The beer festival in Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines

We had noticed a sign above the street that there was to be some sort of beer festival on the weekend before we returned to the US. One of the exchange couples returned to their house on Friday while the other couple (who own the house we are staying in) were spending a weekend in New York City. Although he was still suffering from jet-lag, Phillipe came round to the house to give us our car keys and to arrange the timing of our departure to the airport on Monday.

Philippe told us that he was a member of a band that was playing at the beer festival and we would be his guests at the lunch the next day.

We duly turned up about 11:30 to find a crowd and some beer and food tents.

We went to one tent to buy a ticket and a couple of glasses. At another place we exchanged the ticket for this 750 ml bottle of beer. Note the alcohol level of 5.2%.

The beer was brewed specially for the event and Phillipe told us that 9000 bottles were made.

We found a table where we could watch Phillipe do his Bill Wyman act on the bass guitar. You can see him standing at the back of the band.

The band in action. The conductor beat on an anvil with some mallets.

If you were one of the officials you got to wear a straw hat with an orange ribbon.

We had a discussion about cell phone cameras versus regular digital cameras. As most of you know, cell phone cameras can produce wonderful results these days. However I reckon that the biggest advantage of a regular digital camera is that you can take pictures very quickly if necessary. I snapped this photo of Marianne in a couple of seconds. It would take me two seconds at least to turn on the phone.

I used my old small Canon A1200 for these photos. It produces a decent photo and slips easily into a pocket. However it does have some shutter lag compared to our bigger Lumix.

The band finished their performance about 12:30 and Phillipe invited us inside to a reserved place at long tables. He had some tickets that he gave to some volunteers who were bring the food out.

Lo and behold, an even bigger pork leg than the one I had in Bamberg. This was the only dish and everybody was given one this size.

This was the first time that the beer festival was held and the lady was amazed at the size of the pork leg. I asked her if she needed to order another one and she laughed.

I suspect they had been cooked in the special festival beer because it did not have the smoky taste of the Bamberg version. It was just as delicious but really filling. Phillipe bought a couple more bottles of beer so there was plenty to eat and drink.

We could have stayed for a dessert but we could not eat any more and we knew Phillipe was still jet-lagged and would like to go home for a nap.

The quilting tradition is strong in this area so there were quite a few quilts hanging on the walls.

We said goodbye to Phillipe and thanked him for hosting us at the festival. On our way home along the bicycle path, I noticed several people waiting in a line all facing away from the path. Why, I don't know. It will just be another sweet mystery of life.

After all the beer and food, I took a two hour nap.

We have really enjoyed our time here in Saint Croix. The house was very comfortable and we saw quite a number of new things even though we had spent several weeks a few miles away back in 2011. Phillipe told us that they had enjoyed our house and the places they had visited from Philly to Washington. Even Atlantic City! They particularly enjoyed meeting our friends Wendy and Rich, Christine and Amanda.

A market, some mussels and a bike ride

A complaint has been received that there are not enough photos with people in them. I will try to rectify my appalling deficiency.

The village holds a market every Tuesday evening in the forecourt of the Villa Burris.  It is not far from the house so we wandered over to take a look.

Most of the stands were selling prepared food so with all the tables, I suspect we would have seen a lot more people later in the evening.

Ice-creams are always popular.

Syrups, jams and spices for sale.

A local winery was setting up shop just as we left. Perhaps we will go back next week but later in the evening.

We went to the supermarket recently and bought a large container of mussels which are my favourite seafood. It was Marianne's turn to cook last night so she duly heated them up in a delicious broth until they opened. The meat was tasty but very small. New Zealand mussels have nothing to fear and even the mussels we get at Monks in Philly were much larger.

A bottle of local Pinot Gris went very well with them.

The shells were very difficult to open but we struggled on and managed to finish most of them. Wondering what to do with the shells, we just chucked them over the fence into the neighbour's yard. Our exchange host probably just had a heart attack reading that sentence. Not true, we put them in a bag in the weekly trash pickup that was due that night. They were gone this morning.

When Eric was showing us over the house, he invited me to ride his bike. I finally decided this was to be the day. Eric has a helmet but my head is too large for it. No derisory comments please.

I had decided to ride along the disused railway line path that is now a cycle way. This is the back of one of the Gites that was in the Military Cemetery blog.

I trundled along the path to about the western edge of the town and turned around. My backside was hurting. Still it was very pleasant and the breeze cooled me down.

Saint Croix aux Mines Military Cemetery

For my 600th blog entry, you get the Military Cemetery that over looks the village. It can be seen from the house where we are staying.

Alsace has been fought over for centuries by France and Germany. The mountains and steep hills from a formidable barrier between the two countries.

The cemetery holds graves from WWI and  WWII.

Like all Military Cemeteries, it is very well kept.

Of course, there are wonderful views of the village.

Solar cells on the roof of a building to the left of the church.

The house where we are staying is visible but I won't tell you where in consideration of our French hosts. 

Looking east down the valley towards Selestat.

Big tree in front of the cemetery.

Further up the hill. We were the only people up there.

The wine road heading south

We decided that it was time to get out and drive some of the Wine Road. I presume most of you know that Alsace is famous for its wines and the pretty villages that sit in the center of vineyards.

It had rained most of the night before and there were still clouds hanging around on the nearby hills.

At Chatenois, we headed south on the Wine Road that runs north south crossing the road from Saint Croix aux Mines to Selestat. We stopped in Kinzheim and although we had been there before four years ago, went for another stroll around.

Marianne loves this blue.

Airing the pillows.

The church steeple.

This is where we ate the Tarte Flambes four years ago.

Inside the church. Very plain compared to the Austrian churches.

I've never seen a stained glass window like this.

Each of the entrances to the church had spiffy new glass doors.

Looking east from the steps in front of the church. If you continue down this road you come to Selestat.

The different colours are really interesting.

Marianne reckons there should be a blog devoted to lace curtains.

Chateau de Kinzheim on the hill overlooking Kinzheim.

We headed further south and stopped to take some photos of some vineyards.

We continued further south to Saint-Hippolyte and Ribeauville but did not stop since they were crowded with tourists. Both are very pretty villages but they are quite close to touristy Colmar so busloads of tourists visit all three places. Kinzheim is just as nice.

Further south we eventually decided we had gone far enough and headed back home on the main highway. We did not do any tasting since I try not to do too much drinking and driving. We do have plenty of wine from Alsace to drink for dinner.