France: Alsace-Lorraine,
Vosges
Ever since the
time of the Romans battles have been waged for
Lorraine
and
Alsace
in North Eastern
France and have clearly influenced the character and culture of
this region. This video gives you a good idea of how the French
kings and German emperors put their stamp on towns such as
Metz
,
Nancy
and
Colmar
.
Strasbourg
in particular is a
hotch potch of both French and German architecture. Lovers of
architecture flock to
Alsace
for the flamboyant
Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance style palaces which wouldn’t
be out of place in
Versailles
. The wine industry in
Alsace
also has a centuries
old history. Along the “Route du Vin” we pass through
picturesque wine villages with their characteristic
half-timbered houses such as Wangen, Westhoffen and Obernai and
visit vineyards, where we shall sample Sylvaner and Riesling.
Our route takes us unavoidably past one of the war cemetries
Hartmannswillerkopf, where 30,000 French soldiers are buried.
Nowhere is the memory of Joan of Arc, the national saint of
France
kept so alive
as in Domrémy, where we visit the house where she was born and
then in Plombičres we shall take a look inside one of the bath
houses which Louis XV and his nobles frequented.
