'Lorraine' cruises through the borderlands of Alsace-Lorraine, where the history, cuisine and character of eastern France mingle with the traditions of neighboring Germany.
A journey through this rich region is a voyage of endless discovery, with treasures of art and architecture, food and wine, history and heritage appearing around every corner.
With a history as vibrant as the famous beverage produced here, the Champagne region in France is best explored by luxury barge. Cruise along the River Marne on a trade route that dates back to Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in 56 BC. Now privileged barge vacationers on the ‘Absoluut2’ visit the area of renowned champagne and wine estates, one dating back to 1584 — Gosset. Taittinger, Moët et Chandon and Veuve Clicquot followed in the 18th century.
According to French law, only champagne produced in the Champagne-Ardenne area can be called “champagne;” everything else is merely “sparkling wine.” Each vineyard has its own terroir, which refers to all aspects of climate — temperature, sunlight and rainfall, soil and length of the growing season. Although the method of champagne production may be duplicated, the terroir is unique and cannot be replicated. It’s this terroir that is the key to differentiating champagne from other sparking wines. You’ll experience these subtleties for yourself on your French barge cruise aboard the ‘Absoluut 2.’
Whereas Champagne has always played a major role in French history, neighboring Alsace-Lorraine has switched identities from French to German in the 1871 Franco-Prussian War and back following World War I. This has only enhanced a cuisine influenced by the best of both cultures and architecture that is fairy tale-like in its beauty.
With the help of numerous locks, your luxury barge the ‘Lorraine’ makes its way through the mountainous Vosges region and the Rhine Valley, visiting quaint villages such as Colmar, the home of Bartholdi, the creator of the Statue of Liberty. Colmar is affectionately known as “La Petite Venise” because of its canals, lined with half-timbered houses adorned by overflowing flower boxes and lavishly carved woodwork.
Colmar offers something not even Venice can match: an extraordinary lighting display. Nine hundred computer-driven light sources running on a fiber optic cable network are expertly distributed throughout the town, creating an original light show that washes the houses, gables and roofs of Colmar in brilliant and varied colors. Colmar is illuminated on Friday and Saturday nights and every evening during major events such as the Regional Alsace Wine Fair and Christmas in Colmar. The spectacle of light, winding canals and fairy tale buildings make Colmar a stop not to miss.
Your luxury barge cruises the “route de vins,” visiting Sarrebourg to see Chagall’s stunning stained glass window La Paix, the 11th-century Château du Haut-Barr in Saverne, and Strasbourg, the present seat of the European Parliament. Along the way stop at wine cellars to sample some of the notable dry, white Alsatian wines produced locally. On board your luxury barge, your chef always uses local ingredients and wines to prepare fabulous meals that are all included in the price of your barge vacation. Although Alsace is French, the names of its signature dishes — choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with sausages or fish), baekeoffe (boiled meat and potatoes marinated in white wine) and kugelhopf (a tall, sweet pastry eaten for breakfast or afternoon tea) — are decidedly German. But the message in an Alsatian kitchen is always the same: bon appetit . . . or is it guter Appetit?
