Jul 4, 2021

A Good Reason to Travel

In February 2020, we took our last trip before lock-down started in Germany by mid-March. Our trip had taken us to my hometown area in Franconia (northern Bavaria). Instead of visiting family there, we decided to spend a few days somewhere else. This was somewhere, where nobody knew us.

Visiting family is nice and entertaining, but it is not meant for relaxation. I get bombarded with information about people I’m supposed to know, and whom I have long forgotten about. Do you remember Klaus? No? He’s the one who married Hans’s daughter. Who’s Hans? He is the one who had bought the property next to Günther. Do you remember Günther..? He is the one who had left his home to so and so…. Hour-long conversations like this can be exhausting. I don’t care to remember. I’ve been gone for more than 40 years.

Soon, we will again visit my side of the family for a couple of days . I’m sure our heads get filled with news, which need to be flushed out with some good beer while there. 😉

Soon after, our summer holidays will take us to Dambach-la-Ville in Alsace. We had spent a few really quiet days there in the fall of 2019, and just fell in love with that place. This little town, or rather village, has a population of about 2.100 residents. When we were out and about, it felt more like 400.

This time, we will spend our summer holidays there. One week of quiet bliss, and nobody knows us.

So, heading two hours east to Franconia means a very lively visit (four siblings with families).

Heading three hours west to Alsace means a quiet and relaxing time for us.

Oct 4, 2019

Dambach-La-Ville and its Vineyards

We had come through this little town on our previous trip to the Alsace. Last fall, on our way back to Germany, we stopped here for lunch. That’s how we discovered it. It had been so quiet on that Sunday afternoon, which made us curious enough to return for a weekend stay this year.

There are very few cars here, no traffic lights, no screeching of tires, and no blasting horns, and the few dogs we encountered did not even bark.

This was the perfect place for a little get-away. On our Sunday morning walk, we only heard the church bells ring.

A combine for the grape harvest

Those yellow buckets will probably be put away until next fall.

A single red leaf sticks out in the morning sun.

Vineyards around Dambach-la-Ville

All views, taken from any slope, will direct your eyes to the church.

Autumn colors

The photographer is being photographed. 🙂

Oct 3, 2019

Dambach-la-Ville, a beautifully quiet town in the Alsace

Between Strasbourg and Colmar, there are quite a few pretty little towns and villages. On our way to Dambach-la-Ville, we stopped in Obernai, which was roaming with visitors on that Saturday afternoon. We did not stay very long.

A fountain dressed in yellow flowers caught our eyes in Obernai.

Obernai

Dambach-la-Ville is known for its quality wines, and lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains with a population of around 2200. Its finest wine is the Alsacian Grand Cru.

The first thing we looked for though was our abode, a renovated barn, which we had rented for the weekend.

This barn has been turned into an upstairs-apartment (on the right), and it was perfect for us.

When we weren’t walking around the town, vineyards, or exploring restaurants, we enjoyed spending our time in the inner courtyard.

This is a very clean little town, and its residents take a lot of pride in it.

We explored our neighborhood while it was getting dark already. This is just one of the many roads leading to church.

Dambach-la-Ville in the Alsace

The yellow containers are used for the grape harvest.

We found a restaurant by the town square, where my husband enjoyed a good meal of Schweinebäckchen (pork cheeks). I stuck to wine tasting.

Mar 7, 2019

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.

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