The Land of Storks

We very much enjoyed our holiday in Alsace – everywhere we turned there were castles to explore. Alsace is a wine-growing area and I love to see the grapes growing on the vines – the vineyards have a characteristic fruity, earthy scent – the real essence of summer.

Many rural villages in Alsace have storks nesting on the rooftops. Storks suffered years of decline but in recent years their numbers have staged a remarkable recovery, thanks to the efforts of the stork centre at Hunawihr.

One of our most interesting days out was a visit to the Ecomusee near Colmar, where many traditional Alsatian houses from medieval times (and later) have been preserved. As always, I was fascinated to see how our ancestors lived. There were lots of storks here, too, including a very friendly one who came right up to our car in the car park!

Images: An Alsatian vineyard; storks nesting at the Parc des Cignones, Hunawihr; and traditional Alsatian houses at the Écomusée.

All photos © Sue Wilkes, Nigel Wilkes.