Bonjour!

“Bonjour! Bonjour!” Can you hear the village people bursting open their window shutters and singing cheerfully to each other!?  Exploring the countryside of France, Thundar found himself in what looked like the set of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. To his relief, however, there was no Gaston or Beast in sight, though he would have liked to see dear Belle or hear her sing.

“Ville d’Eguisheim” is one of 67 villages on a 100 miles stretch on the eastern edge France known as the Alsace Wine Route. The Alsace region is world famous for its high quality wines—primarily white wines, either dry or sweet. Among the most popular are Alsace’s dry Riesling and aromatic Gewurztraminer wines. The wine produced in Alsace can be identified by the unique fluted bottles that it always comes in. Wine is an important part of France’s economy; in 2006, 111.3 million liters of wine were produced in Alsace, generating revenue of nearly 500 million euros.

Almost every village along the Alsace Wine Route has a castle, or what used to be a castle, reminding visitors of the history that these villages dating back to the 12^th century and beyond when the castles served to protect and defend the people of the village.

Visit http://ndsu-studyabroad.blogspot.com/ for other awesome sights and stories from NDSU fall semester in Europe!
-Alyda