Visiting in Goxwiller

A few weeks ago we made a trip to Goxwiller to see our friends Rachel and Eric. We first met them and their two girls on a shuttle bus at the Paris airport last August while transferring to our Strasbourg-bound plane. Rachel spotted the Canadian flag luggage tag hanging from my backpack and asked us where we were from. We had a lively discussion with them (in English) and found out that they had just come back from a fairly long holiday in Canada -- Manitoba, no less! (Mark's family lives there). During the conversation Rachel gave me a business card that advertised their gîte (vacation rental home), and asked us to call them, which we promised to do. We contacted them a few times in November and December, but with all the travel that we were doing, it was hard to plan a visit. Finally, on a warm winter weekend in February, it all came together.
We couldn't get good train connections to Goxwiller and back on a Sunday, so instead we took the train to Gertwiller and then walked over. The weather was absolutely gorgeous; the sun was beating down from a cloudless blue sky, and it felt at least 20 C -- so hot that Mark and I were down to our T-shirts by the middle of the journey. We had a leisurely two-kilometre walk on mostly paved paths and narrow back roads through the now-dormant grapevines. On our way we met numerous families, couples and groups out for a stroll, and we called out a friendly "Bonjour!" to every one.

At Rachel and Eric's house we were treated to Gewurztraminer, a sweeter wine which is produced in this region and is often offered as an aperitif; kugelhopf (an Alsatian sweet bread); and pain d'épice (gingerbread). The kids graciously accepted a drink of syrop de pêche-litchi (fruit syrup) mixed with water, a very common offering for children in France.

The kids stayed for part of the visiting, then left to explore the fields behind the village and look for the pet rabbit. As the adults talked, we found to our surprise that Rachel and Eric had been visiting friends in Portage La Prairie in August and had even been out to Delta Beach, a well-known recreation area north of Portage. Since we had also been visiting with Mark's parents in Portage at the same time, including a trip to Delta Beach, we speculated that we had possibly passed each other on the street or path without knowing! Times like this remind us what a small world we live in.

On our way back to the tiny train station in Goxwiller (really just a covered bench), Rachel and Eric showed us a baker's house that had been built in the 17th century. It has been restored as part of a community project which entailed learning about the old construction techniques. Members of the community gather there once a month to cook a traditional meal in the baker's oven and take part in cultural activities.

With the combination of the beautiful weather and the opportunity to visit with Rachel and Eric again, we all had a wonderful afternoon. Meghan especially enjoyed the trip because it allowed her to get out in the country again, something she has been missing since we left our house on the lake. I felt very privileged to be sitting in the back yard of friends in the middle of Alsace on a sunny winter day, taking part in a conversation that slipped back and forth between English and French. We hope to see them again soon, and we might take Eric up on his offer to drive us to some of the nearby sights that are difficult to get to on foot. Eric says he enjoys driving in Rome (where the drivers are crazy!), so it should be an exciting ride!

Other places of interest:

Cameron and Meghan's blog

Flickr pictures

Email us! christinateskey @ yahoo.ca or mvieweg @ gmail.com