We just returned from our 2nd Untour. This time we went to Alsace, June 6-20, 2001. Because we had such a wonderful, fully occupied and enjoyable time, my travel journal is too long to reproduce here (I wrote and wrote and wrote each evening or early morning!) but for the benefit of future visitors to that particularly delightful part of France, here are a few comments and notations.

The people you will enjoy and remember are a major plus of the visit. We stayed in the apartment Sonnenglanz at Beblenheim and our hosts/landlords were Francoise and Robert Bruppacher, who made us feel so welcome we were sad to leave when our time there was over. They own the vineyards for which this house is named, and they were friends from the day we were welcomed with a bottle of their own Pinot Blanc and a bowl of the best strawberries I have ever eaten.

A week later they invited us and the Lossmans (Idyllers at the other property they own in Beblenheim) to an evening of partying on our terrace – wine, appetizers, kugelhopf, and tarte flambee. The fact that we Americans spoke very little French and Francoise only a bit more fluent English (Robert no English) didn’t deter us at all from chattering, gesturing, and laughing away 4 hours of conversation and good refreshments!

Announcement: We were also celebrating the birth of the Bruppachers’ 4th grandchild –Enora. We were assured that the newest little girl is beautiful and has chubby cheeks!

Because our previous Untour had not involved a personal relationship with on-site landlords, we did not take a gift, but plan to send both pictures of our time with them and a modest gift to them in a week or so.

Other people that made a big and favorable impression on us were Vivianne and Marguerite, the Untour folks (see rave review under orientation comments) and the many people we met every day in shops, restaurants, and all sorts of public places. Our handicap was our inability to communicate in French – (“Je suis Americaine et parler en Francais seulement a petit peu.” was my grammatically shaky comment practically everywhere, and was inevitably responded to with a smile and “Anglaise petit peu.” from the other person. Charade experience and large friendly smiles are of invaluable worth!

Tip: I have decided that phrase books are very limited in usefulness, since the dictionary part rarely has the word you’re looking for! I should have taken a pocket edition of a French/English dictionary instead or in addition to my Berlitz phrase book.

Tip:One exception to this is in the important restaurant experience. Only a few of the many menus we consulted had English translations, but I found most culinary terms we needed in a very helpful book – The Hungry Traveler – France by Sarah Belk King (Andrews McNeel Publishers, Kansas City, 1997) – which includes names of most things found on any menu, and also terms for type of preparation as well as regional specialties. (Look in any bookstore for this and other books in the series – Italy, Spain, etc.)

Orientation was absolutely superb! Vivianne and Marguerite had such a thick file of helpful information for us that we never had to look any further for ideas of what to do. In fact, I was glad that our days before the trip had been so busy we’d not had time to much pre-trip homework in our Michelin guidebook, because we’d probably have scrapped a pre-decided itinerary, had we had one. The “PURPLE BOOK” is right on target – all you need in a nutshell. With it and the maps plus the Michelin for details on individual buildings, etc. you will not be bored for an instant. In addition to the written material, Vivianne showed us some slides of the region which helped with the overview.

Every trip has a frustration or two (problem-solving is what it’s all about, after all!) and language was at the base of most of ours: Avis instructions in the car manual, etc. are only in French. Therefore, we erred in the procedure for returning the car at the Basel airport and were scolded by the police as we went through passport control. Carefully check return procedures with Vivianne and write them down so you will remember a week later. (otherwise, the car, a Nissan, was just fine).

We bought a phone card in the Paris/deGaulle airport (1st day) as suggested, but didn’t know we should have asked only for a “france telecom Télécarte ®” The booth where we purchased the card had many phone card types and we got the wrong one – didn’t ask the right questions.

Airport personnel do speak English, for the most part, when you can get their attention. But the airport is large and confusing and we got different answers to our queries from different people. Also, our gate to the Basel flight was shifted and poorly marked. You need every moment of layover time you have just to sort it all out in your jet-lagged brain.

Don’t believe the word “breakfast” on your airline itinerary Basel-Paris flight. A single (dry) croissant and cold beverage are all there’s time for and all you’ll get.

Driving in the countryside was a pleasure as soon as my husband accustomed himself to slowing down or pulling over when being (inevitably) tail-gated by French drivers. His natural American habit of increasing speed (when “pushed”) made reading signs tough for his navigator (me) especially on the outskirts of larger towns and cities. Alsace is well signed, and when you get accustomed to the system (read the Purple Book!) roads are easy to follow. In larger places where you need to follow street signs the task is more difficult – these are usually blue enamel, on the sides of buildings, and much smaller than in some other countries. Whenever possible, park on outskirts and walk or take a tram.

We enjoy getting an overview of a place, so found “Le Petite Train” in Ribeauvillé pleasant before we walked around. In museums (Unterlinden, Colmar, and Bibliotech Humaniste, Selestat) and at Haut Koenigsburg castle, we got audio phones with narration in English – labels at all exhibits are only in French and German. At the Eagle’s Park in Kintzheim we loved not understanding the French of the narrator! He talked nonstop for over an hour, and we sensed from the glazed expressions of the audience that they were learning far more about eagles, falcons, and vultures than they ever wanted to know! It was very interesting, though, to just watch the birds and their spectacular swoops and surgings.

In July and August, the numbers and nationalities of tourists in Alsace may be different from what we experienced, but in June there were large numbers of French and German tour groups in this popular region and not many English-speaking folks. Although we had to dodge the crowds in some places, we never felt crowded out of places we wished to see, nor did we have to wait in lines.

In short, we loved our vacation. Thanks, Idyll, for being so helpful and for providing such wonderful locations for us to wander in!

Bon voyage to all Idyllers, present and future!