Enchanted Alsace Village - Riquewihr & Kaysersberg, France

Kayserberg

Driving on the old Roman road to our next destination, Kaysersberg, another charming village.

Wine brewing is an important industry in this region. It’s no wonder vineyard is everywhere to be seen.

Kaysersberg is the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer, a winner of the Nobel Peace prize, for his dedication in establishing a hospital and leper colony for the poor in Africa.

His lifetime story is commemorated in a museum nearby this statue.

As soon as we entered Kaysersberg main street, we were surrounded by lots of painted half-timber buildings.

Gingerbread is special all around Alsace and particularly appreciated during the famous Christmas markets. Kaysersberg is said to have one of the best.

The Maison Faller Brief, a remarkable house built-in 1593-1594.

As we walked down the main street, the village becomes increasingly interesting.

Weiss river is crossing the village. Along the river there are numerous brightly painted half-timber houses.

The river is crossed by a 16th century fortified stone bridge, which still look pretty strong.

I wonder how is it look like inside those houses?

From the stone bridge, there is a fork junction. We turned to the right one which seems bigger and more happenings.

Many of the most imposing townhouses are dated from the prosperity period from 16th and 17th centuries.

The three grandest houses in Kayserbery, which is the Maison Herzer, the Maison Faller Brief and the Maison Bohn, are still productive until today.

Another townhouse, the Maison Loewert, which appears to be a very similar style to these grand houses but was actually built much later, around 1739.

Maison Loewert is like the supermodel of a cute buildings. The flowers really bring out the special charm of this unique architecture

The design of the building had triggered my memory of solving the geometry mathematical problems, back in school time.

By noon time, the restaurants were started to be packed with diners. So, we decided to delay our lunch time at the next destination instead.

Although I would love to take some time checking in those souvenir shops, my companion are not so into it. Thus, I have no idea what I’ve missed out there.

Happen to be attracted by this small yellow flower on the street.

Many town names have become synonymous with rich traditions, friendliness, prosperity and great wines. Kaysersbery is one of them.

The left side of the fork junction, around stone bridge.

Mannequin dressed up in traditional clothes has captured my eyesballs.

Handmade pottery of different styles are common sold items in many shops.

I think those buildings has a name, but I don’t bother to find out at that time.

Again, Kaysersberg is not big enough to tour for long hours, yet it’s just nice for us. After 2 hours, we were ready to depart to the next village nearby, Riquewihr it is.

Riquewihr

Riquewihr, not to be missed when visiting Alsace, is an open-air musuem.

Being the third city in Alsace, it managed to preserve its authentic character behind its city walls, which are now besieged only by the vines.

The first thing that had captured our attention was foods. This macoron tower is so tempting, just felt like want to grab one and put into my mouth right a way !

We were hungry by then, this cake-bread hybrid looks super delicious too! We did buy one when we left the town, it is indeed delicious.

It’s true that when the tummy is rumbling, everything that goes into the eyes is food-related objects.

There are many nice restuarant in Riquewihr for selection, some open-air, some indoor.

Based on past experience, it’s not easy for us to find foods, mainly because there are no English menu nor food’s photos.

Usually we will walk around to see what kind of foods on other people’s plate, then we’ll make our decision.

Anyway, it’s convenient to find foods over here, the main street has many eateries for selection.

Without taking a long time, we had decided to settle our late lunch in this restaurant.

All the 6 of us were satisfied with the foods, and the price as well.

The foods we had ordered, not sure if they are authentic or not? But who cares as long as it’s tasty!

The interior of the restaurant, quite a cool place to chill out.

Such an eye-catching art piece hanging on the wall. What do you see as first sight?

After lunch, it’s just perfect to take some walk in the town area.

The adjacent walls is decorated with plants & flowers, simply brilliant !

The splendor of Riquewihr finds its roots in the Renaissance period (16th & 17th centuries), and is mainly due to the revenue generated by the excellent wines produced in the village.

The pottery art pieces are beautiful, but difficult for us to carry home.

These cookies are tasty, just a bit too sweet to me.

Taking our own sweet time to walk to the upper part of the main street.

Along the street, there are many pleasant terraces, providing nice places to sit and sip local wine or beer!

Overlooking the town, the watchtower Dolder is Riquewihr’s iconic monument. It’s also houses a unique museum that tells the history of the town from the 12th to 17th centuries

Having been visited 4 towns in a row, I’m sure the other towns in Alsace region is no less beautiful & enchanted. We felt content enough to have visited the 4 of them which is the most representative !