I Found Solace in the Middle of ‘Nowhere’ A Couple Summers Ago

“Gueberschwihr — that’s where I’m going.”

The interested look on my coworker’s face instantly turned into an expression of judgment and let out a resounding “WHY” as I responded to his curiosity about my summer holiday plans. Everyone living in Paris goes somewhere during this season, and an unknown village in the middle of the Alsatian vineyards is usually not at the top of the list.

I have always been a fan of taking the road less traveled. There is something about going towards the unfamiliar and unpopular that makes the experience of traveling many times more fascinating. It’s that thrill of not knowing what to expect or being able to tell a story about a place only a few people (if not none) could only tell.

This was why, after several instances of hearing frequent conversations about summer plans and not having any, I caved in to the indirect peer pressure about going on a holiday somewhere. Next thing I knew, I typed Alsace on the Gîtes de France website and found a bed and breakfast in this small town called, “Gueberschwihr” (which until now I have trouble pronouncing).

I went there with two goals in mind - first was to write… and second, to drink damn good Alsatian wine.

So, August arrived, I packed my small, white luggage then, boarded the train to Strasbourg.

Most people usually come to this region in winter because Strasbourg holds the biggest and oldest Christmas…