Eguisheim is only 13 Km from Kaysersberg, and my brother-in-law told me he and my sister had spent sometime here in the 1980s, and that it was worth a visit. He was right.

It is such a cute village – and it is not only me who thinks that.

In 2013 it was voted France’s Favourite Village, an annual title where one town is selected as the winner, and the title then goes to another town the next year. Here the streets are arranged in concentric circles around its castle.  And, I borrowed this image to show you what it looks like from up on high.

It is also famous for high quality wine.

Mick and wandered the streets for quite awhile taking in the picture-perfect buildings. But, what surprised us was the plethora of wine sellers here.

I took two photos of this one to highlight the cute sharp corner feature. We actually did not go inside to sample the wines here, because we absolutely couldn’t visit them all.

Many of the houses and wineries were beautifully decorated with blooming pots like this one.

Again today, there was a bus load of elderly people – Germans mostly – wandering the streets as well. We found out that it is very common for the Rhine River cruises to stop quite near here (in Germany) and passengers can partake in a day tour to the same towns Mick and I are visiting. I guess we will see them again.

The first winery we visited here charged us €2 each to taste three wines. This was the very first time we had experienced that here in France. But, in some ways it takes the pressure off feeling obliged to buy anything.

We ended up visiting four wineries, including a large cooperative, during our stay.

We saved the biggest one until last and Mick was like a kid in a candy store.

We stood around a very gorgeous circular bar and could taste dozens of wines if we wanted to. For example, there were two pages of the crémants available to taste, and surprisingly they weren’t too expensive. The most expensive one was a special reserve crémant for €18.90 which was celebrating the town’s most notable (past) resident – Pope Leo  IX  who was born here in 1002.

When we first arrived, it was right on the departure time for this little train which left from the parking station each hour, and took people on a 40-45 minute tour. The whole coach-load of Germans hopped on that first one, but Mick and I decided that for the cost of €7 each, we could buy two bottles of wine. So, we saved our money and ‘footed’ it instead.

We almost had a catastrophe though as we tried to leave the parking station at the end of our visit. It was a modern affair with boom gates and automatic paying stations – €3 for the day. When I tried to pay using my credit card, it was declined. So, I tried a second card, and it too was declined.  Mick suggested the Smart Car could easily fit on the footpath and that I could bypass the boom gates that way, which I was not keen on. He then suggested he line up (where the cars enter the parking lot) and press the button so the boom gate would open, while at the same time I would be in the car, on the wrong side of the road, ready to make a quick escape through the entry.

I urged him to let me try one more time and this time I ‘inserted’ the card and did not try to use the contactless method. And, thank goodness, it worked!!

It was quite a hot drive home as the temperature had reached 23 degrees, but we were not game to use the air-conditioning in the tiny car. We are unsure if it would make it back up the hills and keep as cool at the same time. These are the sacrifices one must make I guess.

We had a great day. Thanks Chris.