This is a co-operation with Husbilslandet. You can follow our journey on their Facebook.
"Hello all bon vivants!
Now it's getting hot! After a few sweaty days in Colmar, we decided to seek shelter in the mountains. Yes, who knew that there were ”real” mountains in Alsace with peaks of over 1500 metres? We didn't, but it was an exciting discovery.
Our first stop was in the small cosy village of Lautenbach Zell which is normally packed with hikers but due to the heat we had the village all to ourselves. We found a small campsite in the centre of town that had a beautiful view of the mountains and top-notch facilities. It was of course nice not to have to crowd with others but at the same time almost a little spooky ...
The highlight of the village was undoubtedly Restaurant à la Truite, a bright purple fish restaurant in the centre of town. We thought it was a bit odd that they specialised in fish, in the middle of a mountainous area, but it turned out that they had a twist on the theme that we hadn't seen before. When it was getting close to the main course, one of the chefs snuck out to a pond in the backyard, hauled in a nice trout and after a couple of resolute slaps, the kitchen had raw materials for our dinner. Then it was gently boiled in broth and served with butter sauce.
After the tasty foursome, we were a bit torn as to whether we could handle dessert but were slightly distracted by the table next to us apparently talking about us. We didn't understand what they were saying so we assumed they were discussing the strange tourists who didn't really fit in here. In the middle of the conversation, the whole table burst out in a unanimous victory roar, BLUEBERRY! We then realised that the helpful waitress, who didn't speak a word of English, had asked them what today's cake was called in a language we understood... 😉
The next day it was even warmer and we couldn't do much other than lie under the awning and gasp for breath. However, we dragged ourselves down to the tiny shop in the village to buy something for dinner. The only piece of meat they could provide was something beyond our language skills but we took a chance that it could be grilled. Le rumsteck turned out to mean roast beef and it was not only locally produced but also of excellent quality. Now that we're getting back to the subject of grilling, we'd like to recommend bringing a real grill in the campervan and leaving the camping grill at home. This way you can easily prepare a feast with meat from the local butcher and skip the scary hot dogs or frozen burgers in big packs.
After a couple of days in the small village we were ready to move on. The road through the mountains was not as narrow as we feared and the day was filled with beautiful views. You can see more in the attached film.
As we started to descend again, we saw a lake in the distance. It turned out to be a small seaside resort wedged between the mountains. When it was time for lunch, we sat down at one of the cafés on the beach. In many countries, a café on the beach would have only been able to provide a cup of coffee and possibly an ice cream, but here we were instead offered quite advanced food. This is something that people really respond to in France. Wherever you are, there is always excellent and well-prepared food, not only in the luxury restaurants but in the smallest village.
What are your favourite food experiences? Please write about your favourite in the comments. There you will also find a link to our blog where you can read about old and new experiences.
Now we're off to Champagne, you're coming with us on our journey, right?
Best regards Eva and Henrik”
