A Medieval Evening In Eguisheim
26 May 2018
After a medieval day at the incredible Castle Hohlandsbourg, we continued with a medieval evening back in Eguisheim. I’m sure the culture shock would be near crippling, but just once I would love a time machine to go back and see these places in their day. I’ve said it many times before, but I don’t really think we can fully comprehend life back then. Our view of the medieval world is based so much on fiction, and even when blended with a healthy dose of historical fact, it would still be impossible to put ourselves there. When you watch King Arthur march through the castle, you don’t think of how there were no deodorants, no plumbing or efficient waste removal, animals were herded through town, and no concept of the importance of cleanliness. In a medieval city, the smell alone would crush most modern people! But even still, just once...
Despite the less than sanitary conditions of the past, many of these towns have made it to the present and have brought with them an unmistakable charm and beauty. Eguisheim is surely one of these. I love this town so much. I can’t help but wander down the round streets, even if I just passed through them minutes before. The contrasts, the colors, the textures, the storks... everything about this town just captivates me. I typically just want to find a spot here and stay.
There is a well rated small winery in town we just had to try called Famille Hebinger. We had walked past it a number of times but finally decided to go to try. As we walked along the path, we weren’t sure where the tasting area was. I almost walked into the kitchen of their private home! She saw me come in, and told me that the wine was in their cellar, and she would take us there. A bit embarrassing for sure, but all passed with a chuckle as she led us down the stairs. We walked in to the cellar, and it was the most amazing place! When you think of the cellar of a small, family owned French winery, this is exactly what you imagine! It was dim, damp, and well… a cellar. On one side were stainless steel fermenting tanks, on the other were the old, large oval barrels signature of the area. There was a heady aroma of winemaking in the air. She set us up on a small bench and table where we tried exquisite wine. Unfortunately we had already bought a bunch of bottles on the trip and the bag was only so big, so we only had room to take one. She told us about the winery, and how it only has a few employees for the entire process- growing, working the land, harvesting, winemaking, bottling, distributing, maintaining the winery, etc… We offered to stay and help. I don’t think she realized how serious we were. Being down in the cellar at Hebinger was an amazing experience, one of the most memorable, personal, and best wine experiences we’ve had in France!
We walked the western end of the ring again, crossing down from the colorful houses of Rue du Rempart and onto Rue du Allmend N with its cold stone walls. We stopped at a little café along the walls called, fittingly, Le Café. We sat at an outside table facing the street to look over the beautiful town and watch for any interesting passers-by. We patiently waited for someone to come out and take our order.
But what the heck was that sound?
A noise sounding of smashing metal came from inside the café, as if someone had a bag full of metal cups and kept picking it up and dropping it on the ground. That is the only way I could think to describe it. I had no idea what they were doing in there. What kind of coffee machine did they have anyway?
Then we saw him.
Emerging from the doorway of the café, carrying a little cup of coffee in each hand, was a guy dressed head to toe in a medieval knight’s plate armor! The armor plates crashed against each other and the stone ground as he walked. He was tall to begin with, but the addition of the armor just made him look huge. It was absolutely stunning, and most certainly unexpected!
After dropping off the coffee to a table behind us, he marched over and took our order. Sure, no problem, this is totally normal. He marched back in, made our coffee, and when everyone had all they needed, put on his helmet and sat on a chair in the corner of the patio. Normal stuff. Nothing special to see here, right?
I absolutely love this type of enthusiasm, this type of passion. Turns out he was the owner of the café, and he just wore a full suit of armor to go along with the medieval theme of the city. He wore it for no reason other than the fact that he wanted to wear it. I love that passion! He had medieval sounding music playing over the speakers – what I came to recognize as someone doing covers of music from the game Skyrim – and the combination of the music, armor, and the walls of the city itself just transported us back in time to medieval France.
Maybe a fantasized ideal of medieval France, but you know what? That’s okay.
We had a tasty dinner later on at the hotel, ordering the snails as a starter since it was the same restaurant where we had them for the very first time. They were right in the special plate, no shells to battle with today! Trio of fish and lamb in phyllo rounded out the dinner. Seriously, I could write an entire site just on the meals we’ve had on our travels, particularly in France! You know what? Maybe I will.
We wound down the evening back at Bar St Leon, the only late-night hangout in town that we’ve seen. That’s ok, it’s a good one for sure! Beth had that same amazing wine, I found a favorite Belgian beer, and we sat back and watched the visitors and locals both come and go. We spent the evening chatting with the same lovely bartender from yesterday, though the log-hammering games were not in the cards on this night. Too bad, I wanted in on a round.
We walked back to the hotel through the dark streets, the only ones out this time of night it seemed. Of all the small towns I’ve visited over the years on many travels, I would have to put Eguisheim as my favorite.
Walking through these beautiful streets at night, it’s really not hard to see why.
Just found the site? Click HERE to go to the first post and follow from the beginning!