Music and Markets - - Following the Music

Heavenly Music in Alsace

Sunday, March 25, 2012, Part 1
Alsace, France

Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you!
Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or Amsterdam!
A quiet rooftop view greets us in Strasbourg this morning, and after a delicious breakfast at the Regent Petite France, we begin a new day of discovery.
We've been on the lookout for storks on rooftops as we drive through Alsace, and spied one or two nesting atop homes as we whizzed through towns.
 I think our collective gasps as we passed this stork refuge convinced our guide to make a quick stop. The ungainly birds flew from one weeping willow to another as we watched,

and beyond stately castles topped each hill. Each place we've passed through on this tour cries out for a return visit - so much to see and enjoy in this wonder-packed country!




Quite obviously, we're on one of France's Wine Routes, with soldier-straight rows marching up the gentle slopes as far as we can see. Over one hundred villages line the Alsace Wine Route, with many independent growers delighted to welcome an interested traveler into their cellar.






In the tiny village of Guebwiller is a fascinating place, Les Dominicains, an ancient Dominican monastery from the 1200's that is now a unique setting for music performances as well as education.



You know how we love cloisters - peaceful and beautiful places for rest and meditation - and this one is more inviting than ever, with abundant chaises that we can't resist....
but just for a moment, because there's so much to appreciate in this lovely place. Now a listed historic monument, at one time it was a hospital, so two chapels, this ornate Catholic space, and a much simpler Protestant one, were built for those healing, and their families, in the facility.





An acoustically stellar nave (unparalleled in Europe - music has been performed here for over 150 years) soars above the ancient frescoes, and another floor has been constructed atop the nave, providing a performance space under the vaults and right beside the windows.
We're invited up to this glorious space, where a grand piano sits in the center and roving waiters offer tempting tidbits for lunch.
This intriguing dessert looks like a test tube. Lean your head back and slurp the berries and cake into your mouth, squirting the tube as you do so for the sweet essence of berries in the tube. Reminds us of the cutting edge cuisine we enjoyed in Barcelona.


I'm drafted to play the piano, and what a spine-tingling experience that is, as Amazing Grace resounds to the stone above! I still get goose-bumps when I recall those moments!
More music awaits us, as two talented students sing a Puccini duet - breathtaking!

Labels: Alsace Wine Route, cloister, Guebwiller, Les Dominicains, Strasbourg

posted by Anne and Kirk @ 12:17 PM