I woke up the owner when I called to make the reservation in the mid-afternoon and we were the first to arrive half-an-hour after they opened. They did not look like they expected a big crowd. It is a lovely space, tucked back under the portico of a very old building, but modern and chic.
I am happy to say a few more dinners arrived and we had an amazing dinner! It was the best seafood dinner we have had since leaving Roma. We started with calamari alla griglia con crema di ceci (grilled calamari with creamed chickpeas, much like a soft hummus), then shared tagliatelle con ragu di polpo (pasta with octopus ragu). Ric had the fried Mediterranean goodness of fritto misto, while I enjoyed the branzino alla griglia con verdure (sea bass with vegetables). The wine list included many regional wines, but we snuck across the border to Liguria for one of our favorites, Vermentino. A lovely grappa capped off the dinner. I might not have reason to return to Bra, but if we are ever within 50 miles, I would detour to eat here.
My grilled branzino at La Bula, Bra.
Ric’s fritto misto at La Bula.
Grilled calamari, La Bula, Bra.
Tagliatelle con ragu di polpo, Bra. The most tender octopus you could hope to find.
Artwork at La Bula, Bra. Such a modern and chic space in an historic building.
Boccondivino night 1, La Bula night 3. Where did we eat on night 2 in this food capital? It was not so much where as when: we ate in the 1950s. Our B&B recommended Badellino and on the strength of that recommendation (after all, he also recommended Boccondivino) we made a reservation. We were first to arrive, but the restaurant quickly filled, mostly with locals, it seemed. The menu was uninspired, the presentation and preparation even less so. There was an antipasto cart where for €13.00 per person the woman in charge of the dining room would load a plate for you with beef tartar, the local bra sausage served raw, insalata russie (I abhor insalata russie!), guinea fowl salad (no doubt made from last night’s leftovers), and a few other rather unsavory looking items that had been sitting at room temperature. Can you say ptomaine? As a primo we chose a pasta which was pretty good, made from the local sausage that was mercifully cooked. My main course was roast beef Barolo, which was, in fact, a tender piece of beef in a Barolo sauce, but it was so lonely on the plate, just a slab slathered in the gravy, no side dish, no color, not even a sprig of parsley. It looked like something served in a church basement in the Midwest when I was growing up. Neither of the servers spoke any English, which was odd in a destination that attracts an international wine crowd, and the décor of this 100-year-old establishment might last have been spruced up in 1959. We paid the same here as we did at Boccondivino! At least they had grappa and the wine was a good value.
So what did we do besides eat? This is an amazing wine region after all. We took two daytrips: Alba and Cuneo.
We enjoyed traveling some by Regionale, the not-so-fast workaday trains of the Trenitalia system. Trains that are taken more by Italians commuting to work or to shop, and by students from middle school through University. There is a lot of commuting between cities like Torino and Bra and Bra and Alba. Every day we encountered swarms of students: out in the morning, returning mid-afternoon. 
We also saw a wide variety of agricultural landscapes, quite different from other regions of Italy. Corn fields dominated where we expected grapes, and small vineyards clung to hillsides. There were more hazelnut (filbert ) trees than in the Willamette Valley! In Alba, vacuum-packed bags of dried and roasted nocciole (hazelnuts) were in nearly every shop and a hazelnut torta was a featured dessert.
Bra is not really in the hills where they produce wine. It is rather on the edge, whereas Alba is right in the Langhe. In Alba, we found an immensely attractive town, very focused on the upcoming La Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (white truffle festival). We are not truffle fans (you either are a fan, or are not, IMO) so I am glad we missed those crowds. We also found that Alba is the home of Ric’s favorite grappa, Sibona. We dithered for about five minutes before deciding to ship a winter supply home. You cannot buy this stuff in the U.S. 
Lovely old carousel, but I really liked the wooden ticket booth.
Flower shop.
The Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Alba, Very old (12th century exterior) but with interesting modernizations inside.
The new baptismal font, Cathedral di San Lorenzo is unlike anything we’ve seen in an old Italian duomo.
Also a modern altar in the very old and historic Cathedral di San Lorenzo.
Late season canna lilies, Alba.
In a small world moment, the little cafe we chose for lunch had a slight Oregon connection: the owner’s sister-in-law is in the wine business and knows Ponzi.
Now a departure for a few fashion photos. As anywhere in Italy, style is important and even in these little towns of rural Piemonte there were some interesting trends that caught my eye. 
Get ready for fishnet stockings! Saw them everyhere! Bra, Alba, and Cuneo have an amazing array of fashionable shops.
These are women’s shoes seen in a shop in Alba.
More women’s shoes. Unusually practical for Italian fashion. Seen in Cuneo.
We also ventured to Cuneo, capital of the province that encompasses Alba and Bra. This is an amazingly beautiful city, very busy and a delight to wander. There are no tourists, it seems. True, no big “sights” or “sites” but that is what off-the-beaten-path is about: Seeing places that do not attract the hordes. We only had a few hours, but could easily have stayed a few days. It is nestled up against the Maritime Alps. I would love to see it in winter when the peaks are snowy.

 

Gosh how we miss Italian markets! So interesting!
Truth in advertising, Cuneo market. This calamari (calamaro is singular) is from the Pacific, much to our surprise!
Cuneo pedestrian area. Can you see the mountains in the distance?
Cuneo has several interesting bell towers.
Artsy shot by my better half, a little church in Cuneo.

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A tale of two bridges

7 Jun
7 June 2016. There is no question the ancient Romans were talented engineers. The Colosseum in Roma is still standing after almost 2000 years while the courthouse in Salem, Oregon, was condemned after 10 years due to construction problems.
Me at the amazing Pont du Gard. Still standing after 2000 years.

Me at the amazing Pont du Gard. Still standing after 2000 years.

At Avignon there are two famous bridges: The Pont du Gard and the Pont Saint-Bénézet. The Pont du Gard is as old as the Colosseum (1st century A.D.) and still standing, but the Pont Saint-Bénézet (aka Pont d’Avignon), built between 1177 and 1185, was abandoned in the mid 17th century as they could not keep the arches from collapsing when the Rhône River flooded. Today the four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhône are believed to have been built in around 1345 and are all that remain. It is a bridge to nowhere.
The bridge to nowhere, that is the "Pont du Avignon."

The bridge to nowhere, that is the “Pont du Avignon.”

Roman engineering triumphs, but not necessarily the Romans of today. Overall it seems to us that maintenance is not a priority. Italians wait until something is broken to fix it.
We’ve stopped in Antibes and Avignon visiting Nice and Arles while in the vicinity, followed by a few chilly days in Chamonix during which Mont Blanc refused to reveal itself. We navigated through the French train strike with minor inconveniences and we ate our share of baguettes and too much cheese. We had a fabulous pizza in Antibes, of all places, and a terrible one — one of the worst ever — in Chamonix. (I’ll blog about this one shortly at Our Weekly Pizza.)
Following are a few travel photos with captions for those inclined to click through the slideshow.
A presto!
This woman must be an Italian. I was wearing hiking boots as we trod up to the top of the Pont du Gard for the view.
Pont du Gard. This view was well worth the trudge uphill.
Mural in the hallway of our hotel, Hotel Le Colbert, Avignon. One of the best we’ve stayed in.
The very colorful Le Colbert.
Artwork everywhere at Le Colbert.
Hotel Le Colbert breakfast room. Patrice served an exceptional breakfast.
Morning light, Avignon. One of our favorite things to do is wander in a town early, as it is waking up.
Saw this little guy on a wall beside the trail at Pont du Gard.
We found many of these painted “windows” on facades throughout Avignon.
Avignon bicycle.
Antibes beach walk, featuring copies of paintings by famous impressionists with the view the artisit portrayed.
View from our apartment, Port Vauban, Antibes.
“Nomad” from the collection at the Picasso Museum, Antibes.
I loved this view at the Picasso Museum, Antibes.
The lovely curve of the beach at Nice.
What a French train station looks like early in the morning when there is a strike. A couple of our trains were cancelled.
Hiking Cap d’Antibes. Lovely trail here belied what was to come.
The Cap d’Antibes trail became quite rugged in parts, lots of stairs, and some tricky footing.
Terrific restaurant in Antibes. We had a little cat keep us company. I love that in Europe!
No doubt an Arab-owned yacht, powering past Antibes as she steamed toward Nice.
Flower market, Nice.
Contented customer, Antibes.
In Arles we followed the Vincent Van Gogh trail, where copies of his paintings are placed in the location he painted.
A Van Gogh painting of the courtyard of the hospital he stayed at in Arles, today’s Espace Van Gogh.
The courtyard as it looks today. Few differences.
Guard cat, Pont du Gard.
I thought Ric looked every inch the Frenchman sitting in this Avignon cafe.

 

 

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Return to Monte Mario

13 Apr
13 April 2016. As we looked down on Roma from 450-foot-high Monte Mario, the highest point in town, I contemplated how wonderful it was to be hiking at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday and how lucky we are to be doing so in Roma. Ah, retirement is good!
Thanks to Melissa for this nice picture of Bill, me and Ric at Lo Zodiaco, overlooking Rome from the west.

Thanks to Melissa for this nice picture of Bill, me and Ric at Lo Zodiaco, overlooking Rome from the west.

Today we retraced our route from Thanksgiving 2012, aided once again by the book “Rome the Second Time: 15 Itineraries That Don’t Go to the Colosseum.”  We were joined by friends and fellow-embassy retirees, Bill and Melissa, who had not yet made this trek. Very few minutes into the hike one completely forgets one is surrounded by a major city. All you hear is birds singing. Climbing past views of St. Peter’s Basilica and ever higher above the quartiere of Prati, after about 45 minutes one emerges at the Bar/Restaurant Lo Zodiaco, a perfect place for refreshment and contemplating the city at your feet.
The Madonna peaks through the trees as we descend Monte Mario.

The Madonna peaks through the trees as we descend Monte Mario.

The second part of the “hike” becomes urban, with some rather intense traffic, then one enters the woods yet again, enjoying views over the soccer stadium, a shiny Madonna high on the hill, and finally the Foro Italico (formerly Mussolini’s Forum) and the Stadio dei Marmi. It is an area of Roma that most visitors don’t see, but it is a treat to explore these pockets of the city a piede (on foot) and work off post-hike lunch before even eating it. 
We ate pizza at a convenient location along the Tevere by the Foro Italico. Our Weekly Pizza would only rate this place at 6-out-of-10 points, but it was convenient and we four enjoyed wrapping up our urban trek with lunch at the very Italian hour of 13:30. Ahhhh, retirement!
Click on any picture below for a better view. 
As we wound our way up Monte Mario, this view of St. Peter’s emerged. It is rare to be at a level higher than St. Peter’s. Photo by William Walls.
Hiking down Monte Mario, a short detour leads to views over the spaceship-like soccer stadium.
Statue at the Don Orione complex. The base says “I always bend to the needs of my neighbor.”
The stadium from street level. Note you can see the golden Madonna in the upper right.
Stadio dei Marmi, with giant statues of athletes.
Fascist building in the Foro Italico, once used for the Olympics.
Mussolini’s obelisk at the Foro Italico.
Unexceptional pizza. The bar/ristorante along the Tevere was, however, convenient. Edible, fresh, not wood-fired, a “6” on the Our Weekly Pizza scale.

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Night train to Vienna

21 Feb
Does that title conjure up images of The Third Man: Harry Lime and Holly Martins with the lovely Anna prowling about post-WWII Vienna, chasing through dark streets, sewers, and buildings reduced to rubble? The movie paints Vienna as a bleak and dreary place, certainly not the city of Mozart and Schubert.
The Stephanskirche in Vienna is very dark and grim inside and out.

The St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna is very dark and grim inside and out.

We found Vienna to be quite bleak as well. Perhaps it is just the weather, which was rather like Seattle in winter, only colder. Skies were gray on gray, with winds that chill the neck and beg one to wrap the scarf more tightly.  We feasted our eyes on the riches of the Habsburgs in all their excess: The Hofburg Palace, Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM for short; marvelous!), and the Schönbrunn Palace. We walked through diverse areas of the old city, marveled at the musical heritage of this one small burg, and ate non-Italian food for days. We did miss our €1.00 espresso shots and accessibly priced Italian wines, but my, the bread and pastries were tasty!
Settling in for a night on the train.

Settling in for a night on the train.

The night train was fun and we would gladly do it again. We had a large private compartment for less than the price of two one-way airline tickets and a night in a hotel plus airport transportation on both ends. The compartment even had a bathroom, although coaxing hot water out of the shower proved to be an impossible task. We slept far better than we expected to and greeted the new day in Austria with breakfast served in our compartment. All-in-all it was a lovely evening and night, affording us the opportunity to hit the streets of Vienna upon arrival.
The Schoenbrunn Palace of 1441 rooms rivals Versailles. It dates to the 16th century when it was, of course, built as a hunting lodge. Inside is 18th century Rococo.

The Schoenbrunn Palace of 1441 rooms rivals Versailles. It dates to the 16th century when it was, of course, built as a hunting lodge. Inside is 18th century Rococo.

The Habsburg wealth and excess gave us pause to consider excesses and royalty. It seemed even more excessive than that which we have seen elsewhere in Europe. Perhaps because Austria is now such a small country it is difficult to reconcile with the once great status of the empire and the family that acquired such wealth.  It is a wonder the Austrian people didn’t do to the Habsburgs what the French did to the Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in the French Revolution. (Nota Bene: Marie-Antoinette was a Habsburg by
The backyard at the Schoenbrunn Palace.

The backyard at the Schoenbrunn Palace.

birth.) Empress Elizabeth, AKA, Sisi, seemed to be worshiped in the eponymously named museum within the Hofburg Palace. While it was fun to see the gowns and elegance of the time, she was a tragic narcissist who had ankle-length hair, a penchant for the finest chocolate Demel could deliver, and despised being married to the Emperor. Not much to admire in my book. 
For more on the riches and sights of Vienna please click on any picture below for a slide show. 
Kunsthistorisches Museum staircase. The building was constructed especially for the colloection.
Cafe inside the KHM, an elegant reminder of times long gone.
Canova’s fabulous “Theseus Defeats the Centaur” at the Kunsthistorisches.
Habsburg medicine chest. See the little vials inside?
The Hofburg Palace.
You might think you were back in the 19th century with the carriages drawn up outside the palace.
Demel’s windows dressed for Easter.
Easter deco at Demel.
Typical Viennese pastries at Demel.
The silver lining to winter city-trips is that sites are not crowded. While weather prohibited sipping coffee in a sunny square, we enjoyed crowd-free touring and waltzed right into the museums and palaces. To be fair, even with 2 ½ days we failed to see all Vienna had to offer. Wish we’d had time for the Klimt Museum at the Belvedere Palace.
Typical wurstel stand in Vienna. YEs, they are much patronized. No, we did not.

Typical wurstel stand in Vienna. Yes, they are much patronized. No, we did not.

The food surprised us. Our dinners were anything but formula Austrian. Fresh fish and creative treatment of vegetables surprised us, although of course one can find schnitzel, too. Wine by the bottle is expensive compared to our beloved Italy, but restaurants offer a remarkable selection of wines by-the-glass at prices that make a bottle seem unnecessary. We are now big fans of Grüner Veltliner, the exceptional Austrian white wine.
The Vienna U-Bahn employs an honor system we’ve not seen before. There are no turnstiles or gates. You are responsible for buying and carrying a validated ticket or pass, and there are spot checks. We sashayed on-and-off a few times, then the last morning on our way to the train station encountered an army of ticket checkers at Schwedenplatz – at least a dozen strong – randomly looking at tickets and passes. The system made transit quite smooth. I wonder if it could be made to work in Rome?
My travel companion of 31 years and a bottle of prosecco to start the trip.

My travel companion of 31 years and a bottle of prosecco to start the trip.

For anyone planning a trip to Vienna, I have three recommendations.
  1. Hotel Stefanie is just past the Danube Canal to the north of the Ringstrasse. Old-world in style, but upgraded for modern travel with powerful showers of never-ending hot water (unlike Base Camp Barton in Rome), WIFI, and an enormous breakfast buffet. The tram to the center runs right by the front door. Off-season we paid €106.00 per night.

    Lovely fish and vegetable dish at El Hans. Delectible and pretty.

    Lovely dorado and bok choy with potatoes at El Hans. Delectable and pretty.

  2. We had incredible meals at El Hans and ef16 both within walking distance of the hotel. Certainly you can get Wienerschnitzel, but why do so when there is freshly grilled octopus, calamari, trout, pumpkin soup, violet mashed potatoes, and figs at every turn? How does Austria manage to do vegetables so much better than Switzerland?
  3. A transit pass for three days was very worthwhile. Although we walked 9-10 km daily, the weather frequently made jumping on the tram a good idea. No need to buy a Vienna Card. As seniors, every museum gave us a discount upon asking (the low end of senior defined as a youthful 61). 
More to come…Salzburg and the Pillerseetal ahead!

 

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