Alsace is the smallest region in France. The best sights of Alsace: photo and description

- a city with ancient gabled roofs, with a cathedral rushing upwards, a hundred and forty-meter spire of pink sandstone.

But the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, which for a long time was one of the most tall buildings in the world, has not only purely architectural merit: here the Gothic reaches the highest level of perfection. When you look at the harmonious facade, at the clean lines of the Pillar of Angels, you feel how much passion, feelings, inspiration are invested in this creation of human hands.

The cathedral, as if defying time, proudly rises among the surrounding buildings. In it you can see a wonderful astronomical clock with images of the planets, apostles and Christ, as well as a rooster flapping its wings and calling out the time.

The cathedral stands in the center of the former capital of the province, which today claims to be the capital of Europe, in any case, the European Council has already been located here. Behind the Orangerie Park, where the university and the Palace of Europe are located, modern spacious quarters stretch. But residents of Strasbourg and tourists are more attracted to the old streets. A port was built on the Rhine, the fifth largest in France. It opens the road to the north for Alsace, and the canal connecting it with the Rhone gives access to the Mediterranean Sea.

However, it is not the Rhine that adorns the landscape of Strasbourg, but the Ile River. You can wander for a long time through the quarters of "Little France", admiring her still waters, across which are thrown bridges on piles, to make your way between houses with gabled roofs, reflected in the unsteady waters of the river. On the most beautiful old street with the bird name "Sinitsina" there are wooden residential buildings that look like children's houses of cards. Here once lived those who created the wealth of the city: fishermen, tanners, brewers, boatmen. From the square fish market you can take a boat trip along the Ile River, or you can walk to the Batelier embankment and to the Vorony Bridge, where the Voron guest house is still located, almost unchanged since the 16th century.

In the Alsatian Museum, the past is side by side with the present. Beautiful red-black-green local costumes, furniture, household items - from the most luxurious to the most modest, such as carved wooden cake molds, and hundreds of other small items still used in the life of the surrounding villages are exhibited here.

Tables and chairs darkened from time to time, stoves with lovely faience tiles, costumes that winegrowers still wear in small villages on the day of the harvest, special molds for making Christmas sweets, decoration of the “hall” (front room) in which everything was exhibited. the best thing about the house (it was lovingly looked after and opened only on big holidays), beautiful wooden wall paneling and carved shutters - all this is yesterday's Alsace. But the same can be seen in today's "rustic" Alsace, which carefully preserves its past.

In Strasbourg, tourists are shown the facade of the Camercelle house, decorated with sculptures, built at the beginning of the Renaissance.

Fans of medieval sculpture will be attracted by the Museum of offerings of the Mother of God, which has existed since the Middle Ages. The museum has a collection of Alsatian paintings and sculptures of that time.

It is interesting to get acquainted with the Rogan Palace, dating back to the Age of Enlightenment. Strasbourg was a city of tolerance and freedom. From the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War, he was at the head of Dekapolis. (Union of ten free cities), which gave this region of Europe full autonomy.

Here Gutenberg set up the first printing press. Protestants were allowed to freely practice their faith. It was in Strasbourg, in the house of its mayor Dietrich, that Rouger de Lisle first performed the Song of the Marseilles - "La Marseillaise", which became the national anthem of France.

A beautiful winding road leads from Strasbourg - the famous Road of Wines. Bathed in golden sunshine (the Vosges protect Alsace from rainy winds), this road either runs up the slopes, then stretches along vineyards and cherry orchards, then crosses sheltered valleys big villages where the streets radiate from central square. Every year the facades and shutters of the houses are carefully repainted. From spring to late autumn, the small-paned windows are half-hidden by flowering plants.

The name of the brand of wine was given by the town, one of the most colorful and charming towns inhabited by winegrowers.

The fountain on the square still remains a place where dates are made, old people talk, children play.

Houses with wooden roofs crowned with ridges, with carved balconies and loggias have preserved the names of those who built them many centuries ago: Liebrich, Preis-Zimmer, Jung, Disler, Kiener; very often the people living in them today bear the same surnames.

On the Wine Road, you can find villages where Riesling and Traminer are produced mainly. These are Vange, Molsem, Rosem and Obernay, where in the 7th century, in a beautiful place between nine castles (now turned into ruins), the patroness of Alsace, the pious Odile, founded her monastery. The Celenber vineyards, which are buried in the sea, are also located here.

The road of wines has long been the terrible road of wars. The last war left only crosses here. But long-standing wars, starting from the early Middle Ages, encouraged local feudal lords to build fortified castles. Built on the tops of the most impregnable rocks, these fortresses with majestic towers and thick battlements still make a strong impression today.

Castles of similar architecture can be seen in the Auvergne or Languedoc. But in the Alsatian castle-towns there is, in addition to power, something tragic, formidable and romantic. Such is the castle of Kintzem, where today hunting birds are hunted, the castle of St. Ulrich near Ribeauville and the even grander castle of Upper Königsbourg, between Celeste and Ribeauville, the darkest legends are associated with it.

It takes your breath away when you climb up to its tall walls along a serpentine road hanging over a steep slope: the surrounding landscape looks like a scenery for some bloody historical tragedy. But from above, an unusually beautiful view of Alsace opens.

The storms of European wars have died down, old wounds have healed, scary castles excite the imagination of fantasy lovers alone. But lively and naive folk poetry still adorns village life.

It seems that the course of centuries has not changed

nor Bar. Once in these villages, you find yourself in the midst of fairy-tale scenery. Houses painted in muted yellow, pink or white are coquettishly adorned with turrets on the roofs and carved corner pillars.

Almost all houses have carved double doors, which are lovingly cared for by their owners. This tradition is so deeply rooted that even today they continue to make carved doors, trying to emphasize the beauty of the wood texture and making sure that no door is like another.

Each town has its own specialization. Ribeauville is one of those rare places in France where, following the technology passed down from generation to generation, printed fabrics are made using a wooden press.

Until now, in small workshops, they make a beautiful fabric in white and blue checks, called "kölsch"; at first she went to covers for pillows and mattresses, but now tablecloths and table napkins are made from it.

In the Vosges, in the forested area of ​​Haute-Schaum, where the granite tops of the mountains peep out from behind the trees, traditional Münster cheeses are brewed.

For the first time, they were prepared by monks from the abbeys that appeared on this territory, which at that time played a dual role - colonizers and enlighteners.

From May to September, shepherds grazed their flocks in the pastures of Ot-Shom. The fresh Münster cheese, which takes its name from the Münster Abbey, was sold and exported in special, locally made wooden boxes. Thus the "pastoral" life brought income to the inhabitants of the valleys.

The period of industrialization provided other sources of income, farms in the mountains were gradually abandoned or converted into hotels for tourists. However, today there is a revival of interest in the "shepherd's" economy and lifestyle.

Folk traditions have been preserved in the villages in their original form: on the feast of Johannisfeuer (St. John) or on the day of Kelva - a village holiday in the mountains - the peasants put on beautiful old costumes to whirl to the sounds of the Alsatian waltz, and I must say that they do this far from always at the initiative of local organizations in charge of tourist services, but also on their own initiative.

At the other end of the Wine Route is Colmar. Economically and politically, Strasbourg surpassed it, but Colmar was and remains tourist capital, a city that best expresses the spirit of Alsace, its tender, hard-shelled heart, its resilience in adversity and craving for joy. Colmar under the snow is like an illustration to children's fairy tales, which are so many in the folklore of Alsace. This is an old town with pointed houses, which could be like Bruges or Amsterdam, if it did not have its own face and its own topography.

You can sail along its canals in a punt, quietly gliding through the green water past lush gardens, washing walkways and old walls woven over with climbing plants.

The squares of the city are not clearly marked, the streets are winding, the spirit of artistic disorder reigns in architecture and planning. Colmar is an enchanting city. If there are rich mansions here, then there is no deliberateness in their luxury. The beauty of the city is so simple that it seems naive. Buildings with loggias, decorated with intricate wooden carvings, belong to those glorious times of the heyday of the city, when he lived in winemaking.

In the central square, you can see the houses of winemakers bearing their names, for example, the Pfister house on the corner of the Traders' street, built in 1537, and probably the most picturesque in Alsace - its facade is decorated with arabesques, medallions and carvings.

The charming city of Colmar is also a treasure trove of art. In a remarkably restored former Dominican monastery, the city museum Unterlinden is located, which houses the most beautiful examples of Rhine art of the early 16th century: here is the famous Isenheim altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald, striking with a strange combination of northern and southern schools: the deaf tragic expressionism of northern art of that era and the mystical radiance of Italian primitives .

Alsace is also the city of Mulhouse, famed for its textile industry; it has a wonderful museum of printed fabrics. In the city of Celeste, you can admire the most beautiful Renaissance mansions. The Vosges in Alsace is steeper than in Lorraine, they collect more snow, so residents of the whole province love to relax here. And finally, it is necessary to name the ried - a swampy valley between the Rhine and the Ile River, in the old days a paradise for hunters, today - a refuge for lovers of flora and fauna. This valley serves as the last refuge of the cranes before their long-distance flight.

Rare orchids bloom among poplars and reeds. It was decided to drain the marshes and turn them into fields. But all over the world there were voices of protest against such a predatory attitude towards nature. The verdict has not yet been pronounced, and the Alsatians, for whom this swampy area is a national treasure, will not yet admit defeat.

To Alsace, which was the main purpose of the trip. What is known about Alsace to the average Russian person? Perhaps only the phrase “Alsace and Lorraine” comes to mind, but the fate of these two is common historical regions France is no more than differences.

By the way, Alsace does not border Luxembourg, so crossing the border between Luxembourg and France, you find yourself in Lorraine. In the city of Metz, the capital of the latter, we spent the night, and I must admit good impressions I have little about her. The reason for this was a two-hour traffic jam on the road to Metz (its cause was an accident involving a truck carrying something rather flammable), as well as the strangely dug up streets of Metz itself, because of which it was not possible to really explore the city.

I remember only the ubiquitous policemen who looked at me sternly every time I, obeying the navigator, drove under the next brick. In the end, without waiting for a nervous breakdown, I escaped with relief from Metz, seeing nothing but the police - but there are as many of them as we don’t have ...

However, I was going to write about Alsace, and I will fulfill my intention. It is very different from any other region of France, and how can it not be different if throughout its history Alsace turned out to be either French or German? after the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, after the first world war, it again became French, but during the occupation of the second world war, the Germans again annexed it to their power until, finally, the allies again returned it to France. Of course, having laid eyes on the fertile land on the other side of the Rhine, Germany each time pursued a policy of Germanizing Alsace, consistently squeezing out everything French from it - language, culture, history ...

As a result, the Alsatian culture, which was already heterogeneous (after all, the native Alsatians speak a language related to German), is an amazing mishmash (or a symbiosis - as you like) of French and German. It is already absolutely impossible to understand what outweighs. Alsatian cuisine, for example, is exquisite in French and at the same time plentiful in German and simple in a good way, but Alsatian wines, although they are actually produced only on the other side of the Rhine, are distinguished from German ones by French sophistication and the character for which they are famous worldwide.

By the way, about wines. It is on them that the lion's share of the popularity of Alsace among tourists, mainly German ones, is based (and they are everywhere there). Surprisingly suitable for winemaking relief - the Vosges smoothly into the Rhine valley, exposing their slopes dotted with vineyards to the warm sun - combined with a climate that is not as hot as in other wine-growing regions of France - Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence.

As a result, red grapes practically do not grow in Alsace, and this is useless, because the local wineries are known primarily for their white ones - and what, I tell you! The lion's share of the grapes grown in Alsace are four varieties - Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Gewürztraminer.

Alsatian Riesling differs from German Riesling in a more balanced taste and rounded corners, and Gewürztraminer, although it was created in Italy and is named after the South Tyrolean town of Tramin, has become a real gem of Alsace: despite the fact that it is grown all over the world, connoisseurs appreciate it Alsatian Gewürztraminer, sweetish, spicy, with a complex character.

In addition to wine lovers, Alsace can be recommended to lovers of pastoral landscapes - the local wine road passes through picturesque villages, where a person exists in harmony with nature, and nature, ordered in German. The Alsatians adorn everything they can with flowers, and even the capital - populous Strasbourg, where in addition the residence of many of the authorities of the united Europe - stands out in this sense, although to a lesser extent than small cities.

Have you noticed that the name "Strasbourg" has German roots, and not a drop of French? Exactly the same can be said about other cities of Alsace, from small to large. Winzenheim, Zellenberg, Nothalten, Vögtlinshoffen and even Niedermorschwihr are quite common names for these places. And yet, the spirit elusively hovers in the air, inhaling which, you understand - this is France. It is felt in everything from centuries-old cathedrals to sylvaner in the glasses of local visitors. wine bars, winstub. After spending a few days in Alsace, I can say with confidence that this is the most picturesque, most fertile, most diverse and impressive of the regions of France.

In their subsequent travel notes I will try to convey the spirit of Alsace, which I managed to feel on the left bank of the Rhine. To be continued.

Two states - France and Germany - fought over this region for centuries. He was part of one country, then another. And that's why two cultures are mixed here, making it so special and original.

The three major cities of Alsace are Strasbourg, Colmar And Mulhouse. The rest of the province is very rural, with big amount small villages, chateaus with vineyards and castles - all these places are very interesting to visit. There are also large regional parks, such as Le Parc Naturel Regional des Ballons des Vosges.

Strasbourg and Colmar - very interesting cities. Colmar is smaller and more "touristy". Mulhouse may seem quite industrial, but as such it has several "technical" museums, including the very famous "National Automobile Museum" and the "French Railway Museum".

Town Saverne on a mountain pass on the border with Lorraine is famous among tourists thanks to the chateau Chateau Des Rohans built in the neoclassical style at the end of the 18th century. Another interesting town Celeste. There are many traditional buildings and interesting churches. It is convenient to get here: it is located on Ruth de Wins - Alsace Wine Road. Nearby is the famous royal castle. Haut Koenigsbourg(official site - www.haut-koenigsbourg.fr).

Paradise for gourmets

Did you know that Alsace is regularly ranked as the best region in Europe for lovers of good food and good wine. The province has a rich culinary heritage, including here a large number of Michelin restaurants (27 with one star).

Those traveling in France by car can choose to have a lunch stop at a medieval town along the Wine Route, such as Riquewiihr or Kaysersberg, and enjoy the wine, food and beauty of the surroundings of these interesting places. If you are traveling by train, it is more convenient to visit Colmar or Strasbourg for this purpose, the result will be just as good.

How to get to Alsace

The TGV Est train journey to Strasbourg from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris takes about 2 and a half hours.

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Regional European Airport (EuroAirport - Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, official website - www.euroairport.com) is located between Mulhouse and Basel. There you can rent a car through Avis, Europcar, Hertz, National or Sixt. Buses can be used to reach Strasbourg and other places from the airport.

Weather in Alsace

The province is located between mountain range Vosges and the Rhine. The climate here is quite dry (especially in the area around Colmar), with relatively cold and harsh winters. In summer the weather is very comfortable for rest and travel.

More about the province

Alsace is located in the very center of Europe - within easy reach of Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Austria or Luxembourg. No wonder its capital - Strasbourg is called the "crossroads of Europe." The inhabitants of Alsatia speak both German and French, as well as (among themselves) a special Alsatian dialect.

The province is famous for its vineyards. Through these edges lies the so-called wine road- 170 kilometers of vineyards and famous brands of wines, among which the white wines Muscat, Sylvaner and Gewurztraminer are especially famous. If you find yourself there, we advise you to try the wines directly in the villages in the wine yards. In such places, to match the taste of wines, even the houses have an absolutely charming look and architecture and are painted in red, pink, yellow and blue colors.

Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, but Alsace is even more interesting for its historical monuments. For example, here you can see with your own eyes the preserved grottoes of the Druids and other buildings of the Celtic era.

Hunting and fishing are allowed in Alsace...

The easternmost regions of France - Alsace and Lorraine - have been invariably described together for many centuries, sometimes they are even written with a hyphen as one province. The reason for this is the similar history of this area of ​​​​traditional cohabitation of the French and Germans, which now and then passed under the full control of one or the other side. However, it is precisely these historical collisions that provide the unique flavor that is inherent in these regions. A mixture of culture and cuisine, clearly visible in all areas of life, luxurious palaces and powerful fortresses, sad military cemeteries and solemn commemorative signs, beautiful vineyards of the Rhine Valley and green pastures eastern edge The Vosges, picturesque nature and cosmopolitan cities are the main attractions of this land.

Attractions

Alsace

Alsace (in French - Alsace, in German - Elsass) www.tourisme-alsace.com lies in the very north-east of France, stretching along the left bank of the Rhine from the border with Switzerland to Saarbrücken. This is the most small region continental part of France - its two departments, the Lower Rhine (Bas-Rhin) in the north and the Upper Rhine (Haut-Rhin) in the south, occupy an area of ​​​​only 8280 square meters. km. Geographically, this is one of the most diverse regions of the country - there is a vast plain of the Rhine and Ile valleys, Rieda protected wetlands (between the Rhine and Ile), large (by European standards, of course) forest zones Ahr, or Hardt (Hardt), and Haguenau, or Agno (Haguenau), mountain pastures and forests of the Vosges ( highest point- Mount Grand Ballon, 1424 m) and the Jura, as well as the green hilly areas of the Sungo (Sundgau) and the Vosges massif.

The main cities of Alsace: Strasbourg, Colmar,

Halfway between Strasbourg and Colmar lies the delightful old town Celeste(Selestat) is the best starting point to explore the central part of the Vosges. During the XV-XVI centuries, Celeste was intellectual center Alsace, and her latin school headed by Beatus Reinau was famous for one of the most impressive libraries of its time. It still serves as a kind of landmark of the city - the Bibliotheque Humaniste, founded in the 15th century and occupying the complex of the former grain exchange, now shows guests not only the rarest manuscripts of the 7th-9th centuries, but also a small art collection. However, the real masterpiece of the collection is 1507 manuscripts of the so-called "Descriptive Cosmography" (Cosmographiae Introductio) - the first document on Earth in which the term "America" ​​was used. Also here you can see the Romanesque church of Sainte-Foy (Ste-Foy, XIII century) and the Gothic Saint-Georges (XVI century).

Within 10 km around the city, you can find several medieval castles varying degrees preservation - the well-preserved Dambach-la-Ville and the huge and rather unusual in architecture Chateau Bernstein (both lie 7 km north of the city), the ruins of the Kinzheim castle (4 km south-west of the village of the same name, now there is a shelter for birds of prey www. voleriedesaigles.com), as well as Audenbourg (Odenburg, XV-XVII centuries, restored in the XX century on the direct orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II) - one of the largest and most visited castles in Alsace, the ruins of three fortresses near Ribeauville, as well as old fortifications the towns of Berheim (3.5 km northeast of Ribeauville), Riquewihr and Unvir

Big industrial city Mulhouse(Mulhouse, 35 km south of Colmar) belonged to Switzerland until 1798, even today many of its inhabitants work in Basel. In the city itself worth a visit interesting museum printing on fabrics www.musee-impression.com with an extensive collection on the history of dyeing (Mulhouse has long been the capital of the weaving industry of France), combined with a similar museum in Riksheim (6 km east of the city), Historical Museum, the recently renovated Museum of French railways, combined with the "City of Cars" www.citedutrain.com and the Automobile Museum of the Schlumpf brothers www.collection-schlumpf.com (the earliest example of a "self-running carriage" in the collection of the latter dates back to 1878). 10 km northwest of Mulhouse, in the town Ungersheim(Ungersheim), it is worth visiting the Museum of Regional Traditions and Nature www.ecomusee-alsace.com with its traditional Alsatian houses (more than 50) and permanently open handicraft workshops.

Lorraine

Lorraine, or Loren (Lorraine, Lothringen), lies in the northeast of France, adjacent to Alsace in the southeast, and to Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium in the north. The name of this historical province comes from the Latin Lotharii regnum, which translates as "the kingdom of Lothair" - one of the three grandsons of Charlemagne (as the French call Charlemagne). This is a more flat area than Alsace, a region in the east resting on the slopes of the Vosges, and in the west dissected by a low chain of mountains Argon and Meuse. The rest of the territory is a low plateau blown by all winds, whose rather monotonous landscape is interrupted only by the valleys of the Moselle, Meuse (Meuse), Saar and numerous canals. For more than a thousand years, Lorraine has been the main invasion route from the Germanic countries, so it is not surprising that so much here is connected with military history, and the double cross of Lorraine was chosen as a symbol of resistance to the invaders by both Joan of Arc and Charles de Gaulle.

The capital of Lorraine and the department of Moselle is the city of Metz. Another significant city Lorraine - Nancy.

Winter holidays

Low Vosges widely known as beautiful place for fans of flat skiing and cross-country. However, for lovers of mountain recreation, there are more than 1000 km of trails here - albeit not long, but very picturesque.

Wooded hills and low Vosges cliffs create good conditions for the formation of a stable snow cover, and proximity to major cities is excellent conditions for a trip for a day or two.

The largest ski center in the region - La Bresse (La Bresse) consists of the resorts Col de la Schlucht, La Bresse Hohneck, Le Brabant and Le Lispach, surrounding the top of the Grand Ballon (1424 m). Less well-known centers are Hohwald - Champ du Feu, Col des Bagenelles, Dolleren Schlumpf, Frenz, Gaschney, Lac Blanc, Le Tanet, Markstein, Schnepfenried, La Planche des Belles Filles, Gerardmer, La Bouloie - Larcenaire, Le Valtin, Rouge Gazon, Ventron and Xonrupt Longemer.

Located in the heart of Europe, Alsace occupies a unique geographical position. Only a few hours by car along magnificent motorways separate you from Germany, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg - countries that have signed the Schengen agreements on a common visa area, as well as from Switzerland and Austria. Although the sale of air tickets can also be in demand in our case.

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1) Justifying the name of Strasbourg - "crossroads", Alsace has become a commercial crossroads and one of the leading centers of business life in France and Europe.

6) Over the centuries, the capital of Alsace, Salzburg, several times passed from one country to another.

7) Salzburg belongs to France since 1918 (except for the period 1941-1944). The well-preserved old town is the Gothic cathedral of the 11th century, the Protestant cathedral of Saint Pierre le Jeune, the Museum of Fine Arts with a rich collection of the 15th century. Before tourist season, to give a festive atmosphere, the city administration orders the production of paper flags. They suit Salzburg very well.

8) One of the sights of France ran through the picturesque valleys and mountains of Alsace - the famous Wine Road, 170 kilometers long, especially famous for its selected white wines "Gewurztramminer", "Sylvaner" and "Muscat".

12) This is one of sacred places Alsace, which keeps the memory of the miraculous healing of the blind daughter of the Duke of Etignon (VII century) Odile, who founded a monastery here and later became the patroness of Alsace. and now it is a place of pilgrimage, and in the picturesque foothills there is still a spring with water, which, according to legend, heals eyesight.

17) It is believed that prosperity comes to the houses, on the roof of which it builds huge - up to two meters in diameter - nests in the spring. In the 60s in Alsace, a real panic was caused by a decrease in the population of storks. And today they are still loved, despite the threat of "bird flu".

19) Something like this happened with Alsace, where, by the way, the national anthem of France - "La Marseillaise" was created. His words were composed in 1792 by the captain of the engineering troops, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lille. Then it was called "The Battle Song of the Army of the Rhine" and was intended to raise the morale of the French revolutionaries in the fight against the royalists. Later, it gained such popularity among the volunteer detachments of Marseille that it was renamed the Marseillaise. For many years now there has been a controversy between supporters and opponents of the Marseillaise. The former have recently succeeded in making it obligatory to study it at school in order to "preserve the authority of the republican symbols." Opponents, however, reproach the revolutionary song with "bloodthirstiness", referring to the stanza "let impure blood irrigate our fields."

20) And what to eat? Alsace, by the way, is the birthplace of goose liver. A favorite gourmet dish, foie gras, is the whole liver of a goose or duck, hung in a cramped cage under the ceiling and fattened with oilseeds, nuts and corn.

21) Then the liver is stuffed with truffles and simmered over low heat with the addition of spices and liqueurs. Served "foie gras" in clay pots filled with goose fat, eat thin chilled slices, washed down with white wine, mostly cold and sweet Sauternes. Goose liver is a traditional Christmas treat. Invented the famous delicacy, also known as the Strasbourg pate, in 1782, the Norman chef Jean-Joseph Clouse, who received a title of nobility for this.

24) Alsace also makes one of the most fragrant French cheeses "Munster". With its merits, it has two drawbacks: it does not tolerate transportation well, and passengers do not tolerate the neighborhood of cheese. Therefore, it is transported in sealed packaging, and one of my acquaintances delivered the head of the "Munster" to Paris, tying it on the roof of a car. Alsatian hams and sausages are also famous, as well as "choucroute" from fragrant sauerkraut with various smoked meats. However, be careful: a popular dish can upset even a "tinned" stomach for a long time.