Snow Day 11 25th

Views over Munster

So Hermin and Christiana, our hosts at La Montagne verte in labaroche are proud Alsations, both born within 10minutes drive and both with roots deeply embedded in Alsaces history an soul.  They speak their own dialect (they would say language), they refer to it as their (separate) country and make a particular point about it’s differences to France and Germany.

Christiana has been b&b-ing for twenty years and bakes all her own bread.  Di had a nut swirl that was “light as air and sensational” for breakfast.  Hermin spoke no english at all but was happy to chat away in French just the same.  We made out that Hermin was a fireman and mountain rescue man, and now, in retirement, does the gardens at the bnb and looks after 2 ha of grapes down in Ammerswihr.  He was a lovely fellow and happily agreed to drive us up to the village to start our walk for the day – a gesture that our poor, under-nuanced language skills prevented us from thanking him enough for.

Munster storks (the Alsatian emblem)

Di’s migrane had gone and toe was all good, the sun was shining and nought but an act of god to stop us from marching on up the path to the grand Honnack and the Croix de Wihr pass.  Before arriving in Labaroche the thought of Grand Honnack and “Pass” had filled us with visions of snow covered ledges and a certain dread.  Upon seeing the Grand Honnack however, we realised we’d already covered most of the ascent the day before, and this lift was but a stroll (for us seasoned walkers 🙂 ).

After reaching the pass in a little more than an hour, we only to descend into Munster.  At the pass was a memorial for the Alsatians who had died defending their land in against the German’s in the first world war and, given it was Anzac day, we spent a moment in silence reflecting on the sacrifice made by so many.

Dropping down into Munster

Down the mountain their were other remnants of war; fortifications and storage bunkers from WWII, a hut build for a German commander and many reservoirs from natural mountain springs.

It was a delightful walk down on another stunning day.  At the edge of the forest the path opened to a view of Munster far below, snow on the distant peaks and blossoms of pink and white dotted across the green hills.  There was a small shelter hut here and we stopped for a break (and a snooze) before the steep decent down into the town below.

A note on Booking.com.  I think it’s now common knowledge that the “quick, last room left, these are going like hotcakes” messages refer only to Booking’s allocated rooms and are merely praying on the human ‘scarcety’ mentality.  That said, I was a little surprised to find that the room I’d booked on Bookings.com in Munster “last one available, five people have reviewed in last ten seconds, 2 booked in last hour, 7 people looking at your room now, you’re a complete nutbag if you don’t seal-the-seal immediately etc etc” was the only booking.  I swear, we were the only ones there.

This wasn’t clear on our arrival though.  The bar tables out front in the sun were packed, the bar inside as crowded and filling and the bar staff were run off their feet.  We realised in time that this was due to the Euro1.6 drink prices (and that nothing else was open) and wondered at how much cheaper they were compared to everywhere else…..until we saw the waitress shoulder a massive goon sac to fill our next two glasses.