Geography 101

At the risk of being boring, here is a little geography lesson. Sorry bout that. Just bear with me.

If you say "Paris", then people immediately associate it with France. If you say "Strasbourg" however, many people will place the city in either Germany (based on the sound of the name) or Austria (based on confusion with Salzburg).

Strasbourg however, is in France. It sits in the broad plain of the Rhine River Valley and is capital of the French region of Alsace. You can literally walk across the bridge into Germany. Thanks to the European Union, you no longer have to show your passport when you cross.

Though Strasbourg is in the flatlands, the dominating feature of Alsace is the mountains. The Rhine river starts somewhere in Switzerland and cuts a valley that is bordered by the Vosges mountains on the West (France's side) and the Black Forest (Germany's side). These are not your stunning-granite-Rocky-Mountains. Rather, they are more like the smooth-tree-covered-Smokey-Mountains.

In the valleys they grow corn and vegetables and boatloads of cabbage. There is actually a village named "Krautergersheim" which, roughly translated, means "village of the sauerkraut makers". In the foothills and low sides of the mountains they grow grapes and produce, arguably, the best sweet white wines of any region in the world. On the tops of the mountains they grow.....well....lots of trees. Trees and hiking trails. Hiking trails that are marked with mysterious signs that make it easy to get lost.

Every now and then, just so the hikers can find their way, they place a castle on the top of a mountain. Actually, the French call them Chateaus. The Germans call the Schlosses. Whatever you call them, you gain an appreciation for the poor folks that had to drag the stones up there to build them.

Above is the view from Château du Haut -Koenigsbourg. In the background, you can see the valley and, if not for the mists, you would see the little villages nestled amidst the vineyards.

In the two photos above, you have the view from the ancient convent of Mont Saint Odile ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odile). Somewhere out there behind Theresa's head is the city of Strasbourg. Somewhere to her left (right side of picture) is Germany. Somewhere to her right (left side of the picture) is Greenwood, Indiana.