 1 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Today we visit the WWI memorial at Hartmannswillerkopf. We drive 125 kms down the A35 which is the road that connects Strasbourg with Basel in Switzerland. The Black Forest in Germany is to our east and the Vosges are to our west. |
 2 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The Rhine River marks the border between the two countries. The Rhine was formed when the land fell away between the Vosges and the Black Forest. Millions of years ago there were two parallel faults in the tectonic plates. As the plates moved together the mountains rose and the Rhine Valley dropped between the two faults. |
 3 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Hartmannswillerkopf is a mountain in the Vosges and it was one of the sites of fierce fighting during WWI. It is both a museum and a cemetery but unfortunately the museum was closed for renovation. |
 4 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The most severe fighting for the peak took place on 19-20 January, 26 March, 25-26 April and 21-22 December 1915, 25 years before I was born. |
 5 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 To get to the cemetery we walk around the back of the museum. Acces pietons means pedestrian access. |
 6 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 It's hard to imagine the contrast between the incredible beauty of this place and the savage fighting that took place here 95 years ago. |
 7 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Hartmannswillerkopf Mountain was one of the main battle fronts in the Vosges during the First World War. The mountain (nicknamed "Vieil Armand" by French troops) was an observation post that looked out across the Alsatian plain. |
 8 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 He gave his life for France. Very moving even after all this time. |
 9 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The exact number of dead is not known but at least 30,000 French soldiers died here. A memorial comprising a crypt containing the bones of 12,000 unknown soldiers stands as a tribute to them. |
 10 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 In 1915 alone, the hilltop changed hands four times. Fighting continued here throughout the war on a battlefield devastated by shells, gas and flame throwers. |
 11 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 After about 18 months of fierce combat, both sides began to focus most of their attention on the western front farther north. Because the lines were static for such a long period, the trenches are very well preserved, especially on the German side of the mountain. |
 12 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The remaining fortifications are only a quarter of those existing in 1918. This map shows the locations of the trenches and other monuments, and the four different colour-coded routes to follow. |
 13 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Each colour-coded symbol leads you to one of the trenches or a battlefield monument. |
 14 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 I would love to have been able to walk to some of the bunkers but, once again, my inflamed ankle was playing up. |
 15 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Australian soldiers fought in France during WWI but did not fight here. They were deployed to the Western Front to the north of here. Australia's population was only 5 million people in 1918 which contrasts with the 16 million killed in the war. |
 16 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Next stop was the medieval village of Kayserberg via a route that followed the peaks of the Vosges. |
 17 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We leave Hartmannswillerkopf and drive farther north into the Vosges. |
 18 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We stop several times to admire the view. |
 19 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 On a clear day, you can see the Black Forest mountain range in Germany on the other side of the Rhine from here. It is geologically similar to the Vosges. |
 20 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We travel along the Route des Crêtes for quite a while before hunger kicks in. |
 21 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 It's a delightfully located cafe called "La Vues des Alpes" and as the name implies has great views of the Alsacian Plains. |
 22 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We ordered tarte aux myrtilles that . . . |
 23 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 . . .causes a telltale, distinctive colouring of the tongue (and anything else that touches the berries) |
 24 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We descend the Vosges and a short time later arrive at Kaysersberg. |
 25 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Kaysersberg is German for Emperor's Mountain and it is a classic, beautiful medieval town. |
 26 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 This is Kaysersberg's main road through the old town. It is lined with many corbelled (half-timbered) homes, most of which date from the 15th and 16th centuries |
 27 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) was a theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician and this is a museum devoted to his memory. |
 28 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 And this was his birthplace; Kaysersberg was part of Germany at the time. He was a Lutheran (protestant) and received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of Reverence for Life. |
 29 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Albert Schweitzer's birthplace and museum opposite. |
 30 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The avenue continues down the hill, over the Fortified Bridge that crosses the river Weiss, turns right and ends near the church. |
 31 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 OMG |
 32 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The remains of the old castle wall, dating from 1227 is above the Weiss River over which the Fortified Bridge (1514) is built. |
 33 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Kaysersberg is located at a strategic point at the entrance of the Weiss valley. From Roman times, Kaysersberg was an important stop on the route from Vieux-Brisach (on the Rhine farther to the south) to Toul in Lorraine. |
 34 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Kaysersberg prospered because of its many privileges such as the right to have a weekly market and annual fair. Its wine production was a great success and was exported throughout the Empire. |
 35 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 In the seventeenth century following the Thirty Years War 1618-1648 the region was devastated by the passage of different armies, but the town returned prosperity in the second half of the century. |
 36 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 In the nineteenth century a large number of textile industries settled in the region and in the twentieth century, Kaysersberg was partially destroyed by the second world war. |
 37 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The name Kaysersberg (Emperor's Mountain) comes from the fortress which the Holy Roman Empire acquired in 1227. It was ruined in 1632 by mercenaries of the Swedish army during the Thirty Years War. |
 38 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The castle was built at the beginning of the 13th century by the Hohenstaufen family |
 39 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Kaysersberg developed around this fortress and became a city with walls and towers. Kaysersberg suffered from many medieval struggles with the bishops of Strasbourg. However, in 1354 Emperor Charles IV recognised the alliance of 10 free Alsatian cities as the Décapole which ended these struggles. |
 40 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The Decapole was a military alliance and, rare for the time, offered financial aid in case of bankruptcy. After Alsace became part of France during the 17 century, Louis XIV ordered the dissolution of the Decapole in 1674. |
 41 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Kaysersberg is one of the finest wine growing areas in Alsace. The first vines were brought here in the 16th century from Hungary and wine production is still an important aspect of the town’s economy. Wine produced from the Tokay variety is a local specialty. |
 42 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 You almost expect a Walt Disney character to jump out and greet you. |
 43 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 This is one of the original six medieval towers; five still stand today. I do believe that a stork has built its nest on the top of the tower. |
 44 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 A beautiful spot on the Weiss River |
 45 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 A white river runs through it. |
 46 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 According to legend, the Emperor Barberossa decided to build a church for the city. In the middle of construction he ran out of money and he used his wife's crown to guarantee a loan. The heavens were moved by his pious resolution to build the church and sent down two angels with money. They bought the crown, gave it back to the Emperor and the construction was finished within the year. |
 47 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Not potable (unless you are a horse) |
 48 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The famous Fortified Bridge of 1514 replaced an old wooden structure. Two senior citizens examine the aedicule (small house) no doubt wondering what its purpose was. |
 49 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Residents who had committed minor crimes were locked up in the aedicule for a short time and became the laughing-stock of the town. |
 50 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The bridge is equipped, on both sides, with parapets and arrowslits to defend against attacks from the river. |
 51 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The aedicule is surmounted by the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire and of the city. A statue of the virgin resides inside it now. |
 52 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 This beautiful building features highly decorative, carved wooden posts and beams. Geranium planter boxes are one of many attractive features of the buildings in Kaysersberg. |
 53 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Flower beds are everywhere in the town and add a brilliant dash of colour to an already colourful place. |
 54 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 In medieval times, this would have been the town's water supply. |
 55 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We return to the car but now we are a bit late. |
 56 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We were invited to dinner at Nathalie and Denis'. |
 57 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 Nathalie greets us at the door dressed in typical French knock-about clothes (a bit of ozzie humour there). |
 58 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 We have a wonderful meal of barbecued prawns, scallops and salmon that was followed by cheeses and dessert. |
 59 Tuesday 15 June, 2010 The young man at the table is Maxime, Nathalie and Denis' son. He is going to Los Angeles to complete his studies and to become proficient in English. Next we visit the Rocher of Dabo with Michele |
