le paysage français et Mont Sainte-Odile

Last weekend on Saturday we went on an excursion with our fearless program coordinator and other Americans studying abroad - they were from Georgetown and BCA, which is Brethren Colleges of America, with which I'm unfamiliar. Anyway, on tap for the day was 1) a trip to a museum about an hour outside of Strasbourg dedicated to the history of the Alsace region from 1870 through World War II. Basically the museum focused on the German annexation and occupation of the region. 2) A nice lunch at a restaurant, eating Alsacian specialties. 3) a 7 km trek from Struthof, the only concentration camp on French soil, down a mountain to a town called Barr.

It's been said that "life is a road so you drive with care." This was true on our excursion - bumps came up that, though difficult to surmount, didn't take the wheels off the cart so to speak. We found out that due to recent weather, Struthof was closed until the end of february. What day was our excursion? February 27. Oh well. We still got to go to the museum, have a luxurious 2-hour, 3 course lunch, and check out Mont Sainte-Odile, a mountain with a medieval monastery/convent dedicated to the patron saint of Alsace.

First stop, museum. I didn't take any pictures inside, but here's a view from the railing. The weather was beautiful. My first taste of French countryside, I really liked it.


After the museum, we went to lunch, and had a bunch of great food - duck, beef and mushrooms in a stewy sauce with taters, carrots, a cooked and cut up pear, and spaetzle, really goo thick-looking pasta that tastes more or less like pancakes. For dessert, a little rum-raisin ice cream and some kind of rum/sherry cake, thank you very much. We then got on the bus, drove all the way up a switchback mountain rode, with great views, to the road that could take one to Struthoff. Of course, it was covered in snow, with a "route barrée" sign in front, so no dice. We proceeded to drive all the way back down the mountain, and were told that our "promenade" would be cut short by a few kilometers because, well, Struthof was closed. Don't ask me why we even bothered going up the road when the camp was closed, I couldn't tell you.

Anyway, we drove around this great little town Barr for a while, I wish that I could have gotten out and walked around, but I guess we still had some sort of schedule to keep. We drove up another mountain road, and made it to Mont Sainte-Odile. A truly amazing place. It's a monastery/abbey/convent, and it was founded in 700 AD by the daughter of a duke. She had been cured of blindness miraculously, and she became Sainte Odile, the patron saint of Alsace. She watches over the area from her perch atop the mountain, and welcomes pilgrims and soul-searching folk (and plenty of tourists like us) to this day.

The symbol of the monastery. Logo, if you will.

One view of the monastery, which according to our program coordinator is today a convent. This was taken right near the edge of the mountain. On the other side of the walls is a courtyard, a cloister, what have you. A really serene and peaceful place. Sainte Odile is buried here, though unfortunately I didn't get an opportunity to see the grave.



There she is on top of a tower, looking over everything.

Here's another similar view, just to give you an idea of where everything's situated. The people on the left are out on a walkway with a railing. Beyond that railing, it drops like 50, 60 plus feet straight to the slope of an evergreen forest. not deciduous. evergreen.

The ridiculous view from the monastery. You could actually see the spire of the Strasbourg cathedral, which apparently was over 30 km away. One of the best views I've ever seen.


Just a boy without a care in the world

and, on the other side of the monastery, great views of many peaks, all with great German names.

One of my better compositions, I think. That little structure is a kind of chapel/ sanctuary, I'm not sure what to call it. A small space where people go to pray and light candles and such. There were two, and each had crazy mosaics of gold, blue, and many other colors, depicting religious figures and scenes, of course. One of them had an epic mosaic of Saint George slaying the dragon. I wanted to take pictures, but I figure best to respect the sanctity of certain places. The coolest part - this one was right out on the edge of the rocky outcropping on which the monastery stood.
Then, we walked on a path next to the monastery that depicted different stations of the cross. Very cool. And it was great to do some kind of hiking.

My latest in a series of riveting bird photos. Call the Audubon society.

Continuing on up the path. Almost everything was covered with moss, and there was definitely a little snow as well. It all created a very nice alpine/medieval affect.

Survivorman, or Bear Grylls if you prefer, scoutin some territory atop some big pagan rocks.
Another shot taken along the path

Unfortunately, me and the two other kids I was walking with got separated from the group during the hike, and ended up taking a big detour along another path. We thought we were going to hold up everybody else, but it turned out alright. By wandering the wrong way, we ended up missing this pagan wall we were supposed to come across. Nevertheless, I had no regrets. It was a great little adventure, and it was good that I was wearing my hiking boots. The others were wearing nike shox and addidas. They look good, but they don't help much in ice and snow.

A view up through the treetops. A serious alpine, European forest. What really made my day was imagining what it was like 800, 900 years ago when the monastery was one of the only structures around, atop this mountain surrounded by totally wild forest. Pilgrims struggling up to the peak, weary travelers looking for a place to stay...so many untold stories.

So, we finished at the monastery, got on the bus, and headed back to the city. It was a great day. First I got a huge dose of regional history, which was great because I really didn't know that much about it. It was crazy to learn of the trials and tribulations that went along with the continuous Franco-German arguing over the territory. The periods of war were particularly cool. Then I got to eat a great lunch, just fantastic. Then I got to take a very scenic drive, and almost see a concentration camp. Then I got to see a picturesque French village. Then, last but definitely the best, I got to see a mountaintop monastery and wander freely in the surrounding area. It was great being out in the country, it reminded me a bit of home and it made me realize that I need to get my act together and travel to more parts of France, rural France in particular.

A Saturday well spent, indeed.