Strasbourg Christkindelsmärik: The Capital of Christmas Markets Since 1570

Yeah, Christopher Columbus’s kids may have dropped by Strasbourg for some spiced wine and locally made handcrafts prior to following their father’s footsteps and sailing to the New World.  Strasbourg has records going back to 1570 stating that they have hosted a Christmas market since those early days.  I would say they have the right to call Strasbourg the Christmas Market capital of Europe.

The horse pulled carts and gas lamps have long been replaced, but the concept of eating locally made food and buying handcrafted Christmas goodies is still the central theme.  Strasbourg sets the tone with Christmas lights decorating the main streets, buildings, and central plaza.  The Christmas tree in the central plaza is a massive 100 feet tall pine and is decked out with lights and decorations.

With the cold weather and ground covered with snow, it felt even more so like Christmas.  We entered the Christmas market to see what the independent vendors had to offer.  You can buy just about everything Christmas related from ceramic manger scenes, blown glass Christmas bulbs, to hand knit doilies.  Food of course was to be found.  My wife sampled a chocolate filled donut while I had a classic crepe with sugar and cinnamon.   There were plenty of other goodies to be found from gingerbread cookies, fruit skewers dipped in chocolate, sandwiches loaded with cheese and ham, and spicy hot wine.  

I could smell the aroma of cinnamon and anise emanating from the steamy caldrons of spiced hot wine sold by many of the vendors.  I have also seen it called Glog in the U.S.  Spiced wine can be thought of as the European equivalent of hot spiced cider.  When the temperatures are chilly cold, there is nothing like drinking something warm like spiced hot wine or hot chocolate.  If you want to give spiced wine a try, here is my wife's prized family recipe that you can use: 

Hot Spiced Wine Recipe

1 bottle red wine

1 bottle water (same quantity as wine)

7 tbsp sugar

4 anise pods (or substitute cloves)

4 sticks cinnamon

1 orange

1.       Pour water into a pot on stove top, add sugar, cinnamon and anise into the water.

2.       Bring this to a slow boil for 5 minutes and stir. Remove from heat.

3.       Now add the wine. Any red table wine will work.

4.       Slice orange and add to pot.

5.       Warm this on low heat for 10 minutes but do not boil.  Enjoy.

French Holiday Eats

Joyeux Noël!!  Awh, the holiday eating season is here.  This is the time of the year when there is always room for one more bite.  Below are a couple of the plates and treats that I was able to enjoy over the last few days here in Alsace.

One of my wife’s family’s traditions for their appetizer is to eat Apericubes amongst other munchies with their Champagne.  Apericubes are little cubes of flavored cheeses that are wrapped in tin foil with trivia questions written on them.  The questions cover a range of topics but primarily focusing on European topics with the occasional question about the U.S.  The easiest question for me to date was, “In what sport does Tiger Woods play?”        

What would a Christmas meal be without les escargots.  I’m a snail veteran of many years now and look forward to this buttery, rich dish.  Don’t let all of the childhood images of those slimy mollusks fill your mind.  These edible delights are tiny, have an unrecognizable shape and are each baked in individual baths of butter and parsley.  Once you've taken care of the little tasty snails, the butter-parsley liquid is sopped up with a crunchy baguette.  It is almost a meal in itself.

Foie gras, goose liver, is another one of those unique French treats that you should not pass judgment on until you try it.  This is nothing like beef liver and onions.  It resembles a pate but it is so rich and creamy that it is in a category of its own.  It is usually accompanied by a salty jello and a sweet fruit jelly such as fig or strawberry jelly.  In the U.S., I always said that just about any food would taste better with bacon on it, foie gras would be the French equivalent of bacon.

For my birthday, my wife treated me to a raclette meal.  This meal is one of those active eating meals where you are preparing your food as you go.  We went to a restaurant where cheese is the featured ingredient.  I thoroughly enjoyed this meal as you grill cheese and dip prosciutto, salami, and other cold cuts in the melted cheese and eat.  The meal was accompanied by fresh carrot and cabbage salads.    

Plenty of good food to discover here in France especially during the holiday season when the French pull out all of the punches.  There always seems to be one more course coming and a wine pairing with each course.   

Gearing Up for Christmas in France

Just a few days from Christmas!  I am looking forward to celebrating the holidays here in France.  There are a lot of activities and customs that are the same in the two countries, but there are also a number of differences.  I’ll highlight some of the differences that I have observed just in this region of France

Both cultures have the standard Christmas chorales, gift share, and family gatherings.  Here in France, I noticed that they put up a lot less Christmas lights on the exterior of people’s homes.  The French do put up lights in most of the historic downtowns and I’ve seen some in the windows of a few homes.  I think part of the reason is that electricity prices are so high here that it discourages putting up a pile of lights outside, manger scenes, etc.  In the U.S. we like the outward displays of extravagance; some towns (for example McAdenville, NC) have turned themselves into holiday tourist attractions putting up hundreds-of-thousands of lights.

The show in the U.S. might be the lights and decorations, but here in France, it is the food.  No surprise there.  This was even more evident to me after counting how many mail advertisements we received for specialty food and grocery stores.  Over the last two weeks, more than half of the 40 catalogs and fliers were for Christmas food items.  In the U.S., I would have received three or four times as many advertisements for consumer merchandise as opposed to food items.  When I walk by even the small town bakeries and butcheries, I understand why.  Some much food to sample and not enough meals in the day to do it! 

Speaking of food, the Christmas foods are one of the holiday highlights here in France.  Pain surprise, or 'surprise bread' in English, is one of the delightful French Christmas eats.  The name doesn’t give a hint of what it is.   The version that I ate was is a large baguette that has been cut into sandwich thick slices across its width and filled with smoked salmon, different pâtés, and herb seasoned cream based spreads.  It is usually served as a lighter course after eating the main meal.  Another typical French Christmas treat is Bûche de Noël, a super sweet Christmas cake that is formed and decorated to resemble a log.  It is made from a thin cake that is covered with a buttery sweet icing, rolled, covered with chocolate icing, and decorated with a few crunchy, green sugar leaves.  Very sweet.    

The French even found a way to integrate food into their Christmas count-down calendars.  One of my wife’s delights is the Christmas Calendars that her parents give to her each year since she was a kid.  Like clockwork, her parents gave us one at the beginning of December.  Each day we get to eat the chocolate surprise hidden behind the corresponding day.  I am a big fan of the calendar although my wife likes to eat the chocolate first thing in the morning.

Bredeles, The Little Alsatian Cookies

A family family tradition has been to bake Christmas cookies together.  It gives everyone a reason to get together prior to the holidays.  Each family will bring two or three of their favorite cookie recipes and then everyone gives a hand mixing the batter and baking.  Sampling is permitted.  We usually bake more than our appetites can sustain over the holidays…except for M&M cookies, which are my favorite.  

My wife and I decided to continue the tradition here in France with of course French Christmas cookies.  Her region of Alsace has a strong Christmas tradition that includes a wide variety of delicious cookies.  My wife's aunt was the queen of bredeles.  She set a high standard, baking a wide variety of cookies and quantities that you think could only be produced by a commercial bakery.  I had the opportunity to try her cookies a few years ago when I visited my wife’s family over Christmas.  Prior to returning to the U.S., my wife's aunt gave me a bag of her cookies that lasted no more than two days. 

Needlesstosay, I was stoked when my wife suggested that we bake bredeles.  My wife has a couple bredele cookbooks so we choose 9 different types of cookies to bake.  The cookbooks are in French with Alsatian names like Schkola Schpirale, Labkierchle Zengle, and Schwobebredle.  Fortunately, correct pronunciation was not a prerequisite to baking them.  We baked coconut, gingerbread, sugar, jelly, and other cookies.  It took us almost an entire day but we finished with a nice variety and plenty of cookies.  Now the best part begins…sharing and eating them!               

Mount Saint Odile: A Magnificent Monastery

I recently visited one of Ottrott’s most celebrated attractions named Mount Saint Odile.  Historians say that in the 8^th century, the wife of a nobleman named Etichon gave birth to a baby girl who was born blind.  The daughter, named Odile, regained her sight during her confirmation in her adolescence.  Her father being inspired by the miracle decided to construct a monastery in her name.  Since that period, other buildings were added and destroyed due to wars during the middle ages.  The monastery was purchased in the 1860s which was the beginning of its restoration.

The twisty mountain roads that climb up the Vosges Mountains to the monastery are surrounded by mature pine forests.  The day I visited Mount Saint Odile, it was overcast and raining.  The forest took on a mystic feel with limited visibility through the ground level fog.  I was visiting the monastery with some new friends that I had encountered through the mandatory immigration training that I was required to take upon my arrival in France.  Steve is an American like me who married an Alsatian.  Steve and his wife Isabelle had just moved to France themselves.

Isabelle parallel parked their miniature car and we headed for the entrance.  The main entrance passes through an oval tunnel that runs the length of the front building.  There are no longer any doors in place but you could easily imagine massive wooden doors at the entrance providing security for the monastery residents.  After passing through the entrance, you arrive at an open garden area surrounded by pink sandstone buildings.  The massive stone blocks that form the buildings and stain glass windows and stone sculptures that decorate it give the building its character and solemn strength. 

The monastery was constructed on a massive sandstone outcropping at the top of a mountain overlooking the Rhine Valley below.  The fog prevented us from having a spectacular view on this visit; however, on a clear day you can see across the Rhine Valley to the Black Forest in Germany which is less than 50 miles away.  While walking around the property, we heard the sound of a brass band.  Surprised to hear the strong sounds at a monastery, we searched for the source.  We eventually found the source and were treated to a special musical performance of a group of trumpeters wearing traditional clothing and playing Alsatian folks songs.           

 

Thanksgiving in Paris

My wife and I decided to travel to Paris this weekend to spend some time with her friends.  It was Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S. and I was really craving turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  Although I was not able to partake in an American style feast nor watch football in the turkey induced food-coma state of mind, I was able to partake in some delicious French food in the City of Lights and visit a number of the city’s neighborhoods.   

We had an exceptional time visiting a number of popular Paris neighborhoods, Eiffel Tower, famous Christmas displays at the massive Printemps store, and plenty of other sites.  The first evening, we were able to visit the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, a stunning roman church that is perched on top of one of the tallest hills in Paris providing a panoramic view of the evening lights of Paris.  The name of the church means the Sacred Heart of Christ and was placed on the Mount of Martyrs (Montmartre).  It had served as a place of worship dating back to the 4^th century and a large number of Christians were martyred on the hilltop in the 9^th century.    The architecture of the basilica is rather unique for a roman catholic church.  The bulbous-shaped domes of the basilica resemble those of the Taj Mahal as opposed to the more linear shaped design that you find in Notre Dame with its square shaped towers.  It took 44 years to build the basilica, 17 years just to install all of the stained glass windows.  The basilica is dedicated to prayer and has a banner hanging on the front of the church stating, “For 125 years, Here, Day and Night, Somebody has been praying to the Lord.” 

We left the Basilica and returned to our friends’ apartment, which is located in an immigrant neighborhood in the 18^th arrondissement.  Paris is divided into 20 different arrondissements or districts.  The numbering starts at 1 in the center of the city and spirals outwards in a clockwise direction.  The 18^th arrondissement has a tarnished reputation due to high poverty and crime rates; however, it boasts one of the most diverse food scenes that I have seen in Paris.  Part of the food attraction was the number of West African restaurants although I saw French, Asian, Turkish, and Algerian restaurants as well.  Just on the few streets that we explored, I saw close to a dozen West African restaurants and plenty more specialty food stores supporting this local food niche.  One small grocery store that we entered, offered several varieties of dried and smoked fish that are popular in West African sauces.  I also spotted the Ivorian specialty of attiéké.  Attiéké is a sort of couscous that is made from cassava, a starchy root vegetable.  The smoked fish smell was a little pungent but the exhaust from several of the restaurants that wafted up the street reminded me of spicy peanut sauces and deep fried plantains.  My mind was flooded with images of dusty road-side cafes, sitting on rickety wooden chairs, and eating hot meals in the oppressively hot-humid climate.

Although we did not sample any of West Africa’s delicious cuisine, we did visit a small French restaurant in the neighborhood serving heavy, old country style French food.  It was below freezing outside so we were pleased to be seated in the corner of the small restaurant next to the large cast iron radiator.  Our waiter brought the menu over to our table which listed appetizers, deserts, and six entrees on a small chalkboard.  I chose a cheese fondue dish while my wife opted for the lamb shank with a rich brown sauce.  While our food was being prepared, we enjoyed an appetizer of different pâtés, salamis, other cold cuts, and cornichon (small French pickles).  The cheese fondue came served in a large cast iron bowl with a gel fire placed underneath and a pile of sliced French bread.  Each time I dipped a piece of the crusty baguette in the fondue I had to raise my fork above my head and turn it a dozen times before the string of cheese would snap.  Cheese paradise!  My wife was gracious enough to share her savory lamb and the carrot and potato accompaniments.  We also cleared out palates with a Chinon red wine from the Loire region.  Dessert was out of the question, we were stuffed.

The following evening, we celebrated the birthday of one of our friends.  They had invited several other couples to their apartment to celebrate together.  To get to their apartment from the street, we passed through massive wooden doors that gave you the impression of entering a castle.  They lived in a building built prior to the dawn of elevators.  We climbed up five flights of spiral stairs to arrive at their 4^th floor apartment.  Not sure why, but the French call the 1^st floor the zero floor.  Parisian apartments are quite compact, like something you would find in New York City, with no wasted space.  The fireplaces with their marble mantels and wooden plank floors gave the apartment character.  That night, they had invited over several other couples and had laid out a spread of more than a dozen different types of cold cuts.  As the hosts originated from the north of France, they provided a few of the regional specialties including andouillette, which is a pork tripe sausage.  They also shared pâté campagne, rillettes (finely shredded pork in a pate form), dried sausages, smoked ham, boudin noir (blood sausage), boudin blanc, and knack (pink pork sausage).   The conversation was lively and fun.  For desert, we had crepes topped with nutella. 

It was a great trip to Paris.  I enjoyed hanging out with her friends and sampling the delicious food.  It was Thanksgiving in the U.S. and although I missed being with my family, I was thankful to be able to be with my wife and spend some time with her friends.

Armistice Day is Meaningful for France but even more so for Alsace

November 11^th was Armistice Day in France, a national holiday created to remember the signing of the peace treaties of 1918 following the end of World War I.  The holiday was also called Armistice day in the United States until the end of World War II when the name was changed to Veterans Day.     

The signing of the truce in 1918 signaled the turning of another page in history for France and the beginning of another chapter of history for the region of Alsace.  The Germans annexed Alsace in 1871 following their victories over the Kingdom of France during the Franco-Prussian War.  The official language of Alsace was made German, which was taught in the schools.  Speaking French was strictly forbidden.  The German occupation lasted until the end of World War I in 1918 at which time Alsace was turned over to France.  The Germans again occupied Alsace during World War II, but this time for only four years.  At the end of World War II, Alsace was again turned over to France.  

Due to the length of time Alsace was occupied by Germany, there is a strong German influence on the architecture, language, and food of this region that makes Alsace quite unique.  But, the roots of Alsatian culture go much deeper than the last 150 years, in fact, the culture was partially shaped by the Romans who occupied this region during the time of Christ.  Since the Roman occupation, the Gallics, Franks, Germans, and French have all had a hand in forming the present day Alsace.  Their diverse heritage is also why Alsatians have a strong sense of regional identity that they often put ahead of their French identity. 

There were many battles fought in World War I on the hills and valleys next to where I am currently living in Alsace.  World War I was fought in the trenches with each side dug-in sometimes just 30 yards apart from each other.  Some of the battlefield trenches and fortifications in this area were preserved and turned into memorial sites.  I visited one today called Fort Mutzig.  Oddly enough, the inside of the fort was closed to visitors on Armistice Day but I was able to get a few pictures of one of the imposing entrances to the fort.

The fort was built in the form of a triangle with the bulk of the structures built underground to conceal the fort’s presence and to protect the resident soldiers.  It took more than two decades to build so you can imagine how much concrete and steel went into the construction of the 600 acre fort.  The fort was perched on top of one of the tallest peaks in the Vosges mountain range and was designed to block any eastward advance by the French into Alsace.  The fort supported as many as 7,000 men during the war and functioned like a small city equipped with a power plant, bakery, barracks, water wells, etc.

Armistice Day provided an opportunity to reflect upon the 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded during World War I.  It also reminded me of one of the poems that I memorized in high school that is one of the most well-known poems written during World War I.  It was written by a Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in 1915 after he witnessed the death of one of his friends.  Flanders Fields refers to the battlefields where McCrae fought, which are in the northeastern part of France and the adjacent part of Belgium. 

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

Klingenthal Sword Factory: En garde, touché!

In the early 1700’s, Louis XV decided to acquire the expertise to build a sword manufacturing facility in France to avoid having to buy them from foreign countries.  That was sound judgment especially since most of their battles were with their neighbors.  Louis XV went across the border to Germany and smuggled a number of expert craftsman from a sword factory in Germany and brought them to France.  But why did he choose to put the factory in Alsace as it is so far from the center of French government?  Because Alsatians spoke German so that permitted the craftsman to train the locals and the region had the natural resources such as wood for construction of buildings, sandstone for grinding steel, and a stream that could provide power for the factory through a series of water wheels.   The factory was constructed and a village grew up around it.  The factory was named Klingenthal which means “Valley of Swords” in German.  Klinge means sword and Thal means valley. 

The sword factory was first opened in 1731 as a state run factory.  Dozens of different models were produced at the factory with some 350,000 swords produced just of their most popular model.  It operated under a contract for the French army until 1836 when the doors were shuttered.  It was determined that the factory was too close to the German border and venerable to an invasion so it was moved 300 miles west to Châtellerault , closer to Paris.  However, the Coulaux family, who were prominent leaders in the factory, decided to buy the factory to start a private forgery business.  They diversified their product line to include body armor and hand tools for carpenters, farmers, and masons.   The factory finally closed down in 1962 after operating for more than 200 years.

The Klingenthal sword museum is filled with fine examples of the work that was done at the factory including swords, bayonets, chest armor, scythes, hand saws, sickles, metal files, etc.  Also on display are tools used by the craftsman and pictures from various parts of the factory.  There is a fire pit in the museum that they use for monthly demonstrations.  They also have several massive sandstone wheels on which the blades were sharpened and fine tools where the specialty swords were engraved. 

During the period of peak production, the factory employed 700 workers.  Much of the infrastructure needed to support the factory and house the workers is still in place today.  Walking through the village after the museum tour brought to life the sounds of metal clanging on metal, steel being grinded on sandstone wheels, and the smell of coal burning in the forger’s fire.   

Additional Information:

-          Tour takes around 1 hour through 4 floors of the building, cost is 6 euros for adults, on certain days they light up a fire and demonstrate the forgery process.   

-          Museum’s official website 

-          How swords were made  

France on Strike...Now this is Solidarity French Style

French citizens have the benefit of one of the lowest retirement ages in all of Europe.  At 60 years of age, they can legally retire although full retirement does not begin until age 65.  Compare this to their neighbors in Germany, Luxembourg, and Spain where the legal retirement age is 65, a full five years later.  France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed raising the retirement age and reducing other retirement benefits in order to help preserve the social security system.  People are living longer and reproducing less.  This translates to a growing percentage of retirees (65 and over) who will be receiving benefits relative to a shrinking percentage of people who will be of working age (15-64) and contributing to the retirement system.  This disproportional growth is not only being experienced in France but in most developed countries including the U.S.  

Due to the proposed changes, working age people have been pouring into the streets protesting the changes in order to put pressure on the government to rescind the proposed law.  After living in Washington DC for more than 10 years, I saw my fair share of protests.  What makes the protests here unique is that they are not only protesting but they are organizing national strikes, shutting down entire sectors of the economy. For example, refinery workers are shutting down production.  This has caused gasoline prices to go up and disrupted supply chains such that certain gas stations have run out of gas, especially in the south of France.  I have seen a 20 cent rise in the price of gas, now $7.85 per gallon in my village.  My brother-in-laws' business of delivering home heating oil has also run into problems.  With 7 of the 12 major refineries on strike, they have had to drive an hour farther to find a fuel transfer station just to fill up their tanker truck.      

The once reliable option of commuting to work by high speed train has become sporadic.  Flights out of major airports are being canceled.  Commuters now have to check the news every evening to determine whether trains will be running the next day.  The French government estimates that the strikes have cost the economy between $250-500 million per day.  These types of strikes have been going on since September.  Workers can leave their posts without fear of losing their jobs due to the strong labor laws here in France.  Unions in France are very strong and are the organizers of the majority of the strikes. 

My encounter with the strikers came last week as I was commuting to nearby Strasbourg for one of my required immigration training courses.  It was 8am on a Tuesday, peak commuting time when I ran into traffic jam on the interstate.  Fortunately, I was on a motorcycle and was able to ride between stopped cars.  When I arrived at the front of the traffic jam, I saw two rows of cars with red CGT union flags waving out their windows and several police vehicles escorting them along the way.  This is when I realized that the traffic jam was caused by a planned road block as a form of protest.  I weaved through the road block emerging onto the empty interstate in front of the road block.  It took me 60 minutes to ride just 10 miles.  The other cars behind me were not so lucky. 

So when will the strikes stop?  The law was proposed in mid-June and has now passed through both houses of French Parliament and is waiting for signature from President Sarkozy as the last step.  His signature is expected early this month.  I've been told that the strikes will likely increase in this last phase as a last ditch effort by the unions to have the law withdrawn.   

Additional information:

- Retirement Age Chart for Europe 

- French comic:  Carpenter   (Translation: “Okay Nenesse, you retiring soon?  Ten more years.”)

- French comic:  Retirement Gift  (Translation: “What should we get him for his retirement?  He already has a hearing aid, cane, false teeth, and walker.)

A Medieval Castle Visit in Ribeauvillé

Today, I decided to take a trip back in time to visit three of the medieval castles found in Alsace.  Alsace has 17 medieval castles of note; however, there are plenty of other castles of lesser note in the region.  But before I take you there, I wanted to get you in the medieval mindset.  When I think of the medieval time period, I imagine people speaking old English "What art thou doing?" and walking around eating turkey drumsticks.   I picture wealthy nobleman peering down from their castle towers, giving orders to their starving, dirty peasants.  I see knights wearing heavy armor and fighting off raiding barbarians.  Then there are the images from movies like Robinhood, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Ni! Ni!), and Excalibur that come rushing through my mind. 

With these images in mind, I hopped on my father-in-laws' Gold Wing motorcycle and headed 30 miles south of Ottrott to a village called Ribeauvillé.  The trees are in full fall color turning the Vosges mountain range into a canvas of yellows, oranges, and reds.  Riding parallel to the mountain range, I could see the silhouette of several castles on the mountain tops.  I will have to come back and visit these castles on another trip.  As I exit the main highway and turn towards the mountains, I scan the horizon and can see the outline of one of the Ribeauvillé castles from a couple miles away.  This will make it easy to navigate through the village to the trail heading up to the castles. 

I chose to visit Ribeauvillé as it has three medieval castles and it requires you to climb a steep trail in order to visit them.  I was looking forward to the hike.  For many of the other castles in the region, you can drive up to them, but not for the castles of Ribeauvillé.  In addition, Ribeauville is an attractive option as it is one of the most popular villages on the Alsatian white wine route.  The main street meandering through town is a narrow cobble-stoned street that is lined with fine examples of the wood framed houses that make this region so unique.  As you walk up the twisty street, you can get a glimpse of the castles perched 1,700 feet above Ribeauvillé on the mountaintop.

The dirt trail leading to the castles winds up a steep hill through a patchwork of vineyards.  It took me an hour to climb to the top of the hill to the first castle, Château de Saint-Ulrich.  I can only imagine how much work it must have been for the nobleman's servants to haul food and other supplies from the fields in the valley below up to this mountaintop location.  Locating the castles on top of the mountain was not done for convenience sake.  The view from the castle's tower provides an excellent vantage point from which the nobleman could survey the fields below and any advancing threats from raiding parties. 

Château de Saint-Ulrich: The main castle was built in the 11th century by the Romans and has an impressive number of its walls still in tact.  It was originally built to control commerce between the Alsatian plain below and the Lièpvre high valley, which gave access to the other side of the Vosges Mountains.   The best feature of this castle is the square shaped tower that provides a panoramic view of the valley below.  The castle also had a knight's hall and chapel that were added to the original structure.  It was finally abandoned in the 16th century.   

Château de Girsberg: Just 100 yards away is the Girsberg castle that was built on a large rock outcropping making it look like an extension of the stone on which it is built.  Most of this castle was destroyed over time but the main tower is impressive and still intact.    

Château du Haut Ribeaupierre: The third castle is farther up the hill and is the oldest of the three.  I did not make it up to visit it as I was running out of daylight.  From afar, I could see the circular tower that has survived the centuries.

Additional Information:
- The hike to the 2 castles I visited took 2 hours, add another hour to visit the third.  The hike is free of charge.  There is a small parking area at the base of the trail.
- Ribeauvillé - the village's official tourist website
- Other Castles in Alsace
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail - classic movie clip at French castle

Alsace: France's Beer Region and Home of Kronenbourg

When one thinks of popular French beverages, the first thing that comes to mind are a host of wines, spirits, and champagnes.  Beer does not come to mind.  The country does not have a strong reputation for producing beer, partly because they do such an incredible job with the other categories of beverages.  Beer in France is like soccer in the U.S.  There are just too many other competitors that overshadow their long beer heritage.

Despite the competition, France has a long history of producing beer especially in the Alsace region.  I set out today to visit Kronenbourg brewery, France's largest brewery, which is 45 minutes away from Ottrott in the suburbs of Strasbourg.  The old brewery buildings have mostly been demolished and brewing activities moved to the modern manufacturing site near Ottrott.  But, they did preserve the former brewing room with its massive copper kettles and the catacombs where beer was aged in 1,000 gallon oak barrels.

The tour started with a brief description of the four primary ingredients in beer:  hops, barley, yeast, and good quality water.  We were able to taste some of the barley used in their brewing process, ranging in color from golden to dark brown.  The higher the temperature that they roast the barley, the darker the beer and the more the caramel, chocolate, and other rich flavors are imparted in the beer.  The hops that are used in Kronenbourg's beers are locally grown Alsacian hops called Strisselspalt.  Stisselspalt hops provide some of the aroma and bitter flavor in the beer to balance out the sweetness from the barley malt.  A jar full of dried Strisselspalt hops was passed around the room so that we could touch and smell them.  It had a strong, herbal aroma.  More than 70 percent of the Strisselspalt hops grown in Alsace is exported to the U.S.  The yeasts used in Kronenbourg's beers are of course top secret and also give each of their beers their unique flavor. 

After the introduction, we watched a short video describing the evolution of beer from it's first conception in Egypt to modern mass production.  The video also highlighted a legend from medieval times about how brewmasters tested the quality of their beer.  Instead of tasting or other scientific analysis, the story told that brewmasters poured some of their beer on a wooden bench and sat in.  If the brewmater's pants stuck to the bench after the beer had dried, then it was considered to be no good and having too much sugar content.  If the pants did not stick then the beer was good to drink.  Fortunately I did not have to sit in any beer to determine its quality.  However, I was able to sample two of their beers at the end of the tour, the 1664 and the Kronenbourg. 

Kronenbourg was founded in 1664 which happens to be the name of the flagship beer brewed by Kronenbourg.  Kronenbourg is currently owned by the Carlsberg group and brews more than 20 beers including four versions of the 1664 and four versions of Kronenbourg.  The French call the 1664 blond a seize which is French for the number 16.  So if you want to show that you know a little something about French beers, tell your waiter that you want a seize (pronounced sayz).  At home, the French sometimes mix-in sweet syrups such as Picon with their light beers. Picon has a sweet orange and caramel flavor.

Additional Information
Websites:  Kronenbourg and Beer Selection
Tours: 6 euros for adults, Mon.-Sat.
           Tel:  +33 (0)3 88 27 44 88
           Brasserie Kronenbourg, 68 route d'Oberhausbergen, 67200 Strasbourg

The French Immigration Process: A Lesson in Bureaucracy

Yes, the French immigration process is quite a bureaucratic process that required me to jump through a number of hurdles.  I started the process in mid-July and just finished today.  I am now able to legally live and work in France for a period of one year...nice!! 

The process started in Washington DC with a visit to the French Embassy where I applied for a visa de long sejour that would give me the ability to enter France under the presumption that I plan to stay longer than the 90 day limit of a tourist visa.  The first step was relatively easy...filled out a form, handed over my passport, and two weeks later I had the visa glued in my passport.

Next, I moved to France where I went to the French immigration office (OFII) filled out some more forms, dished out a few hundred euros, had my lungs x-rayed (checking for tuberculosis), and was then required to sit through four all-day training sessions.  The training sessions were interesting as they were designed to orient immigrates to the French way of life, government, employment, and language.  For example, we learned that France consists of 27 regions (equivalent to US states) , has a population of 65 million people, over 900 members of Parliament, and state sponsored health care that pays from between 70-90 % of doctor bills.

I have my long term residence permit, but there are still a few more boxes that I need to check.  I need to get a French diver's license and sign up for the state sponsored health care plan.  More on those topics in my ensuing posts.  

Let the Frenchformation begin...

After finishing a year-long motorcycle adventure that took me through 15 Latin American countries and covered some 40,000 miles (http://blazingsaddlebags.blogspot.com), I have embarked on another adventure...moving to France.  It is time to put aside my Spanish language skills, thoughts of spicy tacos, and tango dance moves.  Now is the time to jump headfirst into the sultry French language, taste as many of the 400 different French cheeses as possible, and learn what it really means to have liberté, égalité, and fraternité.

Integrating into a new culture brings along with it pleasant surprises as well as unexpected challenges.  I hope to approach this process with an open mind and will share some of my experiences with you.  Here are a few of the topics that come to mind at the moment that I will be covering in the coming weeks: 

• Immigration process - are they really going to let me live and work here?
• Food - if only I could 'beam' some of it through your computer.
• French way of life - the little stuff that makes our cultures different.
• Language - Français and its 16 different verb tenses and the local Alsacian dialect.
• Tourism - by bike, motorcycle, train, and small cars.

 I hope you find my Frenchformation to be both entertaining and educational.  A plus tard.