Hiking to châteaux

One of Meghan's wishes this year was that we could hike to a castle, one that wasn't restored so she could wander around and explore it at will. So far we have visited three castles, and two have fit her requirements.

Heidelberger Schloss

Our first castle trip was back in November when we visited the Heidelberger Schloss. Technically it's not a hike, but we did have to walk about 2 km from the train station to reach it. It's a huge, amazing complex, but it wasn't quite up to Meghan's standards as it has been partially reconstructed. We also had to pay an entrance fee (another bad sign), and visitors are not allowed into any of the inner rooms except for the few that have been converted to other uses, like the apotheke (pharmacy) museum and a commercial wine shop.

Huge wine vats in the cellar at Heidelberger Schloss

We struggled a little with the cold that day -- it was our first taste of European winter, and we weren't ready for it. Walking through the freezing and drafty stone buildings, it was easy to get a sense of how cold they must have been back in the days when castles were actually people's homes.

In contrast, the other two chateaux have been more to Meghan's (and our) liking. In contrast to the first, we hiked to the other two in spring when the weather was warmer, and it may have made a difference to how we felt about them. At the end of March we went on a hike to Chateau D'Andlau, just outside of Barr, when our friends from Burns Lake were visiting.

Château D'Andlau

In front of an old stone fireplace at Château D'Andlau

The château, which looks very imposing from a distance, is mostly a ruin that you can explore from the inside out. All of the wooden pieces of the château have long since rotted, leaving only the stonework behind, but you could see where the huge fireplaces were, and it was fun speculating where all of the rooms would have been.

The third castle, Château de Wasenbourg, has been the best so far, even in Meghan's opinion. The château was quite a pleasant surprise for us as we had not done a lot of preparation for the trip. Because we had not yet traveled north of Strasbourg, one Saturday in April we got an Alsace train pass for the family (a deal at 26 €) and headed out to Niederbronn-les-Bains, a village that we read about in the Michelin book that my sister Barb left us. One line in the book told of a château which was an hour hike from the town, so we decided to try to find it without any maps or other planning. After some uncertainty about the initial directions, we found the sign that showed we were on the right path. The hiking around the Alsace region in France is amazingly well laid out, with symbols such as red triangles or blue circles indicating the path to follow, and times to landmarks given in minutes and hours -- but you have to step lively to arrive at your destination in the given time! Luckily our château was no exception, and the signs indicated that our hike was 1 hour 15 minutes in duration.

This hike was more of a climb than any we had done so far, but ultimately it was worth it. Coming over the rise at the top of the hill, the first thing we saw was a huge monument created back in Roman times that was built into the stone. It was only when we were right beside it that our attention shifted to the château itself; and according to Meghan, this one was even more fun to explore than Château D'Andlau.

The kids peer over the edge at Château de Wasenbourg

At Château de Wasenbourg, we could sit by the windows at built-in stone seats, and Meghan was able to walk completely around the top part of the château.

How many other people have sat in these ancient stone seats, staring thoughtfully out the window?

We spent about an hour exploring the area; the only thing spurring us back to Niederbronn-les-Bains was our hunger (unfortunately this was one of the few times when we didn't bring enough snacks.) On our way back down, we all agreed that, without even planning it, this turned out to be one of our most successful château hikes!

We hope to see at least one more château before we leave, but we'll have to plan our time carefully. With visits from family and our upcoming trip to Greece, there's not as much time left as we'd like to have before our return to Canada. And we still have so many things left to do!...

Have you done any hiking lately? We'd love to hear about it! christinateskey @ yahoo.ca or mvieweg @ gmail.com

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Check out the kids' blog.

Day at Lake Constance

My mom has been visiting us in Strasbourg for almost two weeks now, and we wanted to show her a little of Germany while she's here. So far she's seen quite a bit; her flight from Calgary landed in Frankfurt, and she's been back several times since then. We wanted to see the Black Forest, so it was an easy decision to make a day trip by train to Lake Constance.

The train ticket is a good deal -- 27 € for up to five people to travel for a day in the Baden-Württemberg area of Germany, which stretches from almost Mannheim in the north to the Swiss border in the south, and from the French border on the west to just past the city of Ulm in the east. Unfortunately we had to tack on the extra cost of a return ticket from Strasbourg to Kehl, the German border town just over the Rhine River from here, which raised the cost an extra 18 €. However, it's still a cheap way to travel!

The train trip was interesting, but most scenic in the middle when we wound our way through the mountains of the Black Forest. In many ways it reminded us of the scenery in northern BC, but in Europe the forests seem a bit more sterile when you see how carefully they log the trees and remember that very few wild creatures exist in these forests now.

Konstanz, Germany

We didn't spend much time in Konstanz, the German city at the end of our train trip. When we first arrived it was a little chilly, and after a brief trip to the tourist information centre, we made a beeline for a restaurant. When I say "beeline", I'm talking about a bee that can't actually remember where the hive is, because we did our usual zig-zagging from this café to that sandwich bar, rejecting them for the usual reasons: the kids won't eat that; it's too expensive; they only serve sandwiches.... We finally found a nice little café that served exactly the right type of food for the right price, and we had such German delicacies as pea soup with wieners, fried potatoes with vegetables and cheese sauce, and käsespäeztle, (noodles with cheese).

While we were eating we discussed alternatives for the day. This was one of the few times that we didn't have a goal in mind before we left: we had no map, no idea what attractions were in Konstanz, and no plan other than to ride the train through the Black Forest. In the end we decided that we would like to go for a boat trip on the lake, so after lunch we walked back towards the train station and lake shore. As we were looking around the boat docks, a passenger ferry rolled in which was headed to Meersburg on the other side of the lake, so we hopped on. (Of course all of this was due to Mark's good German and fine detective skills!) The brief ferry ride -- only 30 minutes -- was a lot of fun. We ordered a yummy apple strudel and ice cream treats, and the kids had a good time exploring the deck of the boat. Lake Constance is quite spectacular, and part of the charm for me was knowing that I was riding the waves in sight of three different European countries -- Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Meersburg, Germany

Meersburg is a cheerful-looking tourist town built into a hill, so we did a lot of climbing up steep stairs and streets. The kids found a playground half way up the stairs and stopped to play for a while. When we finally made the summit, we were treated to a wonderful view down Lake Constance towards Austria.

View looking east down Lake Constance from Meersburg, Germany

Unfortunately, we couldn't stop for long; we only had about 90 minutes before we had to get back on the ferry in order to make the train back to Strasbourg. On the way down we picked up some pastries and drinks in a tiny grocery store which we promptly wolfed down as soon as we got on the train. After our 2 1/2 hour return train trip, we arrived back home in Strasbourg just before 9 p.m., pleasantly tired from our day of travel and sightseeing.

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

Buying groceries and other shopping in Strasbourg

Since we came to France almost eight months ago, we haven't really "shopped", and it's been a liberating experience. We have never really bought things just for the sake of having them, and we are not collecting things here for the simple reason that we either have to leave them here or take/ship them back to Canada with us when we go. Both options are expensive. So when the kids ask, "Can we get this?" or when I wonder if we should buy something, the easy answer is, "No", and the reasoning is always the same. Like I said, liberating!

Nevertheless, the temptation to spend money is everywhere, and the possibilities for parting with your money are endless: from the petite Mom and Pop épicerie (grocery store) or shoe store to the huge mall of the type that you see in North America; and from the strange mechanized Casino grocery to the typically European marchés (open street markets).

You can buy eggs, bread and milk on your way home from the train at this automated épicerie (grocery store).

Daily market at the cathedral square in Freiburg, Germany.

One day of the week that you can hold on to your money (if you stay out of the tourist areas) is Sunday. Most stores in Strasbourg are closed on this day, and families use the opportunity to visit the parks or aller lèche-vitrine (an odd-sounding phrase for going window shopping). During the week many businesses still hold on to the custom of closing between 12 and 2 p.m. each day, something that has frustrated us on many occasions when we have forgotten. Conversely, when you're really hungry and want to spend your money you find that many restaurants are only open for déjeuner (lunch) from 12 to 2 p.m., making a late-afternoon meal very hard to find, especially in the smaller communities.

While we can avoid buying "things", we still have to eat, and thus we can't avoid grocery shopping, a chore that we do every one to three days. We can't really buy a week's worth of anything here, partly because we have a tiny fridge in the apartment, and partly because we either have to use the tram or good old foot power to get the groceries home. Luckily we live only a 300 m walk from Place des Halles, a mall in the centre of Strasbourg, and located there is Galleries Gourmandes, a full-service grocery store.

The kids avoid grocery shopping with us whenever possible.

Although the major grocery stores look much like their North American counterparts, there are some obvious differences. For example, in Galleries Gourmandes, the cheese, chocolate and wine sections are huge.

And not only is wine plentiful, it can also be cheap. It's possible to buy a bottle for 0,92 € (about $1.50). Now, I'm not saying it's good wine... just very affordable. : )

About 1/3 of the cheese section at Galleries Gourmandes -- the self-serve part.

More cheese counter -- cheese cut to your specifications and service with a smile.

In contrast, chewing gum is horribly expensive, as is anything North American. You can get Old El Paso salsa, for example, but you pay about 4 € (over $6) for a small jar. For a while we paid almost 4 € for a block of four instant Asian-style noodles, before discovering that a block of six cost about 0,50 € at the Asian foods store right across from our apartment.

While baking (and the supplies to bake with) are easy to find in North America, it's almost impossible here. I have begun to suspect that most French people don't make their own desserts. And why would they, with the choice available in thousands of patisseries and grocery stores in the city? I think that's why flour is only available in 1 kg bags, and rolled oats in 500 g boxes, and why it's impossible to locate baking powder! We have solved this problem by simply not baking anymore... sigh... and getting our dessert-fix at the patisserie like everyone else does.

Being unable to bake North American style has been a ... ahem... very sad experience for us.

Let us know what you're cooking tonight! christinateskey @ yahoo . ca or mvieweg @ gmail . com

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