Month: April 2025

Week 2

by kerrie52todoLeave a Comment on Week 2

Saturday March 29-Friday April 4

France

Note to readers: by popular request, the editor/Paul is again providing commentary.  Notes from the editor are in italics.

We put on a lot of miles this week.  My favorite hike was the 3 Chateaus in Eguisheim France. The Three Castles of Eguisheim – Visit Alsace. 

The 3 towers date back to the 11th and 12th centuries and are now a ruin.  All 3 castles were destroyed in 1466. This area is part of a longer hike that includes two other castles.  We hope to do that hike a little later in our visit. (I’ve learned it irritates my wife when I run around with a stick for a sword and act like a knight. I think it was the second time I poked her and threatened her with cutting off her head that it began to wear on her.)

On Sunday, we attended the Gregorian mass at St. Anne of Thierenbach. The church is really beautiful, but my favorite part is the ringing bells to start mass.  Paul and I know very little French ( I am learning) so we can’t understand the sermon, but we can sing along with the Gregorian chants.  My hope is that I can understand a sermon by the end of our trip.

Monday was a really special day.  We visited with Cecile again and we had dinner with another cousin, Claude Weinzapflen.  Claude is the French cousin responsible  for our family reunions in France and the visits of our French family to the reunions in the states.  He spends countless hours ensuring the French and American sides of the Weinzapflen/Weinzapfel family stay in touch.  I hope he knows how much this is appreciated. 

As I mentioned in the post about our first week, week 2 involves train travel.  Our cousin Max lives in Lyon and is about to conclude his studies there.  We made a quick, two day trip to see his place before he finishes the semester and moves to Paris.  We made the trip by train which was absolutely wonderful.   I LOVE train travel.  It is economical and mostly stress free.  Paul and I had to relearn how to navigate the French train system, and we killed it!  (The “killed it” part kind of concerned me here. These are high speed trains travelling in excess of 300 kilometers per hour. All I could imagine is Elka the family milk cow standing on the track, and its curtains for the Kerrie and Paul show.)

Max and his college roommate Hugo  took us to a great Lyonaisse restaurant called Chez Paul.  The first course consists of 7 salads served family style.  The salads include:

  • mustard potato salad (my favorite),
  • black eyed peas
  • pickled herring
  • green lentils
  • beets
  • cooked ox muzzle ( Not really an ox muzzle, probably the face of Elka the milk cow after getting hit by a high speed train)
  • pickled calf’s  foot ( I tried but I couldn’t do it.  The texture just didn’t work for me.)

Each person selects their own main course.  There are three desserts, again served family style.  The meal was delicious but SO MUCH FOOD. 

Our second day in Lyon was spent touring the city, mostly in the old town area.  We had lunch overlooking the city, toured the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere and rode the steepest subway in Europe.

I know everyone returns from Europe with photos of beautiful churches, and I know that photos don’t really do them justice, but this is absolutely stunning.  It always mystifies me that buildings like this could be built without today’s technology and equipment.

We spent Thursday doing a hike around Rouffach.  We hiked through vineyards, visiting shrines and a little chapel along the way.  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a picnic at the chapel.  The number of religious shrines along pathways in the rural countryside fascinates me.  I would love to know the history of each one.  Did the person have the shrine built in honor of an answered prayer or as a request for safe passage on a journey?

Shrine near Rouffach

Friday was spent touring the Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg.  I am not going to bore you with a million photos of a castle, but…

The scope of buildings like this is just incredible. The castle was originally built in the 12th century and restored at the beginning of the 20th century by German Emperor Wilhelm II.  I love walking around buildings like this and imaging what life was like for the original inhabitants.  Was it miserably cold in the winter and hot in the summer?  How many servants did it take to keep the kitchen running and the residents fed?  How many attacks on the village were thwarted by the safety provided by this castle? (apparently the grounds keepers pick up all the sticks at this castle)

That wraps up week 2 of “My 52 To Do.”

New adventures this week

  • 3 Chateaus hike in Eguisheim
  • Visited Lyon
  • Tried new foods like pickled calf’s foot and oz muzzle

Paul and I found ourselves with a few unscheduled days so Week 3 includes visiting a new country.  I hope you enjoy following along.

Week One-Rouffach, France

by kerrie52todoLeave a Comment on Week One-Rouffach, France

Saturday March 22 through Friday, March 28

We have arrived in France.  We were delayed about 7 hours as one of our original flights was cancelled due to the fire near Heathrow Airport.  One of the many great things about retirement is that we can be flexible with our schedule.  No sense in getting upset about cancelled flights…nothing we can do about it, and we have no schedule.

Our first flight left Evansville on Saturday at 10:45am.  We arrived in Basel Switzerland Sunday at 6:10pm.  We had two layovers, each about 8 hours long.  That makes for a long trip.  We picked up our car at the airport (absolutely no issues, thank you Europcar!) and began the 30-minute drive to our home base for the next 8 weeks, Rouffach, France.

A bit of background here.  In the late 1980’s, Paul’s parents, Wilfred and Betty, and his Uncle Harold and Aunt Roselle came to Europe to find the Weinzapfel family.  They had a rough idea of the area of Europe from which the Weinzapfel family emigrated to the United States, but no known family members.  Their search was successful, and the American Weinzapfel family and the French Weinzapflen family connected.  The family has, for the past 34 years, had reunions in both France and Indiana to strengthen the family connection.  We have been very fortunate to travel to the reunions in France several times and have made great friendships with our French cousins. 

One particular family with whom we have become close is the Weinzapflen/Dufosse/Pascal family.  Cecile Weinzapflen, age 104, is the matriarch of the family. Cecile lives in Rouffach, France.  Her daughter is Christianne Dufosse.  Christianne’s daughter, Stephanie, stayed with us when our children were infants, in 1995 and 1996.  Stephanie’s son, Maxime, came to stay with us during the summer of 2022 and again for Christmas 2023.  The family has offered to us, many times over the years, to come stay at their home in Rouffach.  We have accepted their generous offer and will be making Rouffach our home for the next 8 weeks.

When in arrived in Rouffach late Sunday evening, Christianne greeted us with a delicious dinner of baked chicken and salad.  It was exactly what we needed after two long days of travel and airport food.  I slept like a rock that night!

Our first full day in France was a great beginning to our trip.  Paul, Christianne and I drove to the nearby town of Pfaffenheim.  We visited the church here and walked through the cemetery.  It is always interesting to visit the cemeteries in the Alsace area of France because there are so many familiar names from southern Indiana.  With the church as our starting point, we did a lovely hike through the forest to Notre-Dame du Schauenberg (https://www.visit.alsace/253001436-Chapelle-Notre-Dame-du-Schauenberg/).  Notre-Dame du Schauenberg is a pilgrimage church near Pfaffenheim.  The chapel was founded in the 15th century.  The nuns run a small restaurant with delicious meals.  Our first course was the absolute best vegetable soup I have ever had in my life.  My mother and mother- in- law both make really great vegetable soup, so no offense intended, but those nuns can cook!

We also drove to and walked around nearby towns such as Soultzbach, which is Cecile’s hometown.  We saw the graves of Cecile Weinzapflen’s parents and sister, and we walked to the home where she was born.

Tuesday and Wednesday were down days as I was struggling to get over jet lag.  The highlight of these days was a visit with Cecile.  She is always happy and smiling.  We brought some DeBrand chocolates (made in Indiana) for her and it made my heart happy because she enjoyed them so much.

Thursday was another day of touring nearby points of interest.  We started the day with a delicious lunch of pork and sauerkraut at a wonderful restaurant in St. Hippolyte.  If you know me, you know I love sauerkraut, so this meal was a real treat.  After lunch, we went to La Volerie des Aigles, which translates to The Eagle Aviary (https://www.voleriedesaigles.com/fr).  The aviary is an old castle ruin that houses birds like falcons, eagles and owls.  They do a fantastic bird show. We took our children to this bird show when they were young.  I participated in the show and had a vulture on my lap and a falcon on my arm.  Pretty cool!

The weather on Friday was beautiful so we drove to La Lac Vert, the Green Lake.  The drive to the lake was a gorgeous drive through mountain switchbacks.  We hiked on the forest trail around the lake.  The trail is my favorite kind of trail, slight ups and downs, heavily wooded, moss-covered rocks, a waterfall and a small stream.  All the ingredients for the perfect trail. 

After our hike we had a picnic in the sun and enjoyed listening to the birds sing.  After soaking in the beautiful sun of springtime, we drove to Gerardmer.  This town is fascinating to me because Paul’s Great Uncle Clem was here during WW1.  Seeing the landscape that he saw over 100 years ago is so interesting to me.  It is also incredible to think that members of Paul’s family were within 50 miles of each other during the war.  Not to get political here, but it kind of highlights the craziness of war 

As I wrap up the summary of our first week, I have decided that I will count each week of this trip as one “To Do.” I will be doing so many new things while we are here and if I count each new activity, city, and restaurant, I might finish all 52 in a few months.  This week’s new activities include:

  • Holding a vulture and a falcon
  • Visiting many new towns in France such as Rouffach, Soultzbach, Soultzmatt, Pfaffenheim, St. Hippolyte, and Munster.  The highlight for me was visiting Gerardmer since it has a special family history.

Stay tuned for week 2 of our trip.  Week one included planes and automobiles.  We get to add trains in week 2.

Restarting My 52 To Do

by kerrie52todo1 Comment on Restarting My 52 To Do

After a very lengthy break, I have decided to restart my blogging career.  I started My 52 To Do in the year I turned 52.  The idea was to do 52 new things before my 52nd birthday.  I started off with a bang, but then life got in the way. To be completely honest, my dad got sick and I lost the attitude to write anything joyful.

Six years later, I am picking it back up.  I fully retired a few weeks ago and I have no more excuses.  The concept of My 52 To Do is to do something new each week.  I have a very short list of some things I want to do in the next 52 weeks.  Some are epic (epic to me at least) and some are very simple.  I can’t promise that there will be one each week, but I do plan/hope to do 52 new things over the course of the next 52 weeks. 

Some things on my list:

  • Attend the French Open Tennis Tournament
  • Learn to crochet
  • Visit at least one new national park
  • Visit one new country
  • Eat at restaurants in Newburgh that are new to me

I am writing this blog in the Charlotte airport because I am embarking on To Do #1.  Paul and I are traveling to Europe and will live there for the next 88 days. We should be able to do many new things in the next three months.  I will keep you updated.  I hope you will read along and even make suggestions for things to do as the year progresses.

Kerrie