Touring the Alsatian Wine Road and Riquewihr (France) with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Touring the Alsatian Wine Road and Riquewihr (France) with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

The Alsatian Wine Road (Route des Vins) offers many interesting stops to visit – rain or shine.  The only problem is that the towns along the way are so adorable that you could stop and never make it to the next town.

Driving through the Alsatian wine towns is hazardous, though.  Some towns like Bergheim require driving through a one-way lane arch with two-way traffic. The roads in the towns are almost pedestrian-only thoroughfares with enticing restaurants on either side of the road.

The weekend we visited men in checked shirts drove horse-drawn carriages and wore straw hats with brims.  They were working on Saturday, so they had the right of way as far as we were concerned. We enjoyed driving through the towns of Molsheim and Bergheim, but cut over to D1422 to make a faster route to Salestat, where we were also able to drive through vineyards.

Alsace like Burgundy is very religious.  Roadside shrines with a crucifix in them had bouquets of flowers on either side of the shrine.  These shrines stand by vineyards where workers of all levels pray for the harvest, give thanks, and maybe pray for assistance I would imagine. In Burgundy, these roadside shrines are hidden on back roads away from major roads.  In Alsace, I noted that the shrines are right on the major roads.

The flowers at the vineyard shrines probably serve the purpose of showing if there is mildew or harmful insects in the vineyards.  Delicate flowers show damage before grapes.  Flowers planted at the end of vineyard rows also serve this purpose.

When we arrived in the town of Riquewihr, we took many pictures of the half-timbered houses sitting at angles on crooked, narrow lanes where even a small car could not fit.  The houses date back to the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries.  Riquewihr is famous for its Riesling wine.

We ate at a restaurant in one of the half-timbered houses called “Au Relais des Moines,” which I loosely translate as “The Monk’s Stop.” Laurent and I both had dishes with forest touches.  Laurent had a steak with wild mushroom sauce with thick French fries.  I had médaillons de faon forestière with homemade tagliatelle.  Forestière refers to the cèpes mushrooms used in the creamy sauce.  Faon refers to the meat from a young female deer.  I ate a crème brulée for dessert while Laurent had coffee.

After lunch, we walked around Riquewihr’s defensive wall dating back to the thirteenth century.  Riquewihr is about one hour away from Strasbourg and beckons visitors to come back for food, walks, and beautiful Jacquard tablecloths as souvenirs.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Viewing the Issenheim Altarpiece by Gruenwald in Colmar (Alsace, France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Viewing the Issenheim Altarpiece by Gruenwald in Colmar (Alsace, France)  with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Since we lived in southwestern Germany, getting to Alsace in eastern France was a day-trip away from our home.  Colmar with its Petite Venise (Little Venice) series of canals and the Unterlinden Museum merit several visits to this town of half-timbered homes on crooked, medieval streets.

Alsace has been French or German for centuries according to French governments or German ones; the Alsatians would most probably say, “We are our own people.” However, I think in this century, at least, that Alsace is very French for several reasons.

Citizens in Colmar have an almost Parisian gait to their wiry bodies.  The women’s fashion on the street looks like classic Chanel with colored silk scarves at the throat.  Perfume wafts through the air to complete “the look” that one puts on to be seen as one goes about one’s business.

Houses in Alsace have a well-trimmed abundance of flowers that accentuate the rectangular window frames, which makes me think they are competing in the French “Villages Fleuries” program.  This program names a village or town that makes itself the most beautiful with flowers every year.

Restaurants in Alsace also expect you to wait to be seated as in France.  In Germany, restaurant customers can sit down where they want as long as they do not sit at the stammtisch (owner’s table).  French is spoken by everyone in Colmar, including the German tourists it seems.

There are busloads of tourists from all countries, who come to Colmar to visit the Unterlinden Museum.  Unterlinden means “under the linden trees,” and there are linden trees all around the museum.  The Unterlinden Museum houses the Issenheim Altarpiece, one of the greatest works of German art painted by Matthias Grünewald (ca. 1475/1480 – 1528) and sculpted by Nicholas de Haguenau (1485 – 1526/1538) between the years 1512 and 1516.

The Issenheim Altarpiece is not a joyful artwork, but rather one of Christ’s empathy for sufferers of what was called Saint Anthony’s Disease; the Issenheim Altarpiece offers hope for salvation from suffering on earth.  Saint Anthony’s Disease was caused by fungus on rye used in bread baking.  

According to the Musée d’Unterlinden Colmar in the Connaissances des Arts series, the church’s liturgical calendar determines the showing of the three collection of paintings of the Issenheim Altarpiece.  There are nine scenes that deal with the life of the Egyptian hermit Saint Anthony, scenes from the life of Saint Mary, and the Crucifixion.

In the scene of the Temptation of Saint Anthony Grünewald’s monster’s have ugly, tortured faces and gnarled hands.  They look joyful, though, as if they were hazing new recruits to a sinister fraternity.

Today the altar piece has been separated and hung in a former chapel of a thirteenth century Dominican convent.

Other galleries occupy the former convent’s rooms.  The wood carving of the Haut-Rhenan School from the Middle Ages on display is life-like and deeply carved into the wood.  A roomful of long-haired, blond Madonnas sculpted in wood shows them gazing towards their son with gentle curves at the hip to hold a baby.  Wood sculpture on altars shows flowers almost blooming out of their background, because they are carved in such high relief.

The Canals of the Petite Venise run in front of the Unterlinden Museum and restaurants.  The day we visited it was raining, so Laurent and I did not do our traditional assessment of every restaurant menu in town before deciding on one.

Fortunately, our choice of a restaurant turned out to be a welcoming place with excellent food named Pfeffel.  I immediately liked the soft, red and white tablecloths and linen napkins.  The restaurant was located inside a medieval, half-timbered house with wood beams running across the ceiling.

I ate pork medallions in cream sauce followed by a good slice of Muenster cheese rolled in caraway seeds.  The caraway seeds improved the flavor and downplayed the scent somewhat.  The meal was a marvelous finish to a wonderful outing in Colmar.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Visiting France's Most Exclusive Winery - the Clos de Vougeot with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting France's Most Exclusive Winery - the Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget 

Up bright and early the next day, we set out along the Canal du Centre and, then, followed the “Route des Grandes Crus.”  In English, this should be translated as “The Route of the Prestigious Wines.”  However, we tend to make French more democratic in American English and call this “The Wine Road.”

 

The Burgundian Route of Prestigious Wines follows what is called the Côte d’Or (the Gold Coast).  The Côte d’Or is made up of two sections.  The section under Beaune is called the Côte de Beaune.  Mostly white wines such as Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet are grown here.  The white wines of the Côte de Beaune come from Chardonnay grapes.

The section of the Côte d’Or between Beaune and Dijon is called the Côte de Nuits.  Only red wines such as Gevrey-Chambertin and Vougeot are grown along the Côte de Nuits.  The soil and climate here are better suited for pinot noir grapes.

Our destination that morning was the Clos de Vougeot, which produces the world’s most exclusive red wine along the Côte de Nuits.  It is also the site of a banquet held for the “Trois Glorieuses” in November.  We took pictures of the banquet hall and danced a bit in the adjacent bar before returning to our tour of the Clos.

What is interesting about Clos de Vougeot is that it was a Cistercian Abbey and continues its saintly vocation with photographs throughout the Clos showing Cistercian monks praying.  One of the three wooden wine presses was also set up for mass during our visit.

The Cistercian Order also received donations of lands and homes, but they differed from the monks at Cluny.  The Cistercian Order was created by monks, who wanted to return to the simplicity and poverty espoused by Saint Benedict.  The first Cistercian Abbey was set up in 1098 at Cîteaux, which is several kilometers away from Clos de Vougeot.  Time precluded us from visiting the site as the end of the weekend neared.

We took photos of the vineyards and set out for home, happy with our Burgundian weekend.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Visiting the Middle Ages Powerhouse Abbey at Cluny in Burgundy with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Middle Ages Powerhouse Abbey at Cluny in Burgundy with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

After our visit to the Hospices de Beaune, my husband Laurent and I visited what remains of Cluny Abbey.  The Abbey was closed in 1790 as a result of the French Revolution and was later dismantled from 1798 to 1823.  Only one tower and transept, or arm that crosses the nave, remain.  Before Saint Peter’s Basilica was built in Rome, Cluny Abbey was the largest building in Christendom.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04073a.htm), the Cluny Abbey complex covered twenty-five acres total and the church itself measured 555 feet in length.  Our Michelin touring guide also noted that there were five naves across in the church, two transepts, five bells, two towers, and 301 windows before it was destroyed.

At the founding of Cluny Abbey in 910 C.E. by William, Duke of Aquitaine, the monks followed the Rule of Saint Benedict, which stipulates that poverty is a requirement for monastic life. The only way rich nobles could enter into the life of Cluny Abbey was to donate their land and riches to the abbey.This donation impoverished the monks in theory, but made Cluny Abbey wealthy.  Over time, the enormous wealth of Cluny Abbey made it easy to forgo the Rule of Saint Benedict and allowed the name of Cluny to become associated with excess and ostentation.

Cluny Abbey also deviated from the Rule of Saint Benedict by centralizing control over subsidiary monasteries.  The Abbot of Cluny was answerable to the pope only and had 314 houses under his direct control in the twelfth century and 825 in the fifteenth century according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.  Cluny’s huge library and its researchers made it an intellectual and artistic center hors pair as well.

The grandeur and power of Cluny expressed itself in its architecture even in what remains of it.  The Cluny Museum harbors the surviving tower of the Cluny Abbey complex.  Inside this tower, the columns supporting the barrel vaults go straight up without a triforium or clerestory windows to break up the view.  The result is that viewers may feel dwarfed and perhaps disoriented by what feels like a ninety-foot look up to the ceiling.

Outside the tower reflects the earthbound interests of Cluny Abbey as well.   The tower has a square base with each corner line meeting at an arid point without any decoration or ornament.   You do not want to dwell on celestial concerns when you look at this tower; earthly concerns at this intellectual center would have seemed to be more enticing.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Visiting the Hospices de Beaune - the Site of the World's Most Famous Wine Auction with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Hospices de Beaune - the Site of the World's Most Famous Wine Auction with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget 

Laurent and I wanted to go to Beaune, but wanted to take country roads to get there instead of the highway, so we could see more of the scenery.  We found ourselves following the Canal du Centre, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.  The Canal du Centre was opened in 1792.

Tranquil houses with cascading red geraniums lined our route along the Canal du Centre.  Men were out fishing.  A few canal trip boats were starting to wheel their way down the canal with tourists snapping photos.  We wheeled our way into Beaune and parked outside the ramparts, so we could walk into town.

We entered the world famous Hôtel Dieu, or Hospices de Beaune, and admired the ceramic tile roof of knotted geometric designs just as it opened.  We were able to visit the site with a map and audio, but the explanatory panels and labels inside were more than adequate for doing this I thought, but you had to be able to read French to understand them.

The Hospices de Beaune was founded in 1443 by Nicholas Rolin (1376 – 1462), Chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins (1403 – 1470), who held her own lands, property, and money.  The building itself is a museum now.  However, modern buildings and associated hospitals continue to provide medical services today.

Nicholas Rolin and Guigone de Salins chose to build a hospital to thank God for the bounty they had received on earth and to ask for their entry into heaven.  The portraits of the two that the Flemish artist Rogier van der Weyden (1403 – 1470) painted of them on the reverse side of his Last Judgment Altarpiece (1443 – 1451) shows them to be wearing simple, dark clothing.  Nicholas Rolin and Guigone de Salins appear to be consulting a Bible with fine drapes and furnishings to their backs.

After Nicholas Rolin’s death in 1462, Guigone de Salins managed the Hospices the Beaune.  The floor tiles in the Salle des Pôvres or Room of the Poor Ones honor the life and work of Nicholas Rolin and his wife Guigone de Salins.  Their heraldic shield of arms is a composite one.  The three golden keys on the right against a black background represent the Rolin family while the white tower against the black background represents the Salins family.

Their Hospices de Beaune has grown over time as other hospitals became associated with the Hospices de Beaune.  In November, the Hospices de Beaune holds a fundraising auction for the hospitals featuring wine from the region.  The auction is one of three social events of the season known as the Les Trois Glorieuses.

The auction for the Hospices de Beaune is the second of the Trois Glorieuses.  The other two events that make up the social season in Burgundy are the Paulée de Meursault and the banquet for the Confrérie des Chevaliers des Tastevin at Clos de Vougeot.  Workers and vineyard owners alike attend an upscale dinner at the Paulée while kings, queens, and the wealthy of the world attend the Trois Glorieuses event at the Clos de Vougeot.

With a few hours left for tourism, we decided to visit Cluny Abbey, that was the largest structure in Christendom until Saint Peter’s was built in Rome.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

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Enjoying a Burgundian Brunch by Autun Cathedral with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Enjoying a Burgundian Brunch by Autun Cathedral with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget 

Before and after our visit to Saint-Lazare Cathedral in Autun, my husband Laurent and I walked down the curving, narrow medieval streets and reviewed menus posted outside restaurants.  We passed the Rolin Museum and sat down on the benches outside it, not knowing that this was the childhood home of Nicholas Rolin (1376 – 1462).  Nicholas Rolin was the Chancellor Burgundy for more than forty years, and was appointed by Philippe le Bon (1396 – 1467), Duke of Burgundy.

Rolin is notable in French history for helping draft the Treaty of Arras (1435) that ended the hostilities of the One Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453) between Burgundy and the Kingdom of France.  King Charles VII (1403 – 1461) of France recognized the independence of Burgundy in return for Burgundy’s disbanding its alliance with the English.  (The English continued to battle in France, but were finally defeated in 1453 at Bordeaux.)  We would discover more about Nicholas Rolin as we toured around Burgundy.

Dinner preoccupied us at the moment and not history.  We chose to eat at an outdoor restaurant across the street from the cathedral.  The restaurant had a perfect view of the tower rising from the church.  Umbrellas over the dining area and flowers sitting atop the restaurant’s low stone wall made it appealing on a hot day.

We started our dinner with “Oeufs Pôchées au Vin Blanc Aligoté, Cèpes et Queues de Morilles.”  This dish was translated as “Poached Eggs with white wine, Cèpes, and Morels Sauce.”  That translation hardly did justice to this rarefied delicacy.  The poached eggs came in a small bowl with a whipped white sauce brimming over with wild mushrooms.  I could have eaten just this, but as the French say, “I had big eyes” when I ordered my meal.

Following the rich poached egg dish came “Brochette de Magret de Canard” – skewered and grilled duck breast.  This particular kind of duck breast comes from ducks raised for the foie gras industry.  Magret de canard meat is dense and has a thick lining of fat, which allows it to be grilled without drying out.

The duck breasts were skewered to look like little hearts. Saffron rice accompanied the duck breast along with a salad.  The salad dressing made of red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard helped cut some of the richness of the magret de canard.

For dessert, I ate France’s famous apple upside down cake called a tarte tatin.  The tarte tatin came with crème fraiche and vanilla ice cream on the side.  The warm tarte tatin reminded me of an apple sundae with the crème fraiche as a topping and ice cream. 

I took this meal to be ample proof of the Burgundian appetite for food and life.  After this day of tourism, it was time to go home and get ready to see more of Burgundy the next day.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Visiting Autun Cathedral in Burgundy, France with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting Autun Cathedral in Burgundy, France with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

One year my husband Laurent and I arrived in the Burgundian town of Autun during the church feast of Pentecost.  A concert was taking place in the Saint-Lazare Cathedral.  (Cathedral of Saint Lazarus).  The feast of Pentecost celebrates the ability of Christ to give the gift of tongues to his disciples.  The gift of tongues allows one to speak foreign languages to spread Christ's gospel far and wide.

During the concert’s final Alleluia chorus, tourists were allowed into the cathedral to admire the singing and the perfect acoustics in the high-ceilinged cathedral.  The masons who built Saint-Lazare knew more than just engineering it would appear.

The Saint-Lazare Cathedral at Autun was built between 1120 and 1146.  It is considered a Romanesque church and not a Gothic one for more than the dates of its construction. The cathedral’s ceiling is considered Romanesque for its single rib, barrel vaults that run the length of the nave or main aisle of the cathedral.  

Guidebooks often describe Gothic churches as having arches, which Saint-Lazare Cathedral does not have.

Other Romanesque features in Saint-Lazare Cathedral in Autun include the clerestory windows, which extend down from the ceiling to a blind triforium.  The triforium looks like a corridor than runs around the cathedral nave, yet is solid stone.

The triforium rests upon columns with sculpted tops that run along the nave.  The clerestory windows provide light, but it was not until the Gothic era that flying buttresses on the outside of a church allowed walls to be opened up for stained glass windows as at the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.

The high nave or main aisle makes it difficult to see the tops of the columns that are sculpted, but, in general, Romanesque churches are decorated with imaginary beasts on tops of columns.  Perhaps beasts like these Romanesque ones and Gothic gargoyles share the same function of scaring away evil doers.

Outside the cathedral on the west portico (covered porch), there is the famous Last Judgment scene art history students study in their introductory classes.  The tympanum, or semi-circle, above the doors features Christ as judge, sending the good to heaven and the evil to hell.  One sinner is forever doomed to having hands clasped around his head in hell.

Last judgment scenes figure on many Romanesque churches and probably served to remind parishioners that life is precious, especially when it is tied to the land.  Bad harvests are just as life threatening as the plague and war.  

The French historian Emmanual Le Roy Ladurie wrote in several of his books that the difference between aristocrats and peasants in the Middle Ages was that the aristocrats had stores of food that could tide them over bad harvests, war, and lawsuits whereas peasants were kept weak on gruel or died.

You had to be ready to have your soul weighed at any moment as the Last Judgment during the Romanesque Period when harvests were precarious.

By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

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