Rouge Gazon, Last stop in the Vosges

Rouge Gazon, red meadow, named for the blood spilled here during war time, is now a popular place for for hikers and skiers. It is located in a pass with access by highway so we see many day hikers. We got here as usual by foot from Thann the last town on the Alsacian wine road.

We left le Hohwald almost two weeks ago and have been bumping up and down from Crete (ridge) to wine town and up and down the Crete du Vosges the whole time. The forest and highlands are lovely here and we have been lucky enough to scare up chamoix several times while hiking as well as other deer.

The first day out of le Hohwald we met the Fromms and Christian and Helga Faeber at the Mt. St. Odile Monestary for lunch. The monestery is located on a rock outcrop high above the Alsacian plane and from the terrace there are probably twenty villages in sight in the valley below. We had a great time catching up with everyone. Christian wore his Wilson hat and we had a fine time discussing the American tea party. The Europeans are dumbfounded by this type of behavior.

From there the trail goes through wine towns Barr, Chatenois, and Ribeaueville surrounded by vineyards on the foot hills of the Vosges, with beautifully preserved buildings and lots of tourists. So we spend hours each day in the forest and fields along with the history, culture and food in the towns.

After Ribeauville we left the tourists behind and had five days totally in the mountains. We stayed in two villages, Aubure and Mittlach and the rest of the time in Ferme Aurberges out by themselves in the mountains. Ferme Auberges are country inns in farmhouses that prepare only food made on the farm. They serve smoked meats and sausage, salad, potatoes, cheeses, tarts from local berries and a luscious soft cream cheese cake with kirsch and burnt sugar topping. The visitors this time of year are mostly hikers so the commedier is high in the dining room and the rooms comfortible and cozy, especially when it is raining, which it was for three days.

We also stop at Ferme Auberges for lunch or for a glass of wine or beer on the trail. When we climbed from Mitlatch to the Crete it was cold and misty and when we got to the Col du Herrenberg it was windy and Rhonda needed her mittens, so we followed the sign to Auberge Hus just down the hill out of the wind. We were the first people there for lunch, but the small dining room was soon filled with pleasant French families. We had a perfect lunch with a bottle of wine. Stepping out to the toilet was stepping into the barn, which was like all european barns connected to the house. I stopped in the cheese making room and got a lesson from our proprietess on cheese making. We marched off after lunch waving to the families and singing most of the way to Le Markstein, where we met Ulli and Klaus for two days of car touring.

What a difference it is in the car! We swooped down the highways and through the cols where a few days earlier we had emerged from rainy woods. We visited several lakes and more villages than we had seen in the last four weeks. The high point of the first day was finding the U. of Nancy Alpine gardens along the Crete highway. They have a collection from all over the world and we saw many plants we had been seeing in the woods for the past two weeks.

In Wesserling we visited a textile mill that closed in 2003 and is now a public place. There was an agricultural fair on the grounds with animals, including the small Alsascian cows with their now familiar bells, displays, foods made on the local farms and great down home music, including yodellers. The factory is now a fascinating textile museum and the french formal gardens in front of the former owners chateau is an amazing place where artists create gardens and vegetables are mixed in with flowers in creative ways.

The next day we visited several wine towns and then a large city, Mulhouse, where we shopped for supplies and tried to get my sandles fixed, which are now adhesive taped together. Klaus and Ulli, as usual had a great plan for a tour and we got to see some of the Europe hidden from the solitary walker.

I am standing here using the computer in the dining room, while everyone is working to get the place ready for dinner after the lunch rush. Elvis is on the the sound system, Rhonda is snuggled by the fire, it is rainning, all is right with the world. And voila, I am useful -- the waitress just asked me for the english word for the lentil soup they make here so she could explain to a German tourist (she does not know German and the Germans know no French) what is on the menu tonight.

Tonight they are having a special dinner and there will be a band and dancing. Will we be able to stay up long enough to participate?