Corks and storks

We began our all-too-short stay chez my good friends DP and CF with a little visit to DP's favorite winemaker, Klein aux Vieux Remparts in St-Hippolyte.

As Homer Simpson might say, ¨Mmm... vins d'Alsace."

Jean-Marie et Françoise Klein, dynamic oeneological duo that they are, produce dry, subtle wines which represent Alsace's wine heritage (German varietals produced in a French style) unusually well. Although DP loves their wines to pieces, I find them a bit dry and tangy for my taste. Their 2005 Gewurztraminer and 2002 Muscat are worth the trip if you find yourself in Alsace, though; and don't neglect to taste the famed rouge de St-Hippolyte while you're there.

H and DP practice swishing the wine across their palates.

After wining and dining for a day or two, we collected DP's and CF's two sweet boys, and headed out to visit Alsace's Ecomuseum. The Ecomuseum gathers together old Alsatian houses, farm buildings, and production buildings into a kind of small town, where traditional craftsmen, including farmers, beekeepers, distillers, coopers, and blacksmiths, show off their know-how to visitors. H especially enjoyed her visit with a queen bee.

The beekeeper explained that the hives are numbered in order to help each bee find the correct hive after a long day's work in the fields.

Oh, yes. And H also enjoyed her first taste of milk only 10 seconds out of the cow.

At first, we were surprised that our sips of superfresh milk weren't cold. Then we thought about it for a second.

And, of course, what fun would a visit to Alsace be without a stork sighting? ¨Storks?¨ you ask.

One must realize that storks are the symbol of happiness and fidelity. As everyone knows, it is the stork which brings babies wrapped in bundles, firmly held in their beaks. Alsatian custom says that when a child wanted a younger brother or sister, he would place a piece of sugar on the window sill to attract the stork, in hopes that it would leave the precious bundle in exchange.

...As everyone knows. The French are a little pompous even in translation. In any case, the Ecomususm provides plenty of stork nests, so we got to see more than our share.

You've seen the bees. I represent the birds part of the equation.