Dambach-la-Ville in the Alsace

On our way back to Oberursel, we stopped for lunch in the village of Dambach-la-Ville (about 10 minutes from Sélestat). It was Sunday, and very quiet. The only people we saw were a handful of tourists like us heading to the restaurant opposite the church.

This must have be the quietest place on earth. No voices (from neither people, nor animals), no car traffic, no sounds coming from any of the homes. It seemed the residents had all left for the weekend. This was the case on an early Sunday afternoon in late February.

The village (based on all the signs we saw) offers much wine-tasting, hiking routes, and places to stay overnight. Next time, we’re heading to the Alsace, we will spend a few days in Dambach-la-Ville. The village lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges, and offers quite a few hiking trails.  I’ll even try it – the shortest one is a one-hour trail. I can manage that.

This is one of the many half-timbered homes in the village.

The roads in this medieval wine village were deserted on this Sunday in February.

 

To learn more about this village, visit Dambach-la-Ville, Alsace.

Sights to See in Selestat/Schlettstadt in the Alsace

Sélestat is a relatively small town of about 20.000 residents. We spent many hours just walking around, and most of the town (so it seems) is an array of historical buildings, half-timbered houses, towers, etc. The church tops in the center of town gave us a good sense of orientation. Without them, we would have gotten lost once an hour. At least.

This is the Ritterturm (Knights’ Tower) in 2019.

and many years ago…

This is an usual view of the St.Georg Church (from left to right), the empty facade of a half-timbered house, a residence with laundry hanging outside, and a very modern glass addition on the Maison du Pain d’Alsace Museum.

The Witches’ Tower in 2019…

and a long time ago…

We had dinner at the ‘Brasserie Chez Youpel’ and my husband actually managed to eat all of his Choucroute platter.

 

Historical Postcard of Hotel Cour du Corbeau in Strasbourg

We have stayed at the Hotel Cour du Corbeau in Strasbourg a couple of times. Just a couple of weeks ago, I ran across this historical postcard, showing the building in its former stage.

It might be safe to assume this postcard is from around 1930, because this was the year the Cour du Corbeau was listed as a historic monument.

Cour du Corbeau, Strasbourg, ca. 1930

For more about its history, visit MGallery Cour du Corbeau

For a more contemporary one, you can read my blog post: 24 hours in Strasbourg

24 Hours in Strasbourg, France

We usually go to Strasbourg once a year, and our highlights remain staying at the 4-star Hotel Cour de Courbeau, and then visiting the flea market on Saturday morning. Again this year, we got there on Friday around 3pm, and left the city on Saturday shortly after lunch. It is enough time to pack in quite a few things, such as a visit to the Alsatian Folklore Museum (about a minute walk from the hotel), visit a few restaurants, shop at the flea market, stop for some coffee and a pain au chocolat, and much more. We usually park at the Austerlitz Car Park, which is a minute from the hotel, has clean facilities, and the rate for one day is just under euro 20.

This is always our first stop – the bridge overlooking the River Ill.

Boat touring the River Ill

This is an ad for the city’s upcoming plans – to build a floating jetty, across from the Historical Museum.

Floating jetty for Strasbourg

This is the courtyard of the Hotel Cour du Corbeau. Built in 1580, it has served as an inn (or hotel) for most of its time since then.

 

View from our room onto the balcony. Last year, we were able to sit on the balcony late in the evening. This year, a Siberian wind made it impossible.

Some of the interior was renovated to reflect its original half-timbered building style.

This is what I found at the flea market – a sewing table, with a painting by Louis Bollinger (a.k.a. BOLL or BOLI).

Ribeauvillé, Les Vosges Mountains, in Autumn

We had a grand view from the vineyards. Don’t forget to bring a picnic basket. And a cork screw.

sunny-view-over-ribeauville

The main road is lined with mostly half-timbered houses.

Sitting in St.Ulrich, Ribeauvillé

Sitting in St.Ulrich, Ribeauvillé

And yes, I still like rainbows.

rainbow-over-ribeauville

With tourism centered around the wine industry, there are some interesting corners to discover around this small town.

wine-barrels

We had rented this one-bedroom apartment via fewo-direkt.de. The first floor apartment is in a quiet side street off the main road. It was perfect for the two nights we spent there.

One thing to look out for is unlocking the door. The lock is a bit tricky, so I would advise practicing unlocking the door in broad daylight. Do not try to open the door in complete darkness, at least not the first time. Unless you don’t mind cursing on the door steps. 🙂

Ribeauvillé Apt

 

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