May 31, 2001

Incredible day today!  I have so many awesome pictures it has been really hard for me to choose.

We made it to the castle ruins today and fortunately the rain held off until we were able to hike up to the ruins, take incredible pictures and then spend a lovely day in Eugisheim "aye-gush-I'm".

The Hussern Les Cinq Château are in the Vosges mountains with the vineyards below and what an incredible view.

However the remains totally captivated me, this is just a small selection of my pictures:

We climbed all over the place and probably a few places that we shouldn't have. I think we all were very happy that it wasn't 86 degrees today, somehow hiking and climbing all over the place would not have been as much fun in the heat.

We then headed back down the mountains to Eugisheim.  It is a really cute little wine village with adorable buildings and flowers everywhere.  This is a place that is truly "Disneyesque" but then you realize that its the real thing and that Disney could have used as a template.  I also turned in the parking lot and realized that we could see the ruins from below, so thought I would add a picture from a distance as well

As we started walking I noticed this very sweet little window with the lace curtain, slightly opened with the cute little flower box filled with Geraniums and had to take a picture

 

Not 2 minutes later did an adorable little grand-mère open the window and remove the dead plants, so of course I had to snap a picture and my daughter was horrified and proceeded to tell me that I was a "creeper".  If grand-mère just wasn't so cute!

We then had a truly divine lunch at Auberge du Rempart.  It was country cooking at its best and really reminded me of my own dear grandmother's cooking.  I had a wonderful chicken (fall of the bone tender) in a Riesling sauce with a terrific spaetzel.  We also had time to enjoy a wonderful walk around the city.  

I think Bailey and Laura are really tired of me asking them to pose for pictures, but they placated me once again.

We then found another Stork nest and one of the stork's arrived and made the most incredible noises (I wish I had audio to share with you) and they both stayed in the nest for a bit

then the most incredible thing happened the other one took flight and I was able to snap a very quick photo, its not the world's best but I was thrilled anyway.

 

After returning to Obernai for our last night while sitting in the hotel lobby a really large group of Mennonite checked into the hotel and we overheard a young couple say they were from Ohio so we talked with them and found out they were from Lancaster which is not to far from us.  It really is a small world.  Even stranger we went to dinner in a very German/Alsatian restaurant and because it was raining they were only seating indoors and were very full so they sent us upstairs where the Mennonites were eating.  At the end of the meal they sang  "How Great thou Art" in beautiful harmony and once again I was reminded of my grandmother since it was her favorite hymn. 

Sorry for prattling on today but it was a great way to end our stay in Obernai.  Off to Reims tomorrow.  I can't believe its almost over.  

bonne nuit!