PBP 2007 Fini
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From the church steps in Roppentzwiller
«Oui, at the gare.» Yippee! Monday, I'm up at
dawn, the day clerk is on duty.
«Lour une velo?»
«Non. Impossible. I think they will open in two
months.» Luckily, the night clerk proved to be correct.
A bike is rented, and I'm westbound though Zillsheim,
Illfurth, a couple more villages, then west along he canal.
Most of the Roppentzwillerians are out of vacationing, but preparations are evident for the fall festival…It' a cold overcast morning, and I feel great! Twenty
kilometers to Altkirch, then south sixteen kilometers on
9-bis to Roppentzwiller, stopping at a boulangerie for water
and coffee éclair. I had wondered what biking this
area would be like—the map shows lots of communities,
would the roads be crowded and lined with strip-malls? No,
the the roads are small, I can't say the traffic is light,
but they don't seem to mind cyclists. I don't notice many
other bike commuters, but there are some, plus two "roadies"
hammering along in full team kit, and one bike shop. The
villages are splendid, with slat-and-plaster architecture.
Most of the Roppentzwillerians are out of vacationing, but preparations are evident for the fall festival…
Entering Roppentzwiller, I begin checking mailboxes for
"Gesser".
Roppentzwiller GESSERsAt the old church in the town center a big plaque on an
outside wall remembers the children killed in the war of
1914-18, including Jean Baptiste GESSER. Similarly on a
statue remembering victims of WW-I and WW-II before the
church.
Roppentzwiller FarmerThe cemeterie below the church includes several GESSER
graves. Paris is very quiet in August, as the Parisians are
all vacationing on the Mediterranean coast. Apparently, the
same is true even in small Alsacian villages—lots of
magnificent gardens show signs of being just a bit overgrown.
Nevertheless, fall festival preparations have begun.
Mannequins are beginning to show up in the town commons
festival ground and the bonfire wood has already been
stacked, maybe 30 feet high.
Roppentzwiller GESSERs
Roppentzwiller Farmer
Copyleft © 2007 Adrian Hands.
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