Yesterday, however, I was bound and determined to get to Ribeauvillé and nothing was going to stop me. Ariana and Kat originally planned to come with me, but due to slow trams and sleeping in, they were unable to get to the train station in time, and they told me that they'd arrive later on in the afternoon. So trams, trains, and buses later, I arrived in the cute little Alsatian town and started exploring. After a quick walk-through, though, I immediately (and luckily) found the tiny and unmarked road that I was looking for--a trail that led up through the vineyards and into the mountains and up to the three chateaux that overlook Ribeauvillé. (Notice how one of the castles are visible from the town: I really loved that!)
I took the trail and went hiking by myself, and it was absolutely amazing. I'm almost happy that I went hiking alone: even though I would have enjoyed Kat and Ariana's company while exploring the ruins, I spent the hike on my terms, and there's something to be said for that. The views throughout were stunning, but more than that; it was so unbelievably peaceful up there! For the entire two hours that I spent up in the mountains and exploring the ruined castles, I encountered 5 people: three women hiking together and a couple taking a stroll to the chateaux. Even more, it was perfect hiking weather (a balmy 47 degrees F, odd for February), the spring birds were chirping non-stop, and it smelled like spring. I visited St. Ulrich first, whose ruins were much more impressive. At an altitude of 523 meters, St. Ulrich was built sometime during the 11th century and inhabited until the end of the 17th century.
I do wish I could have visited when the vineyards were a bit... greener: it would've been gorgeous! Everything would have been prettier. In the dead of winter, it all seemed a little duller, a little dead, but I still loved every minute of it. And who knows, maybe I'll return in the spring?
Next I followed the trail winding a quarter-mile around the mountain to the sister chateau of Giersberg, which was mightily impressive due to how the castle was literally built into the rock face and sits perched precariously near the edge of a cliff. Unfortunately, Giersberg is completely in ruin, and there's no way into the castle unless you scuttle up some of the rock face, which was something I wasn't going to try while hiking alone. However, you get a fantastic view of St. Ulrich from the ledge of Giersberg, so it was well worth a visit.
After my hike, I walked back through town and ate lunch at a cute little café. By then, Ariana had arrived in Ribeauvillé, but she had headed straight for the second destination that the three of us had originally planned on visiting: the spa! The Centre Balneo is a hotel-casino-spa located about a 25-minute walk outside of Ribeauvillé, and it only costs 7 euro per hour to visit the spa. Following my lunch, I made my way to the spa to join Ariana, and we were joined about half and hour later by Kat, who had taken an even later bus. The Centre Balneo has three huge pools, one of which is outside and gives a full view of both the local mountains and the three castles. We almost used the sauna, but this is France and apparently no bathing suits were allowed in the sauna "for sanitary reasons" .... while most of the guests in the sauna had just wrapped towels around them, others preferred to enjoy it fully naked, and Kat, Ariana, and I just weren't ready for that. We spent our time swimming around in the pools, enjoying the panoramic views of the mountains and the soothing music.
We spent two hours (more or less) at the spa, then headed back to the bus stop to return to Strasbourg. To me, it was the perfect Valentine's Day: I went hiking, visited two ruined castles, treated myself to a delicious chocolate creation at the café, and spent a few hours at a spa with my friends. Dinner back at home was a merry affair as well, as Laeticia joined us, and our meal of spatzle-chicken-mushrooms (one of my favorites) was followed by a raspberry tart. Who says you need to be one-half of a couple to enjoy Valentine's Day?
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